Lambeth Borough Council Improves Tenancy Sustainment and Performance Through Intelligent Automation
Lambeth Borough Council has reduced arrears and workload for staff by utilising Mobysoft’s RentSense platform, automation solutions, and income maximisation consultancy support offering. The London borough has seen caseload fall by 20% and a further 22% of workload is now automated. As a result there has been a 13% reduction in UC arrears and a 10% reduction in temporary accommodation arrears. What’s more, general needs arrears have reduced and the authority has not taken any legal action around rent debt, sustaining more tenancies.
Since 2020, rent arrears for English Councils have surged by 16%*, posing a substantial risk for both councils and tenants. To counter the risk of increasing arrears, Lambeth Council sought innovative solutions to alleviate this burden on their tenants and enhance performance. The partnership has yielded outstanding results including a significant reduction in caseload from 3,703 cases down to 2,973, with 650 cases now automated. This represents a 20% reduction in caseload and a remarkable 37% reduction when automated cases are considered.
In addition, a 11.5% decrease in Universal Credit (UC) arrears has been achieved, plus a 11.3% reduction in Temporary Accommodation (TA) arrears, now standing at 10.2%.
Our key aim is to support residents at the earliest possible opportunity in the most streamlined way possible. This was key in introducing RentSense – we wanted to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in managing arrears matters for our tenants.
Chris Flynn, Assistant Director of Housing, Lambeth Borough Council
Speaking of Lambeth’s partnership with Mobysoft, Chris Flynn, Assistant Director of Housing said: “Our key aim is to support residents at the earliest possible opportunity in the most streamlined way possible. This was key in introducing RentSense – we wanted to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in managing arrears matters for our tenants. We also looked at the sector to see what the best were doing as we want to benchmark against them, and when we looked at that RentSense was a common theme”.
“The automation and AI solutions provided by Mobysoft, along with the consultancy, have helped transform Lambeth Council’s operations, enhancing efficiency, reducing administrative burdens, and allowing the team to concentrate on high-priority matters. The council’s performance has significantly improved, with tasks completed more swiftly and accurately. Automation has streamlined the caseload and improved completion rates, resulting in increased tenant satisfaction and better outcomes”.
Mobysoft CEO, Paul Evans, said: “Increasingly social landlords are being asked to do more with less. We are pleased our work with Chris (Flynn) and the team at Lambeth has helped them improve the lives of many tenants and ensure they get the support when they need it.”
A comprehensive case study detailing the increased performance resulting from the partnership has been produced and can be viewed at https://www.mobysoft.com/customer/lambeth-council/