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Housing Associations urged to help poor

from "UK Landlord" magazine, March 2007

A report by the University of Salford looks at successful measures taken up by housing associations which have helped some of England's poorest households with their financial problems.

The authors of the report are calling on social housing landlords to consider the various schemes already set up by some housing associations to deal with financial exclusion. These include Manchester Methodist Housing Association which set up a not-for-profit scheme that has lent more than £1.75m in personal and business loans to over 2,500 people in the past six years. Other examples include Broomleigh Housing Association which is working with local trading standards officers to deal with loan sharks as well as local credit unions, advice agencies and local authority benefit teams to combat financial exclusion among its 12 ,600 tenants.

Many tenants in social housing depend on benefits for all or part of their income, and are among the two million adults in the UK without a bank account. Salford University says that it makes good business sense for housing associations to help their tenants reduce debts, which almost always include rent arrears. It is calling on housing associations to establish a network of community banking partnerships with credit unions, debt advice agencies and local authorities.

For more information on the report "Community Access to Money: Social Housing Landlords Reaping the Benefit", email Jennifer Powell at .

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