Rent arrears at York's lowest ever level (York Liberal Democrats)

York Liberal Democrats <info@yorklibdems.org.uk>

Rent arrears at York's lowest ever level

June 5, 2006 6:00 PM

The Lib Dem-controlled Council is making excellent progress on rent arrears. Current rent arrears are now at the lowest they have been since York became a unitary authority over ten years ago. The final figure for 2005/06 shows that 97.23% of all rent owing has been collected by the Council. This is the highest proportion ever collected, ensuring that more money is available for reinvestment in housing services.

Cllr Sue Sunderland said "The Housing Department has made excellent progress, at both collecting and preventing debt.

"There are two sides to tackling rent arrears. Firstly, it is vital to stop debts developing. That is why the Lib Dems introduced specialist teams, who speak to tenants at the first sign of a problem and ensure that debt does not grow out of control. Labour were opposed to this measure, but it has helped to reduce rent arrears by almost £200,000 in a single year. It is also important to pursue those debts which do accrue.

"I would like to thank officers who have focused so effectively on this issue, ensuring that York is moving forwards and driving debts down across the city.

"Collecting more rent allows us to invest more money in housing across the city. However, it is always worth remembering that the government takes £5 million of tenants' money, to be spent on housing in other cities. That is why I am still pushing for the whole funding of housing to be restructured, to allow York to reinvest rather than having to subsidise other Councils."

In January the City of York Council agreed to set up a permanent Specialist Income Management Team, despite Labour opposition to the proposal, following a trail during 2005. The trial showed that this targeting had helped to keep the level of debt lower, and tackled debt problems earlier, meaning that tenants got into rent difficulties less often.

ENDS

The information is included in the Housing Revenue Account Service Plan Monitoring Outturn Report, to be discussed at the City of York Council meeting of the Executive Members for Housing and Adult Social Services and Advisory Panel, on Monday 5th June 2006 at 5pm.