Rent Arrears Policy

It is the responsibility of the Housing Management Sub-group to carry out this policy in consultation with the Co-op administrator. The administrator will seek to keep the identity of individuals in rent arrears anonymous as far as is reasonably possible.

1. Co-op rents are due weekly or monthly in advance, payable on the Monday of the first week of every month.

2. If a tenancy falls into arrears by the equivalent of four weeks rent, the following time-table will come into effect:

Letter 1, or Letter 1a in the case of tenants on HB, will be sent to any tenancy more than 4 weeks in arrears, unless special circumstances have been discussed with the Co-op Worker or with the Co-op Rent Officer. The letter will be written by the Co-op Administrator and the Housing Management subgroup.

Letter 2 will be sent two weeks later if there has been no satisfactory response to Letter 1. Letter 2 requires an agreement (Form 2a) to be made to pay off the arrears in regular installments. At this point the tenancy is at least 6 weeks in arrears. Where possible, arrears to be paid off within 12 months and payments set accordingly. In cases of hardship payments to be set at Housing Management’s discretion. The letter will be written by the Co-op Administrator and the Housing Management subgroup.

Letter 3 will be sent by the Housing Management Group one week later if no satisfactory response has been received and no agreement has been made. A member of Housing Management will meet with the tenant during this period. The tenancy is at this point at least 7 weeks in arrears. If no satisfactory response is received to Letter 3, HM will recommend to the next MC that the tenant’s Membership be terminated and a Notice to Quit should be issued.

Letter 4 will be sent by the Housing Management Group if a tenant has made an agreement, but has allowed payments to lapse for more than four weeks without offering a satisfactory explanation. If no satisfactory response is received to Letter 4, HM will recommend to the next MC that the tenant’s Membership be terminated and a Notice to Quit should be issued.

3. If a tenant who is on Income Support is more than 13 weeks in arrears and allows their payments to lapse more than three times – even if they have made an agreement, the Co-op will request Income Support to deduct a monthly sum (to be paid directly to the Co-op). The amount will be set by Income Support.

4. The Co-op’s policy is to seek arrears through the Courts, to seek possession of the property and to recover any associated legal costs. Non-payment of Housing benefit or circumstances of financial hardship will not exclude those in rent arrears from the procedures in this policy, unless they are discussed and agreed with the Housing Management Sub-group. It is the responsibility of the tenant to pursue their own Housing Benefit. Written evidence (photocopies of the application) must be given to the Housing Management Sub-group to prove that the tenant has applied. The evidence must also include the obtaining of a stamped and signed receipt, stating that the required documents have been received by Housing Benefit. Proof is further required that the tenant is chasing their claim on a regular basis. If a tenant has taken all reasonable steps to ensure payment of Housing Benefit, the Co-op will exercise leniency.

5. If a member is in arrears, unless there are exceptional circumstances, no application for allocation or transfer will be considered, and any existing transfer will be reversed.

6. In dealing with issues of rent arrears HM subgroup should bear in mind that the Co-op has adopted a Privacy Policy which states ‘Vine Housing Co-operative is committed to ensuring that all personal information is held solely to enable the Co-operative to deliver its functions as a Landlord’. The Co-op is committed to respect the 6 basic principles of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR). These are:

• Personal data must be processed fairly, lawfully and transparently.
• Personal information collected must be used for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes.
• Data held must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purpose.
• Data must be accurate and up to date.
• Data must not be kept longer than necessary.
• Personal information must be processed in a way that ensures security of data against unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Privacy Policy

Note also GDPR guidance from CCH CO-OP: