Housing associations and welfare reform: facing up to the realities

 This is the second case study report from the Ipsos MORI and Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research work programme for the National Housing Federation. It is based on interviews with 15 housing associations over the period January and February 2014.  Overall, associations see themselves and their tenants as effectively managing the impacts of welfare reform, particularly the size criteria and the benefit cap at present.  The impact of other measures such as the changes to council tax benefits, non-dependent deductions and incapacity benefit/employment and support allowance were so far seen as of less importance. The imposition of JSA sanctions was a rising issue.  On the size criteria, staying and paying was the most common tenant response. Arrears had risen in almost all of the case study associations but the rate of increase in arrears had slowed since the summer in some areas.  Mutual exchanges were increasing from a low base, but transfers were limited in most associations. Some tenants have given up their tenancies and moved back with parents or were sharing with friends. The extent of movement to the private rented sector was unclear.  Finding work was recognised as a key solution for tenants but it was not proving easy. Part-time work or self-employment were often all that was available.  Discretionary housing payments were very important but were seen as temporary solutions and had the downside of ultimately delaying other responses. The differences in the criteria employed as well as in implementation between local authorities were major issues.  Fewer tenants than expected were being affected by the Benefit Cap. It was not a major issue for most associations, although clearly very important for affected tenants. The big concern for associations was how the Cap threshold might be reduced in future years.  None of the case study associations was directly involved in any Universal Credit pathfinder. Their concerns around the roll-out of Universal Credit focused on data access, direct payments and monthly payments in arrears. Associations were concerned that data protection issues would prevent effective information sharing to enable the appropriate implementation of managed payments to associations.  All associations recognised that their relationship with tenants needed to be developed further and become more systematic but that this approach would be costly. Increases in staff costs had been considerable, even though some costs had been absorbed through restructuring. Bad …