Income and Debt Recovery Policy

Document Author	Issy Taylor, Director of Customers and Communities
Document Owner	Victoria Curry, Income and Financial Inclusion Manager
Legal Advice	N/A
Consultation	Consultation has taken place with customers
Approved by	Place Committee – 6 December 2023
Review Date	October 2026
Corporate Plan Aim	Prosperity
Equality Analysis	A full Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) was undertaken with the following point to note. While this Policy may have a slightly larger effect on protected groups particularly on elderly and disabled people, there are a lot of elements of the Policy to help people and assist them in gaining financial aid or welfare. The points in section five relating to both the Financial Inclusion team at One Manchester providing help to people facing difficulties as well as the point that we will work with the local council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to both help people acquire welfare benefits and help them with potential appeals if they have been denied or at risk of losing their welfare benefits are both points that will help people in having some ability to deal with any financial difficulties the collecting of income or recovery of debts may impose on them.
Key changes made	EQIA completed Vulnerability section updated Vulnerability Policy added

1. POLICY PURPOSE

1.1 One Manchester aims to implement a fair and transparent approach to income collection and debt reduction without compromising customer care through a combination of:

Prevention: to implement preventative measures that help to minimise the risk of debt occurring;
Early Intervention: that will ensure that there are a range of effective intervention measures available to address debt issues;
Enforcement: to effectively utilise the range of enforcement powers available.

1.2 One Manchester aims to assist customers to ensure they receive their maximum and correct entitlement to state benefits. Customers will also be encouraged to communicate with One Manchester especially when difficulties arise. If applicable, customers may be given informal welfare benefits advice and referred to our specialist Financial Inclusion Team. As per our Vulnerability Policy, we will also take into account known vulnerabilities and refer to appropriate agencies if customers are presenting with vulnerabilities.

1.3 We will ensure that any applicable legislative and welfare benefit changes are reviewed and the impact on customers is considered. The ongoing impact of Universal Credit (UC) will be closely monitored assessing both organisational and customer impact.

1.4 This Policy will reflect good practice and always meet legal and regulatory requirements. We will continually monitor good practice and statutory and regulatory requirements.

1.5 This Policy is in place to ensure to maximise rent and service charge collection to help sustain customers in their tenancies.

1.6 Our procedures will take account of the Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claim for rent arrears, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt (issued under the Civil Procedure Rules) and Debt Respite Scheme.

2. POLICY SCOPE

2.1 This Policy relates to income collection and debt recovery from One Manchester customers and includes:
rent and/or service charges from current tenants of all tenures including leaseholders and garages;

rent and/or service charges from former tenants;
rent and/or service charges from commercial tenures that include market rent, rent to buy, shared ownership and properties managed on behalf of other landlords;
rechargeable costs;
sundry debt including court costs.

3. POLICY STATEMENT

3.1 One Manchester aims to have a high performing income management and debt collection service which will be delivered to maximise income and benefits for customers. It will promote a payment culture, preventing homelessness and contributing to achieving sustainable tenancies and communities.

3.2 One Manchester is committed to treating all customers fairly whilst at the same time reminding them of their responsibility to pay rent and/or service charge, sundry debt including but not limited to recharges, former tenancy arrears and court costs. Whilst a serious view is taken of outstanding debt, it is recognised that some customers are financially or otherwise disadvantaged and therefore, a preventative and supportive approach will be adopted.

4. OUR APPROACH

4.1 Our approach to income collection and debt recovery is a combination of prevention, early intervention and enforcement. Our specific approach for each element is outlined in the below table:

Table 1: One Manchester’s approach to prevention, early intervention, and enforcement

Element	Approach
Prevention	We will develop a culture of payment pre, during and post tenancy.
	We will identify and provide the right level of support for new tenants.
	At the start of the tenancy we will: • identify the right level of support for new tenants; • ensure that new tenants are aware of their responsibilities for the payment of rent; • ensure that new tenants know how to pay their rent and access their rent account online; • encourage new tenants to use direct-debit as a form of payment; • provide appropriate support to those tenants claiming benefits for the payment of their rent.
	We will provide a range of accessible and flexible payment methods that are regularly promoted, publicised and reviewed.
	We aim to achieve maximum Housing Benefit (HB) / housing cost element of Universal Credit take up and accurate assessments of and payment of benefit through advice and verification of claims.
	We will enable customers to manage their rent accounts (and other bills) through the provision of: • our customer resolution centre; • online access to rent statements; • customer information leaflets and newsletters; • One Manchester’s website.
	We will work closely with the council’s benefits section and the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), providing help and support to customers to claim welfare benefits, request reconsiderations and appeal benefit decisions where appropriate.
	We will work collaboratively across the business to ensure effective joint working and information sharing.
	We will support customers in applying for and obtaining employment in accordance with our employment and support strategies.
Early intervention	We will ensure special circumstances and vulnerability are recognised and considered in our approach.
	We will support those who are in arrears and experiencing financial difficulty through offering a referral to our Financial Inclusion Team.
	We will make information available to customers on how to pay their rent and what to do if they fall into rent arrears.
	We will set up payment arrangements for arrears after affordability assessments have been set up following analysis of the customer’s financial position.
	We will use income and expenditure assessments when agreeing payment plans with customers experiencing debt.
	We will use personal contact from our Income Collection Team to discuss debts with customers to understand special circumstances and vulnerability and any way that One Manchester and our partner agencies can support the customer.
Enforcement	We will initiate the appropriate legal action without undue delay against customers whose arrears are escalating and are not engaging with us with due consideration to the Court’s Protocol.
	We will use income and expenditure assessments when agreeing repayment plans with customers experiencing debt.
	We will follow the expectations set out by any form of debt respite scheme (such as breathing space).
	Legal action, above a Notice of Seeking Possession will be sent for approval to the Income and Financial Inclusion Manager. Applications for evictions will need 3 stage approval by the Income and Financial Inclusion Manager, head of neighbourhoods and the Director of Customers and communities.

Priority of multiple debts

4.2 One Manchester will pursue debts owed by current, former tenants, and leaseholders as part of its income recovery approach. Where there is only one debt outstanding, then the group will follow the relevant collection procedure pursuant to that debt.

4.3 On the occasion where there are multiple debts owed to the One Manchester by a customer, then we will pursue the debt in line with the following priority order:

current tenant rent and service charge arrears;
current commercial rent and service charge arrears;
current leaseholder and ground arrears;
current garage arrears;
former tenant debt;
former leaseholder and ground rent debt;
former garage debt;
rechargeable repair debt;
sundry debt including court costs.

4.4 One Manchester will ensure that customers and colleagues are aware of the debt priority order and approach adopted in recovering these debts.

Refunds

4.5 One Manchester will action all overpayments within a reasonable timescale in line with the following:

4.6 Overpayments: One Manchester acknowledge that they have a legal obligation to repay any overpayments, which HB/DWP has deemed to be legally recoverable. We also have an obligation to inform the Local Authority (LA) in writing of any change in circumstances of the customer, which may affect their entitlement to benefit. We will encourage the customer to challenge such overpayments with the LA/DWP if they considered that the overpayment is not recoverable. Where possible, One Manchester will appeal against the repayment of HB/UC direct from us which, has occurred because of fraud, or due to circumstances One Manchester were unaware of.

4.7 Credit Refunds: Should a customer’s account be in credit above the required advance payment as detailed within their tenancy agreement. One Manchester will arrange for a refund to be made within 28 days from the date of application. However, before a refund will be approved, we will contact the local HB department/DWP to ascertain if there are any overpayments outstanding. We will also ensure, at this point, that there are no other debt(s) outstanding to One Manchester and will investigate any refund in conjunction with One Manchester Money Laundering Policy. One Manchester will review all outstanding credits on a quarterly basis and will process refunds in line with the checks detailed above.

Financial Inclusion Team

4.8 Research has shown that low income, intermittent work and other financial pressures remain key causes of financial exclusion which can subsequently lead to financial hardship. In recognition of this, One Manchester have a dedicated Financial Inclusion Team, who lead on initiatives to tackle financial exclusion. Advice which can be offered by telephone, face to face appointments or home visits.

4.9 Customers requiring specialist debt or benefit advice are referred to the Financial Inclusion Team. The triage service offered ensures customers can access initial advice within 48 hours. During which emergency food and fuel can also be offered if required.

5. COMPLAINTS

5.1 If a customer is unhappy about a decision in relation to this policy, they should first follow our complaints process. If they are still not satisfied, they may then take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.

6. RESPONSIBILITIES

6.1 It is recognised that all colleagues have a role to play in safeguarding the income of the business and all colleagues are expected to support the delivery of a high performing debt recovery service as part of their role.

6.2 Where applicable, One Manchester colleagues will receive the appropriate training and support to effectively achieve the objectives of this Policy.

6.3 The Head Of Neighbourhoods is responsible for ensuring this Policy complies with regulatory and legislative requirements.

7. EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

6.1 A full Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken with the following point to note.
While this Policy may have a slightly larger effect on protected groups particularly on elderly and disabled people there are a lot of elements of the Policy to help people and assist them in gaining financial aid or welfare.

The points in section five relating to both the Financial Inclusion Team at One Manchester providing help to people facing difficulties as well as the point that we will work with the local council and the DWP to both help people acquire welfare benefits and help them with potential appeals if they have been denied or at risk of losing their welfare benefits are both points that will help people in having some ability to deal with any financial difficulties the collecting of income or recovery of debts may impose on them.

8. MONITORING AND REVIEW

8.1    Compliance with this Policy shall be monitored by the Head of Neighbourhoods. We will review the impact of this Policy on customers with protected characteristics.
8.2    This Policy shall be reviewed every three years.
8.3    The Income and Financial Inclusion Manager will be responsible for initiating a review of this Policy and shall report to Director of Customers and Communities with any recommendations for all improvements required.

9. CONTACT PERSON

9.1 The Income and Financial Inclusion Manager has responsibility for the effective delivery of this Policy.

10. ASSOCIATED POLICIES AND DOCUMENTS

10.1 Internal documents:

Tenancy Management Policy;
Safeguarding Adults Policy;
Allocations Policy;
Vulnerability Policy.
One Manchester Money Laundering Policy

10.2 External Documents:

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985;
Housing Act 1985;
Housing Act 1996;
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002;
Equality Act 2010;
Welfare Reform Act 2012;
General Data Protection Regulations 2016;
The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020;
Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard;
Tenancy Standard;
Rent Standard.