RentSense Top Tips: Quick Wins to Maximise Income Collection
For social landlords, the challenge of maximising income collection for social housing has never been greater. Stretched budgets, increasing regulatory scrutiny, and rising tenant expectations – driven by Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) – mean that housing associations must optimise their income management strategies. With the Financial Year End fast approaching, it’s also a crucial time for income teams to fine-tune their processes to ensure financial targets are met, rent arrears prevention is prioritised, and effective rent collection strategies are in place.
To support RentSense users (and income teams in general), we’ve gathered expert insights from Mobysoft Income Maximisation Directors, Nick Beasley, Liza Crowther, and Mark Walker. Below are their top tips – all designed to deliver quick wins that help maximise rent collection efficiency and improve financial outcomes for social landlords.
1. Arrangement Reviews: Cleanse, Amend, and Optimise
With year-end looming, now is the time to review, cleanse, and amend existing tenant repayment arrangements. RentSense’s advanced arrangement logic helps income teams identify and prioritise broken arrangements, ranking them based on the size of the breach.
Quick Wins:
- Identify and address failed arrangements: RentSense automatically flags broken arrangements so that income officers can act promptly.
- Prioritise breaches based on severity: Focus on cases that pose the greatest financial risk.
- Encourage tenants to renegotiate arrangements before debts escalate.
Proactive social housing rent collection means addressing minor breaches before they become major arrears problems. RentSense streamlines this process, ensuring income teams are working with the most accurate and up-to-date data.
2. Direct Debit Checks: Catch Issues Before They Escalate
Direct Debit (DD) payments form a crucial part of income collection efforts within social housing. However, incorrect calculations or missed payments can lead to arrears that quickly spiral out of control. RentSense flags broken Direct Debits and those not paying enough, ensuring they are intercepted before becoming a problem.
Quick Wins:
- Review Direct Debit payments regularly to spot any incorrect calculations.
- Use RentSense’s automated flags to identify tenants underpaying via Direct Debit.
- Ensure prompt intervention to adjust payment amounts where necessary.
By preventing Direct Debit failures, income teams can improve collection rates and reduce the volume of arrears cases requiring manual intervention.
3. Advanced Caselist: Stay on Top of Cases
During peak periods, like year-end, income teams face increasing workloads, including UC verification, rent changes, and broken arrangements. RentSense’s Advanced Caselist feature ensures no case is overlooked, enabling teams to work more efficiently.
Quick Wins:
- Use the ‘Unactioned’ tab to identify cases requiring urgent attention.
- Streamline workflow by focusing on high-priority arrears cases first.
- Automate routine tasks to free up officers for complex case management.
By leveraging RentSense’s automated prioritisation, income officers can work smarter – not harder – ensuring all necessary actions are taken before deadlines hit.
4. Universal Credit Verifications: Act Early to Prevent Arrears
Many tenants rely on Universal Credit (UC) housing cost payments, but delays or incorrect claims can cause rent arrears to accumulate.
Quick Wins:
- Identify tenants whose UC claims need renewal before payments are missed.
- Use automation to send reminders to tenants requiring action.
- Reduce unnecessary arrears cases by ensuring UC payments are up to date.
By tackling UC-related arrears early, income teams can prevent avoidable rent collection issues, improving overall financial stability.
5. Reporting and Data Insights: Spot Trends and Act Fast
Data is a powerful tool in social housing income management. RentSense’s reporting capabilities help income teams identify first-time debtors and repeat arrears cases, ensuring targeted interventions that support both tenants and officers.
Quick Wins:
- Use Heat Maps to identify arrears hotspots at estate and neighbourhood levels.
- Detect first-time arrears cases early and intervene with tailored support.
- Track repeat arrears cases and develop long-term strategies to improve payment behaviours.
RentSense transforms income collection for social housing by providing actionable insights, allowing teams to focus on the right cases at the right time.
6. Multi-Channel Communication: Increase Contact Rates
Effective tenant engagement is key to maximising rent collection efficiency. RentSense enables income teams to leverage multiple communication channels, ensuring the highest possible response rates.
Quick Wins:
- Use SMS, email, and automated calls to reach tenants quickly.
- Segment tenants based on contact preferences for a more effective approach.
- Improve engagement rates by ensuring messages are timely and relevant.
A multi-channel strategy increases tenant responsiveness, improving overall social housing rent collection outcomes. By using real-time data analysis to refine contact strategies, RentSense enables income teams to work more effectively, ensuring that the right tenants are contacted at the right time with the right method – far outperforming a generic AI-driven contact strategy. This leads to improved engagement rates, faster arrears reduction, and better overall rent collection outcomes.
7. Supporting New Tenants: A Strong Start Prevents Future Arrears
New tenants are often at risk of falling into arrears early on. RentSense analytics enable social landlords to provide early interventions, ensuring new tenants establish good payment habits from day one.
Quick Wins:
- Identify new tenants at risk of arrears and intervene early.
- Offer support and guidance to help new tenants manage rent payments.
- Use automation to encourage positive payment habits from the outset.
By supporting new tenants effectively, housing providers can reduce workloads and prevent long-term rent arrears.
8. Automation: Focus Resources Where They Matter Most
Automation allows income teams to prioritise high-risk cases, nudging low-risk tenants into positive payment habits without excessive manual intervention.
Quick Wins:
- Automate reminders for those with a history of missed payments to keep them on track.
- Free up officer time for complex cases that require in-depth support.
- Use AI-driven insights to ensure resources are allocated effectively.
With RentSense’s automation, income collection software for social housing becomes more efficient and cost-effective.
9. Performance Reports: Balance Productivity and Quality
Measuring income team productivity is important – but so is ensuring quality interactions with tenants. RentSense’s performance reports allow managers to track both.
Quick Wins:
- Measure case resolution quality to ensure interactions are effective.
- Track productivity levels while maintaining high-quality interventions.
- Use insights to refine team workflows, improving both efficiency and effectiveness.
By balancing workload and quality, income teams can maximise rent collection efficiency while ensuring positive tenant relationships.
Unlock the Full Potential of RentSense
As social landlords navigate financial year-end pressures and increasing regulatory demands, RentSense provides game-changing efficiencies that transform social housing rent collection. By following these quick-win strategies, income teams can maximise rent collection, reduce arrears, and meet financial targets with confidence.
Want to see the results for yourself? Read our latest case studies to discover how RentSense is helping social landlords achieve record arrears reductions. If you’d like to learn more about how RentSense and its supplementary modules can support your income collection strategy, get in touch via our Contact Us page today.
