GPSJ - SPRING 2025 - Flipbook - Page 36
GPSJ
HOUSING
90% of Repayment
Agreements fail within three
to six months, new research
reveals
New report exposes critical challenges in social housing arrears management – and unveils a roadmap for
improvement
New research into the
e昀昀ectiveness of Repayment
Agreements in the social housing
sector has uncovered alarming
failure rates, with 90% breaking
down within three to six months.
The study also highlights
opportunities to enhance the
success rate of the crucial
arrears management mechanism,
ensuring better 昀椀nancial
outcomes for both landlords and
tenants.
The report, We Need to Talk
About Agreements, published
by Voicescape, draws on
extensive deep data analytics,
in-depth interviews, focus
groups, and analysis of over
50 housing association Income
Collection policies. It 昀椀nds that
while Repayment Agreements
are a vital tool for managing
arrears and supporting tenants
in 昀椀nancial distress, a stark gap
exists between their potential and
real-world performance.
The importance of Agreements
has surged in recent years due
to Universal Credit changes, the
lasting impact of COVID, and the
cost-of-living crisis. Data from
the recent “Holding on to Home”
project has revealed that while
9% of tenants are currently in
arrears, a staggering 70% are
struggling to pay rent – putting
them at high risk of falling behind.
Voicescape’s research
suggests that around 25-50%
of total arrears are currently tied
36
up in Agreements, highlighting
their criticality. However, it also
identi昀椀es that Agreements are
failing at an unsustainable rate for
a number of reasons, including:
• The reliance on housing
management systems (HMS)
not designed for complex
repayment structures
• A lack of real-time, accurate
data to assess, negotiate and
track individual cases
• Overburdened income o昀케cers
managing excessive caseloads
without adequate support and
training.
resource for landlords when
putting in place and administering
Repayment Agreements.”
The report coincides with
Voicescape’s recent launch of
Agreements Manager – a 昀椀rstof-its-kind technology platform
designed in conjunction with
social landlords to reduce break
rates, lower management costs,
and improve tenant outcomes.
approach to harness and enable
the full potential of Agreements. It
also introduces our new custombuilt platform to address the gap
in current technology solutions.”
Aligned with the Golden
Moments framework,
Agreements Manager empowers
landlords to create, track,
and optimise agreements that
work for both tenants and
Gary Haynes, CEO of
Voicescape, commented: “As
they stand today, Agreements
are incredibly di昀케cult to
operationalise e昀昀ectively and at
an a昀昀ordable cost. Our research
has highlighted the degree
to which changes to current
systems and processes are
needed.”
“Our aim with this report is
to o昀昀er a new perspective and
organisations.
The full and abridged versions
of We Need to Talk About
Agreements are available to
download free here: https://info.
voicescape.com/we-needto-talk-about-agreementswhitepaper-downloadabridged
The ‘Golden Moments’
framework
To support landlords in delivering
a structured yet empathetic
Agreements process, We Need
to Talk About Agreements
introduces a ‘Golden Moments’
best practice framework
structured in six key stages
and grounded in behavioural
science principles. The report
also explores the role of
technology and how the likes
of AI and predictive analytics
can revolutionise Repayment
Agreements.
Paul Hickman, co-author of
the Holding on to Home study,
provided the foreword to We
Need to Talk About Agreements.
He commented: “In light of our
昀椀ndings in the Holding on to
Home study, this whitepaper
is timely and will be a valuable
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SPRING 2025
