I am a Income Recovery Officer for council / social housing in the midlands area. AMA.

[songbird3086]

seen these and thought I’d give it a go if any one is interested in knowing more or needing any advice etc. Income recovery is of rent (obvs) and arrears, also enforcement comes under my role.

What surprised you most after taking on your job?

What are the main reasons people fall into arrears? Do you help them with tenancy sustainment/ maximising benefits etc? I'm not assuming all social housing tenants are claiming benefits of course !

I've been doing it for 2.5 years now and I was shocked at the level of support and understanding. I was expecting a much harsher job whereas in fact it’s much more communication and support based.

I do offer money and debt help as part of the role. To be honest the people that are chronic miss spenders are the minority.
personally I see a lot of families supporting each other financially wether rightly or wrongly. Keeping up with the jones is definitely a part of it which before the job I would of heavily judged but I understand more now.
The frustrating part is because we are very focused on support which I fully agree with it leaves room for some ( again minority ) to fully exploit the help and take without giving back.

Tenancy sustainment is huge and yes I attend UC appointments ( don’t get me started on UC!) to help people who are sanctioned and not claiming housing costs as well as other benefits