Housing professionals reveal views on Universal Credit

Published by 24publishing for allpay Limited in Housing and also in Legal, Local Government, Universal Credit

A survey collating the views of housing professionals on the impacts of welfare reform and Universal Credit will be unveiled by payment collection specialists allpay this week at the National Housing Federation’s Housing Finance Conference in Coventry.

The survey, which can be taken on the day by delegates for a chance to win an iPad 2, asks housing professionals their views on what the post-Universal Credit landscape might look like - how residents will pay their rent and at what frequency, whether Universal Credit will streamline the benefits system and whether they believe direct payments to tenants will still be the default position under Universal Credit by 2017.

allpay currently works with nearly 75% of the top 400 housing associations - providing the full suite of payment options to their residents - and will be unveiling a range of new and enhanced products and services to support landlords through the changes.

They include:

• Launch of allpay Mobile – a new pay-as-you-go service offering residents a unique reward package linked to their rent accounts. Every time a resident tops up their allpay Mobile account, allpay will contribute 10% of the top-up value to their rent account - which will go direct to the landlord. 
• A new version of allpay’s rent Payment App allowing housing staff to take payments when visiting households.
• Planned enhancements to its Direct Debit service which already collects payments on every date of the month – a key requirement for Universal Credit.
• Its new Legal services division will be unveiling the key employment challenges landlords have identified for the years ahead. It's also offering a free employment audit - where it will audit contracts of employment, service agreements and employment handbooks - when signing up to its fixed-price retainer package.  
• Offers on selected products and services including 15% off any Print & Design order to help customers engage their residents in welfare changes and 25% off implementation fees for its Cashless payments service currently being used by North Hertfordshire Homes in four of its flexi-care schemes.

To find out more about any of the above, book a meeting with an allpay representative for the conference or visit stand 92 during the event.

Just email marketing@allpay.net for more information.  

The Federation’s Housing Finance Conference and Exhibition takes place on 20-21 March 2013 at the University of Warwick, Coventry.

Take the Universal Credit survey here.