Bristol City Council, who have around 28,000 council homes, have improved rent collection by over £1.3m in twelve months by being able to offer the right support at the right time to residents in need.

The improvements were facilitated by using RentSense and their income consultancy service.

Bristol City Council wanted to halt rising rent arrears and offer timely support to their residents to help them avoid unmanageable debt, many of whom had been adversely impacted by the pandemic.

Mark Kempt, Income & Leasehold Manager at Bristol City Council, said: “Our consultant at Mobysoft, Nick Beasley, knew how to get the best out of RentSense system and had expertise on how to build a high performing team and embed it within a council. So it was trying to use that expertise in a way that suited Bristol.

“The objectives looked at customer support, collection rates and also officer usage of the system.”

Compared to this time last year (Jan 2021 with Jan 2022) Bristol City Council have reduced arrears by £177,000 and have exceeded 100% collection rate in several months over the last year, with average collection rate now 99.3% — a 1.1% improvement on the previous year and an increase of over £1.3m.

“The income maximisation service was a huge bonus as well. We are on a journey in terms of changing our approach and having that knowledge and expertise on hand to support the service and best practice has been great,” concludes Mark.

Paul Evans, Chief Commercial Director at Mobysoft, said: “Working with Bristol has been a great experience for Mobysoft, as Mark and the rest of the team have worked really well with Nick, and the officers hard work in supporting the right tenants has helped the council and its residents in what is a particularly hard time for many.”