Our Tenant Scrutiny and Insight team regularly take on projects to test whether our tenant voice is being heard and to make sure our tenants are at the centre of everything we do.
Using Tenant Insight, they have recently reviewed our Tenant Support Fund (or Hardship Fund) to better understand who is accessing it and any barriers that might people stopping tenants.
What is a Tenant Support Fund?
Our Tenant Support Fund is designed to support tenants alleviate financial hardship when they are experiencing a difficult time in their life and may be unable to commence or sustain their tenancy/lease without our assistance. The fund is accessible to all our tenants and is administered by the Money Advice Manager.
What we found
Our findings have told us that all tenants have equal access when they are experiencing hardship, but certain tenant groups may not be accessing the fund as much as others.
We looked at the demographics of tenants who have accessed the Customer Support Fund, to make sure it’s accessible to everyone.
We found that:
- Around 190 of our most in need tenants benefited from the fund last year
- Three quarters of all referrals to the support fund come from our Money Advice and Income teams, reassuring us that the tenants most in need of financial help are able to apply for support
- Tenants aged 25-24 were most likely to access the fund
- Both male and female tenants have equal access to the fund
- White tenants were more likely to access the fund before they were in rent arrears, whereas ethnically diverse tenants are more likely to access fund for help buying necessities such as furniture and white goods
- In the vast majority of cases, the fund helped tenants buy white goods, such as washing machines, or beds for their homes
- We also supported tenants who needed food and fuel vouchers
- We are able to provide support tenants by signposting them to support funds available to them in their local area
What does this tell us?
This report reassures us that our Customer Support Fund is helping many tenants when they need it most and that we’re not excluding any particular tenant group.
What action will we take now?
We have made some changes based on the findings of this report which include:
- Improving record keeping of all applications to the fund so we can continue to review and monitor equal access
- Increasing the promotion of the fund amongst tenants over 65 and ethnically diverse tenants
- Supporting tenants who we know have experienced damp and mould by ensuring they have access to fuel vouchers in difficult times
If you’re in need of support with your finances or are interested in finding out more about our Tenant Support Fund, you can reach out to our Money Advice Team here or by calling 0345 60 20 540.
