“Many more tenants are struggling to pay their rent than shown by arrears figures alone.” These are the people who are at risk of future arrears and may be putting their health and wellbeing at risk in order to pay the rent.

That’s the key message from the Holding onto Home research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and a collaboration between Sheffield Hallam University, where the core research team are based, Qa Research, the Chartered institute of Housing, HQN and Andrew Burdett Design.

It focuses on the main cause of tenancy failure: rent arrears. By exploring the behaviours and experiences of tenants and landlords, this research provides evidence and guidance which will improve landlords’ tenancy sustainment policies and practices, making it easier for tenants to pay their rent and fewer tenancies failing.

Despite increases to the state pension and the national living wage, the cost of living continues to bite for many households. Gas, electricity and water bills are going up, inflation is on the rise and the latest rent increase is about to hit.

This will force residents to prioritise their payments and make sacrifices to ensure the bills get paid. It is imperative that social landlords put advice and support in place to help all tenants manage in these difficult times.

This event will explore what landlords should be incorporating into their day to day income management (and wider) practices.

You will hear directly from organisations involved in the original Holding onto Home research as well as drawing on examples of good practice elsewhere in the sector.

We’ll explore a range of initiatives, from supporting financial wellbeing to providing furnished tenancies.

Bring all your teams along. If you deal with customers, it’s an important part of your day job.

Key sessions include:

• Paul Hickman and Kesia Reeves, Sheffield Hallam University, on the Holding onto Home guidance for landlords
• Case studies from the Holding onto Home research:
  • WHG
  • Stockport Homes Group
• Lessons from Wales and ClwydAlyn
• Hull City Council – successful approaches.

Why attend?

• Hear from the authors about the Holding onto Home good practice guide on tenancy sustainment
• Ask questions and discuss your concerns with colleagues across the sector
• Hear directly from landlords involved in the research on their learning and what is working in their organisations
• Learn from others trialling their own approaches providing practical advice and top tips for everyone involved in tenancy sustainment.

Essential for:

• Housing management teams
• Customer services teams
• Financial inclusion and income management teams
• Tenancy sustainment teams
• Allocations and lettings teams
• Managers responsible for wellbeing.

Chloe Fletcher, Director, HQN

Chloe has worked in the social housing sector for over 25 years, since her first role in housing management with JSS Pinnacle as a trainee housing officer. She completed a Masters in Housing with Professional Qualification at the London School of Economics and then moved into housing policy, working on behalf of the London boroughs, initially for London Housing Unit and then London Councils. She joined the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) in 2007 working with members, government officials and wider housing stakeholders to develop NFA policy and support the ALMO movement. She brings her wide range of housing management and policy knowledge to HQN as director, working across the business and bringing her skills and experience to the whole social housing sector.

Paul Hickman, Professor of Housing and Social Policy, Sheffield Hallam University

Paul is Professor of Housing and Social Policy at Sheffield Hallam University. Over the last thirty years, he has conducted research on a range of subjects including: tenant participation in the social and private rented sectors; the impact of welfare reforms, including Universal Credit, on both landlords and tenants; Housing Benefit; and, the lived experiences of poverty. He has a particular interest in tenancy sustainment in social housing and has led a number of studies in this area. These include the on-going ‘Holding onto Home’ study for the Nuffield Foundation. The study pays particular attention to identifying the causes of rent arrears, as this is the main reason why tenancies fail. By exploring the behaviours and experiences of tenants and landlords, the research will provide evidence and guidance which, it is hoped, will help landlords to develop and improve their approaches to tenancy sustainment.

Kesia Reeve, Principal Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University

Dr Kesia Reeve is a Principal Research Fellow in Housing at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University. During Kesia’s 25 years as a housing researcher she has managed and delivered 50+ housing research and evaluation projects funded by: national governments and government departments; national charities; local authorities; public sector health bodies; and housing associations. This extensive body of research has generated more than 100 outputs for a wide range of audiences. Her research interests focus on aspects of housing deprivation and exclusion including in the social and private rented sectors, and in relation to homelessness. Much of Kesia’s research is policy-oriented, designed to inform housing policy and practice.

Suzanne Mazzone, Executive Director of Housing Services, ClwydAlyn

Suzanne joined ClwydAlyn in October 2018 having previously worked as the Homeless and Commissioning Manager for Flintshire County Council. Suzanne is passionate about preventing homelessness and working to improve services for the most vulnerable people in our communities.  Initially joining ClwydAlyn as Head of Income and Service Improvement, Suzanne led on and implemented our aim to end evictions from social housing. 

In September 2020 Suzanne was appointed as Executive Director of Housing Services with responsibility for Social and Affordable Housing Services, Rent Collection, Resident and Community Involvement and Customer Services.  She is also a Board Member for Well-Fed, a food enterprise working to end food poverty across North Wales

Robert Frost, Income Operations Manager, WHG

Leanne Merga, Head of Income and Money Advice, Stockport Homes

Victoria Webb, Policy Group Disability and Health Support Directorate, DWP

10:30am Welcome and introductions

• Chloe Fletcher, HQN, Director

10:35am Holding onto home – guidance for landlords

• Paul Hickman, Professor of Housing and Social Policy, Sheffield Hallam University

• Kesia Reeve, Principal Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University

Paul Hickman and Kesia Reeve from Sheffield University will introduce the guidance for landlords that came out of their research project ‘Holding onto Home’.  The research, published In December 2024, explored the behaviours and experiences of tenants and landlords in relation to rent arrears and tenancy sustainment.  Paul and Kesia will outline the three main priorities which provide landlords with a framework for developing tenancy sustainment strategies, as set out in ‘Promoting tenancy sustainment in social housing: a guide for social landlords’.  They will also take part in the panel discussion after the two case studies have talked about their work.

10:55am Case study

• Robert Frost, Income Operations Manager, WHG

Robert Frost from WHG will talk about their approach to tenancy sustainment with a particular focus on the elements that were picked out in the ‘Holding onto Home’ research project.  He will talk about their ‘Clever Conversations’ protocol, community champions model and how they regularly engage with tenants at highest risk of being in rent arrears.

11:15am Case Study

• Leanne Merga, Head of Income and Money Advice, Stockport Homes

Leanne Merga from Stockport Homes will talk about their approach to tenancy sustainment with a particular focus on the elements that were picked out in the ‘Holding onto Home’ research project.  He will talk about their low eviction rate and the strategies they use to ensure that, how they make sure every conversation counts and their wider approach to tackling poverty including the Your pantry scheme.

11:35am Panel discussion and Q&A

11:50am Break

12:10pm Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper

• Victoria Webb, Policy Group Disability and Health Support Directorate, DWP

Victoria will talk about DWP’s plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. She will outline the detail of the Green Paper out for consultation and answer your questions about what it is likely to mean for you tenants.

12:40pm Supporting tenants in the round

• Suzanne Mazzone, Executive Director of Housing Services, ClwydAlyn

Suzanne Mazzone from ClwydAlyn will share the way they tackle tenancy sustainment which is inextricably linked to the anti-poverty mission that they started five years ago.   She will outline how they work with partners across their area to support tenants with a wide range of problems including rent arrears, gambling addictions and domestic abuse with advice, financial support and managed moves to try to get to the root cause of tenancy issues.

1:20pm Closing remarks from the chair

• Chloe Fletcher, Director, HQN

1:30pm Close

If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.