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High praise for Income Management’s support for tenants

Colleagues have been praised for helping tenants maintain their tenancies by avoiding or resolving financial problems, following an audit of our Income Management Service.

We have maintained our Housing Quality Network (HQN) accredited status and HQN’s report states that ‘Bolton at Home demonstrates a clear customer focus and listens to customers’.

As well as ensuring we stay financially healthy through collecting rent, our Income Management Service plays a leading role in helping tenants to manage their money where they need support.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that we’ve been highlighted as organisation that listens to tenants and treats them fairly,” said Craig Tyldesley, our Head of Revenue Services.

“While it’s our job to ensure rents are paid on time and kept up to date, for us income management is far more than this.

“We work with tenants to help them achieve better financial wellbeing, for example sharing tips on budgeting, lowering their bills and keeping up-to-date with any welfare changes.

“Our team also does a lot of work behind the scenes to spot when families are at risk of financial crisis and take early action to help people stay in their home.”

The report described how we have a ‘patient but focused arrears case management’ with a ‘person-centred strategy’ for reducing debt, rather than simply following a standard, letter-based procedure.

It added: “We already rated this service as excellent and amongst the very best that we have seen”.

Gemma Parlby, our Director of Housing Services, added: “Like any organisation, we need to keep money coming in to remain financially healthy, to ensure we can continue delivering our services, and paying our staff and suppliers.

“However, what this report confirms is that we do this in a caring and person-centred way and offer the right kind of support to people who really need it. I’d like to thank the whole team for their dedication and willingness to put tenants first.”

We have 47 staff working in income management roles, across Revenue Services and our Money Advice Team.

Each year our Money Advice Officers help 1,000 households to be better off by £100 per week on average through budgeting, benefit entitlement and lower bills.

The HQN was established in 1997 and provides advice, support and training to housing associations, councils and other housing providers to promote industry best practice.

Holding the HQN accreditation for income management shows that an organisation operates efficiently, effectively and economically to deliver an excellent service to tenants.

It also shows an organisation delivers a value for money service, giving its tenants and other stakeholders peace of mind that it is delivering its objectives.