Debt recovery policy

Date approved: May 2025
Review date: May 2028

See below for the full policy, but please be aware this may include acronyms or technical jargon used internally within Raven. If you have any questions, please contact us.

1. Purpose of the policy

1.1. To set out Ravens expectations that all sums due for rent or services are to be paid promptly on demand and in accordance with the law and the terms of any contracts, leases, licences or tenancy agreements. This applies to tenants, licensees, shared owners and leaseholders.

1.2. To ensure Raven has a clear approach to the recovery of debts owing to the organisation. We will recover different types of debt using different processes, dependent on the nature, value and
priority of the debt.

2. Scope of the policy

2.1. This policy operates in conjunction with Raven’s standing orders, policies and procedures regarding rent, license and service charge payments. Standing orders provide authority limits
for all debt (including customer and commercial debt) which is written off.

2.2. This policy operates using all relevant and appropriate legislation. This includes but is not limited to the Housing Acts 1985 and 1988 (as amended), the Landlord and Tenant Acts 1985 and
1987, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002; the Welfare Reform Act 2012, The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 and relevant court procedures and rules for debt collection.

3. Detailed policy content

3.1. Methods of payment
Most of Raven’s income is resident derived. Raven will offer a choice of payment methods to enable residents to use the most appropriate method for them. This includes but is not limited to
standing orders, direct debits, recurring card payments and payment over the phone. Direct debits are the preferred method of payment. Residents with internet access and capability are actively encouraged to use the ‘MyRaven’ Portal option to pay rent. Residents can also pay cash via a Pay point using their payment card if necessary. We will promote the use of Direct Debits and online Portal payments to mitigate the likelihood of rent arrears and reduce transaction costs. Our strategic Customer Experience aim means we will continue to explore new and different opportunities around payment methods, including payment providers, evaluating cost benefits and ease of use for Raven and its customers for any new payment methods introduced. Raven will continue to consider how digitally inclusive these methods are and support those who need help.

3.2. Payment in advance and tenancy sustainment
An assessment will be undertaken prior to a formal offer of the tenancy to ascertain whether the rent and/or other charges are affordable for the customer. If there are concerns about affordability, Raven will discuss the appropriateness of the nomination with the nominee and the local authority who may review the nomination in line with the Allocations Policy. Customers have access to the allocations appeal process if an offer is withdrawn.

Wherever possible, and in line with the terms and conditions of the tenancy, licence or lease, Raven will require payment in advance. Customers must pay in advance in line with the frequency they pay. For example, if they pay monthly, they must pay a full month in advance. Exceptions to advance payments, particularly where they are on full benefits must be approved by the relevant Income officer who will assess individual circumstances.

3.3. Information
Residents can access their rent accounts through the online portal ‘My Raven’ to see charges, statements and make payments. Raven will provide a point of contact for customers to discuss their debt. Individual preferences for communications including large print or other style are recorded and on request can be delivered in the preferred format where possible.

Rented customers will receive a paper rent statement quarterly to adhere to Pre-action Protocol for Possession Claims that anyone with arrears will be updated on their balance. However, these
customers can opt out of this paper format and receive an email which prompts them to review their online portal statement and balance.

3.4. Customer contact
Raven will use a variety of methods to contact customers regarding debts and engage with them to clear the debt. This includes, but is not limited to, face to face visits at the customers’ home, Raven’s offices or other locations; letters, telephone calls, emails and text messages. All outbound & inbound contacts are logged on the Customer Relationship Management system.

Raven will also use other reasonable contact points to engage with customers regarding debts. For example, checking rent accounts and discussing repayment options or if a customer contacts
Raven for another service. All reasonable ways to contact customers will be used, including checks with organisations (such as local authorities etc.) but will not breach data protection legislation.

3.5. Joint tenants
Joint tenants are jointly and severally liable to pay rent; this means in the case of a joint tenancy, all tenants are responsible for the debt, and we can pursue all parties for payment, even if one tenant no longer lives in the home.

3.6. Customer support
Where appropriate, Raven will refer to Moneywise or other agencies for financial assessment, benefit eligibility and support.

Referrals to other specialist services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), where customers have serious and multiple debts, may be made. Assistance may be provided with benefit, grant or discretionary housing payment applications to assist customers to reduce debts. Where possible, Raven may also refer to other sources of help with benefits or grants.

Customers who are identified as vulnerable may also be referred to specialist agencies or statutory services for support. Where appropriate, those agencies may be invited to participate in making financial arrangements.

3.7. Repayment plans to clear debts
For customers who cannot clear their debt to Raven in one payment, we will work with them to agree and keep to a repayment plan to clear the debt in instalments over an agreed period of time. Assessment will be made based on the level and priority of the debt, other priority debts the customer is also addressing and customer affordability.

Household circumstances will be examined by reference to income, capital and expenditure statements with supporting evidence and be subject to review. If the repayment plan is broken, circumstances will be re-assessed, and the debt collection process may then be escalated in line with the appropriate procedure. Interest will be applied where it is payable (for instance the leases for leasehold properties, make provision for interest) and appropriate.

3.8. Enforcement action
Where repayment plans are not made or are broken, Raven will advise the debtor that it intends to use available legal remedies. These include, but are not limited to, money judgement orders,
garage repossession, applications for possession of tenancy or forfeiture of the lease as appropriate. Applications will be reviewed and authorised by the appropriate service manager.
The Pre-action Protocol for Possession Claims will be followed at all times.

Raven focuses on sustaining tenancies through early intervention and arrears prevention. We will apply the principle that evictions will be the last resort, and all reasonable efforts will be made
to prevent that eviction from taking place. An Equality Impact Assessment will be carried out where we are aware of a resident’s disability/vulnerability.

Court costs will be requested and for leaseholder’s, interest and administration fees will be requested in accordance with the lease.

Raven will use all relevant information and customer data to try contact individuals who do not respond to action chasing rent arrears. This includes liaising with local authorities, investigating potential fraud and tracing services.

When recovering commercial debt, the terms of the contract will be enforced and only in exceptional circumstances will a commercial view be taken in making other arrangements. These will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

3.9. Tenure specific approaches to debt management
There are differences in approach to debt management and recovery due to different legislation and the priority of the debt. The process will be specified in detailed procedures for each type of
debt. Policy headlines are set out below.

4.0. Current tenant rent arrears

Action will be taken in line with the relevant legislation, escalating action if the level of debt rises or does not reduce. Raven will work closely with customers, Housing Benefit & Universal Credit
teams and other support to assist customers to clear debt in instalments where they cannot clear all the debt a lump sum. We will normally expect a debt to be cleared within a maximum of 2
years for assured tenants. For those in temporary accommodation, starter tenants, fixed term tenants or other less secure forms of tenancy, Raven expects debts to be cleared within the timeframe of the tenancy. When negotiating repayment schedules, the needs of Raven and the impact upon the tenant are assessed.

Escalation includes serving notice for breach of tenancy and ultimately seeking a suspended or outright possession order with a money judgement to enforce repayment. Court costs will be
sought and added to the debt if awarded. No interest is charged to tenants, but other costs (such as legal representation) may be requested in Court. Depending on the tenancy type and level of
debt, some possession grounds may be mandatory. An appeal process is available where possession is sought on mandatory grounds. All evictions must be approved by the Income
Manager or an agreed deputy, and a second manager in Housing.

4.1. Mandatory grounds for possession
Raven will normally seek possession using discretionary grounds 10 and 11 in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 where the tenancy breach relates to non-payment of rent, which allows the Court flexibility when deciding on an outcome. In some circumstances, we may use mandatory grounds. For mandatory grounds for possession relating to current rent arrears, an appeal
process will apply. These are detailed in the Rent Maximisation procedure.

Some examples of occasions where Raven may use mandatory grounds include, but are not limited to:

• Persistent and significant levels of debt for 10 weeks or more. This could include cases with repeated broken agreements, lack of engagement from the customer and confirmation that none of the debt is due from Housing Benefit. This action will only be considered where it is allowed within the tenancy agreement and will only be considered as a last resort.
• Assured Shorthold tenancies where there are persistent arrears, or where there are other breaches of tenancy such as persistent Anti-Social Behaviour.
• Specific approval to use Mandatory possession grounds must be sought from the Income Manager with options for an appeal to a Director.
• A Proportionality statement will be made for any applications made on mandatory Grounds.

4.2. Insolvency
Where Raven is notified by the Insolvency Service that a tenant has been granted a Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space), we will comply with this by not making contact regarding arrears for the time specified. We’ll also pause any arrears action during this time. Residents must continue to pay rent whilst under Breathing Space. Failure to do so will result in us contacting the Insolvency Service which may cause the Breathing Space to be ended early.

Where Raven is notified by the Insolvency Service that a tenant has been granted a Debt Relief Order (DRO), Raven will move the applicable debt to a sub-account, except where the tenancy is
a joint tenancy and DRO’s have not been granted for each tenant. Raven will consider taking legal action to recover the property if rent and arrears payments are not maintained.

4.3. Rights and responsibilities
Customers with current rent arrears will be subject to the rights and responsibilities programme. Whilst they will continue to receive agreed repairs and scheduled improvements (e.g. kitchens and bathrooms), applications for tenant dwelling improvements or to rent garages will be refused whilst there is debt outstanding.

Detailed procedures are followed to ensure that accounts are checked, and customers dwelling improvements will be reconsidered when they have met the criteria to clear their debt or keep to an arrangement.

5.0. Former tenant rent arrears

Raven aims to recover former tenant debts and has a process to collect outstanding money. Where it is not possible to contact former tenants, external debt collection agencies may be used,
in line with legislation and Raven’s objectives as a social landlord. The former tenant arrears process is regularly reviewed to ensure fairness.

Specific recovery actions are dependent on the circumstances (i.e. death or abandonment/eviction) and are covered in detail in the Rent Maximisation procedure.

5.1. Last resort for irrecoverable debts
Raven intends to collect monies owed, and may refer debts to a collection service, but recognises that there are occasions when it will not or cannot pursue payment. Customer circumstances,
reason for and age of the debt are considered when pursuing.

Raven will make provision for bad debts in its accounts and write-off debts deemed to be irrecoverable, although debts may be re-instated later should circumstances change, or the tenant wishes to be rehoused. The process for writing off debt at different values is agreed by the Board and set out in Standing Orders. The Audit Committee will approve write offs of the highest debts and will see an annual report.

6.0. Leaseholder service charge arrears and shared owner arrears

All leaseholders and shared owners must pay sums demanded in line with the terms of their lease. This is normally either on demand, monthly or quarterly depending on the charge.

Raven acknowledges that many owner occupiers have low household incomes and may find their homes difficult to afford. Wherever possible, we will work with customers to keep to arrangements to clear debts where they cannot be cleared in a lump sum. This includes referral to Moneywise or other support services for financial assessment. Raven aims for residents to clear leaseholder debt within timescales specified in the procedures. Interest may be charged depending on the terms of the lease.

Raven also acknowledges that a number of leaseholders are absent landlords who rent out their properties purely on a commercial basis. In these circumstances, Raven has a more commercial relationship with the customer and expects any charges to be paid in full at the time due.

Failure to clear debts could result in a money judgement order or a tribunal decision to determine the debt or forfeit the lease. Raven may also approach the relevant mortgage lender to request payment for outstanding arrears.

7.0. Garages/licence debts

Garage and other licence debts are considered lower priority than arrears payments for a dwelling from the same customer. However, all debts to Raven are important for Income maximisation. If a
customer has rent arrears, even if their garage account is not in arrears, Raven may end the garage licence to enable the customer to focus their payments on bringing their rent account back into line. If garage debts are not cleared, the customer will be given notice to quit and the garage repossessed. The debt will become a former tenant debt and will be pursued using the former tenant arrears process. Raven rarely negotiates repayment terms for garage debt. Applications for a garage will not be approved if a customer has rent arrears unless in exceptional circumstances and approved by the Income Manager.

8.0. Impact of welfare reform

The impact of the spare room subsidy, benefit cap and in particular Universal Credit all have a significant impact on some of Raven’s customers. As well as putting measures in place to collect debts, Raven has also developed measures to support customers to manage the impacts of welfare reform.

These include raising awareness, providing information, budgeting skills, support to make claims and deal with complex cases, offer employment support, help to get online and schemes to help people move home. Raven will take a firm but flexible approach to supporting customers affected by Universal Credit to reduce their debt, based on the principles set out in this policy. We will support tenants and be flexible in the waiting period with payments provided that ongoing substantial payments are put in place from the first payment from Universal Credit. If customers’ fit into the vulnerable criteria set out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) then Raven will apply for direct payments to mitigate risk of rent arrears. Raven may also apply for direct
payments where there has been a history of direct payments from Housing Benefit, where there are current rent arrears, or a history of rent arrears. Where Universal Credit is in place and a repayment plan has not been agreed, or not been adhered to, Raven may apply for rent arrears deductions according to the criteria set out by the DWP.

8.1. Exceptions

As with any policy, there may be exceptional circumstances or individual cases that Raven needs to consider differently. For example, where there are significant safeguarding issues, or where
there are extenuating circumstances outside of the customer’s control such as a pandemic or a cost-of-living crisis. In these cases, additional flexibility will be considered. We will consider the
debt and risk to Raven as well as the customers’ circumstances and may provide different or more flexible terms if appropriate.

For clarity this policy does not cover any debt to Raven owed by staff or former members of staff. This is covered in separate guidance managed by the HR team.

8.2. Key responsibilities
On a monthly basis, the Income Manager will report and comment on arrears levels for rented tenancies to the Senior Leadership Team.

The Income Manager will ensure that mitigations are in place to respond to any identified risks, as per the risk register, and that the Income team are properly resourced to carry out their tasks.

The Board will receive information regarding rent collection and arrears, as part of their performance information. In addition, the Board will receive internal audit reports and an annual report.

On a monthly basis, the Homeownership Manager will report and comment on arrears levels for all leasehold, shared ownership and commercial properties to the Senior Leadership Team. Any trends, fluctuations or anomalies will be highlighted and addressed.

8.3. Training
Raven will provide employees with relevant training, clear policies and procedures so that they can deal effectively with customers who have fallen into arrears or are struggling to pay. Training
will include awareness legal action and of the wider issues associated with rent collection, including welfare reforms.

8.4. Monitoring and reporting
Raven monitor performance relating to this policy and set annual targets for income collection. We measure performance through regular collection of relevant key performance indicators and
internal audit and report this to our Senior Leadership Team and Board.

Raven also carries out quarterly tenant satisfaction surveys and analyse complaints to make improvements to how we work.

9. Applicability

9.1. This policy applies to leaseholders, shared owners, tenants, licensees and other customers (including any commercial relationships) that may be required to pay Raven, some or all of the following:

• Rent (current tenancies)
• Service charges
• Charges for support services (specific to Sheltered housing additional paid services)
• Ground rent
• Costs awarded at Court
• Recharges for work in default (such as repairs and removal of items)
• Rent or service charges for a former tenancy
• Garage rent/licence charges
• Other miscellaneous charges

10. Related policies and references for more information

Rent and service charge policy

Homeownership policy

11. Implementation procedures

a. The rent maximisation procedure is used for rented customers and sets out how debt is recovered from them.
b. The Homeownership procedure for debt recovery sets out how we recover debt from
c. This is not a customer facing policy as it only applies to customers with debt

12. Policy impact

12.1. The policy has a direct impact on any customer owing money.
12.2. The impact assessment sets out the impact on customers  due to protected characteristics.