Housing Income Collection Policy

1. Introduction

1.1  Norwich City Council is a mid-sized, urban authority with a retained housing stock of approximately 14,000 properties.

1.2  The total for rent and other tenancy related charges due for the housing stock for 2025/26 is just over £81million.

1.3  The term ‘rent’ applies to both basic rent and other charges, like district heating and water charges, where appropriate.

1.4  The rent charged allows Norwich City Council to:

• maintain council homes and estates
• provide kitchen, bathroom and electrical upgrades
• build more council homes
• provide a first-class housing management service to our tenants

1.5  The collection of rent and arrears is managed by a specialist Housing Income Team.

1.6  Analytics are applied to all rent accounts on the Council’s Housing Management System to prioritise the officers’ caseload and this is refreshed on a weekly basis.

1.7  Norwich City Council aims to provide the most efficient and responsive service to maximise rental income from residential and garage tenancies and prevent or reduce arrears for the benefit of all our tenants.

1.8  We will be sensitive to our customers’ needs but will pursue recovery action that is proportionate and fair, wherever necessary.

1.9  The income policy will assist the Council to meet its corporate plan objectives; by reducing debt level and maintaining revenue it will contribute to the corporate themes of creating a fair, prosperous and vibrant city.

1.10  The policy will also assist the Council in achieving the strategic objectives of the local housing strategy, homelessness strategy and ‘best value’ in the use of its resources.

2.  Relevant legislation

2.1  Housing Act 1985
2.2  Housing Act 1996
2.3  Protection from Eviction Act 1977  
2.4  Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlord

3.  Policy details  

3.1  Norwich City Council is committed to providing a high quality, reliable and accurate income collection service for its tenants.

3.2  Our aim is to maintain and sustain tenancies by offering support and advice around rent payment to our tenants at all points of contact. We will encourage the uptake of welfare benefits for residents suffering financial hardship and provide advice about what this entails and where further assistance can be found.

3.3  We will actively consider the vulnerabilities of our tenants throughout the recovery process with specific reference to Norwich City Council’s vulnerability framework.

3.4  Norwich City Council promotes the importance of a rent payment culture to our tenants.

4.  Principles of arrears recovery for all tenancy types

4.1  Norwich City Council will make early contact with tenants where rent arrears are accruing. Contact may be made if one week’s rent is outstanding.

4.2  Contact will take several different forms including telephone calls, emails, text messages and home visits.  Our tenants can opt out of receiving text messages or request a specific contact method by advising us of their communication preference. Their preference will be recorded on our Housing Management System. We will continue to use any or all of the aforementioned communication methods until our tenants notify us of their preferred method. We can tailor our approach if the tenants require specific forms of contact, for example, we can provide translated letters where English is not the first language or provide a translator for telephone calls or in-person contact; provide letters in large print where there are sight issues or ensure that contact is by verbal means if the resident has literacy difficulties.

4.3  A home visit will be undertaken prior to each significant stage of the process and at any other time deemed necessary, depending on the circumstances. This includes but is not restricted to; prior to the service of a Notice of Seeking Possession, prior to a court referral for a possession hearing and prior to an application for a warrant of possession.

4.4  At each contact the Income Officers will discuss the individual’s financial situation and offer to make a repayment arrangement, which is affordable for the tenant and acceptable to the council.  These arrangements will be monitored and if broken, prompt contact with the tenant will be made to discuss the reasons for the breach.

4.5  Norwich City Council will provide rent statements if requested.  We also promote the Council’s Housing Online service whereby, tenants can create an account online, which allows them to view their rent account at any time.

4.6  Where a tenant also rents a garage from Norwich City Council and is in arrears with the residential rent, consideration will be given to repossessing the garage so there is more money available to pay off the residential arrears as this should be the priority.

4.7  If repayment arrangements are continually broken Norwich City Council will follow the income collection procedure and progress each case as appropriate for the different tenancy types.

5.  Secure tenancy recovery action

5.1  The first legally required stage of the recovery process involves serving a Notice of Seeking Possession (NSP).  This must be fair and proportionate action and there must have been three recent and varied contact attempts in the previous six weeks.  At least one of those contact attempts must be a home visit.  The NSPs are requested by the Income officers and checked by the Team Leaders to ensure that they are correct and that the process has been properly followed.  In exceptional circumstances, such as abandonment, there is some scope for the Team Leaders to use their discretion if the required number of contacts have not been completed in the required timeframe. A minimum of four weeks’ notice (ending on a Monday), of the Council’s intention to pursue possession action must be specified in the NSP. The NSP remains valid for one year from the date of expiry.

5.2  Following the service of the NSP, it is still possible to make a mutually acceptable repayment arrangement and avoid the immediate referral for court action.

5.3  Further breaches of that arrangement or the failure to make a repayment arrangement can lead to legal action as the next stage of the recovery process.

5.4  This could include an application to the County Court for a possession order where the arrears are significant and are not reducing by a mutually agreed amount based on time taken to clear the arrears and individual circumstance.

5.5  Possession action for secure tenancies is taken under ground one of the 1985 Housing Act.  Ground one is a discretionary one so the Court has to be satisfied that the ground has been made out and that it is reasonable to make a possession order.

5.6  Prior to the court hearing the Court officer will make a number of attempts to contact the tenant in order to agree a repayment plan.  This will be presented to the Court and a Suspended Possession Order will be requested.  This is a payment arrangement formalised by a court order and means that no further legal action will be taken provided all payments are made as required.  There is also the option to ask the court to adjourn the case with repayment terms attached.  The final decision as to what type of order is awarded rests with the judge that hears the case.

5.7  Where the Court officer is not able to contact the tenant prior to the date of the court hearing, an Outright Possession Order will usually be requested if this is considered to be fair and proportionate action given our knowledge of the tenant’s circumstances.  

5.8  If the tenant attends the court hearing, a private discussion will take place between the tenant, their representative (if they have one) and the Court Officer.  If a mutually acceptable repayment arrangement can be agreed at that stage, a Suspended Possession Order or adjournment on terms can be requested. The final decision as to what type of order is awarded rests with the judge who hears the case.

5.9  Cases where there are possession orders in place are closely monitored and prompt action taken if payments are missed.  In the first instance, this would take the form of several contact attempts by various means.

5.10  Where a breach of the terms of the Suspended Possession Order exists, depending on the level of the breach (no higher than £500);  tenants are given the opportunity to make up any missing payments over an acceptable period of time.  If their financial situation has changed, advice is given about varying the repayment terms of the possession order to a lower amount.

5.11  If an adjournment on repayment terms has been granted and breached, further contact attempts will be made by the Income Officer to discuss the situation.  If a mutually acceptable resolution cannot be found the case will be restored to court for a further hearing to request a possession order.  This will either be a Suspended or Outright Possession Order depending on contact and circumstances of the individual.

5.12  Eviction is always the last resort and must always be fair and proportionate.

5.13  Before an application for the warrant for possession is a review of all aspects of the case must take place.  An internal report is compiled to enable this to be carried out in a structured and recordable manner.  This report and the recommended course of action must be approved by the Income and Rents Manager before the application is made to the court.

5.14  Just prior to the point where the internal report is written, the Housing options team will be advised that an application for the warrant of possession is being considered so that they can offer advice to the tenant.  This will give the Housing options team a minimum of six weeks’ notice of the potential eviction.  The Housing options team will be advised of the actual eviction date once it has been set.

5.15  When an eviction date has been set by the County Court bailiffs, the Court Officer will notify the tenant and advise them to urgently seek independent advice from various agencies.

5.16  Norwich City Council will cancel evictions if all of the arrears and court costs are paid prior to the eviction date.  If the tenant wishes to put forward a further payment arrangement or request that the eviction does not go ahead, they will be advised to apply to the court for an application to suspend the possession warrant for a  hearing to consider their offer.

5.17  The decision to suspend the eviction or not rests with the judge who hears the case.  There can be numerous suspensions of eviction warrants throughout the lifetime of the court process.

6.  Introductory Tenancy recovery action

6.1  Introductory tenancies are covered by the Housing Act 1996, part 5 and are offered to all new Norwich City Council tenants.  They last for the first twelve months of the tenancy and can be extended by six months if there are any breaches of tenancy conditions and the correct notice of extension has been served within the appropriate timescale.  One such breach is where rent arrears are accruing.  In this situation we would consider extending the trial period of the Introductory Tenancy.

6.2  An Introductory Tenancy can be terminated more easily than a secure tenancy.

6.3  Initially, the process for dealing with the rent arrears is very similar to that for secure tenancies (section 3 above) with the exception of the letters that are sent out. These are worded differently and are specifically written for Introductory tenants.

6.4  If arrears accrue to a level where court action is considered, the Income Officer will send a letter and continue to make contact attempts via other methods including a home visit.  If there is no response after seven days the Housing Options Team will be advised and asked to consider the case from a potential homeless perspective.  If Housing Options advises that further work is needed, this will be completed by the Income Officer; otherwise the case will be progressed.  

6.5  At this point, the following teams will also be advised that consideration is being given to serving the Notice of Proceedings for Possession (NPP).  This includes, Tenancy Management, the Anti-Social Behaviour Team, Specialist Support Team but this is not an exhaustive list.  Any comments made by those teams should be considered when making the final decision on whether to serve the NPP or not.

6.6  When considering the service of the NPP the Income Officer must check that the expiry date of the NPP, the submission to court and the issue of the court summons are all within the twelve-month anniversary of the date of the original sign up for the tenancy.

6.7  The NPP must be served to give the tenant notice that legal action to repossess the property will commence after the expiry of a minimum of 28 days, ending on a Monday.  Prior to the preparation and service of the NPP, the proposed course of action must be discussed with a Team Leader who will check that the correct process has been followed and the required actions have been taken.  The Team Leader will not provide guidance as to what decision the Income Officer should make, that rests with the Income Officer alone.

6.8  When the NPP has been served, the tenant has the right to ask for a review of the decision to serve it.  This must be requested within fourteen days of service.  The tenant has the right to ask for either an in-person hearing or a written one that they do not attend.  The reviewer must be a person senior to that of the person who made the decision to serve the NPP.  The reviewer has to either uphold or overturn the original decision and must consider the merits of the case when reaching their decision.

6.9  Once the NPP has expired and if no review has been requested or a review has taken place and the decision to serve the NPP was upheld; the case must be reviewed again to ensure that possession action remains fair and proportionate. The case should be discussed with the Team Leader who will authorise court action if the decision to take possession action is agreed.  This decision should always be communicated to Tenancy Management and the Anti-Social Behaviour Team and Specialist Support if they have a vested interest in the case.

6.10  The case will be listed for the next available court hearing and the tenant advised of the action taken.  They will be encouraged to seek independent advice about the possession claim.

6.11  When hearing possession claims against introductory tenants the judges have far less discretion than when hearing similar claims for secure tenants.  So long as the judge is satisfied that the NPP has been properly prepared, is accurate and has been correctly served they must award an Outright Possession Order.  They can however, delay possession being taken for up to 42 days in exceptional circumstances.

6.12  If the arrears are cleared prior to the court hearing the possession claim will be adjourned with liberty to restore.  If there are no arrears at the end of the Introductory period, with Tenancy Management’s agreement, the tenancy can be made secure.

6.13  If the rent account continues to be in arrears, then the case can be restored to court and a further Outright Possession Order requested.  

6.14  The court case remains adjourned until either the arrears are cleared, when a secure tenancy can be considered if the introductory period has passed or  until a possession order has been granted by the court.

6.15  If a possession order is granted, the case must be further reviewed by the Income Officer and Team Leader to ensure that eviction is appropriate and proportionate. An internal report must be completed outlining the history and circumstances of the case and action taken.  This report is sent to the Income and Rents Manager for them to review and then either authorise or deny permission to apply for the warrant for possession.

7.  Financial abuse

7.1  The Care Act 2014 describes ‘financial abuse’ as a type of abuse which includes having money or other property stolen, being defrauded, being put under pressure in relation to money or other property and having money or other property misused.

7.2  Financial abuse is most frequently perpetrated by a person acting in a trusted capacity. This includes family members, friends, neighbours, care workers and other professionals.

7.3  Financial abuse may also be perpetrated by individuals who are initially strangers and seek out vulnerable adults with the intention of exploiting them. This includes mass marketing fraud, identity theft, scams, or rogue traders.

7.4  Where an officer suspects that an individual maybe subject to financial abuse they will illicit more information by engaging in a sensitive conversation with the resident.

7.5  If potential financial abuse continues to be suspected, the officer will raise an adult safeguarding concern with Social Services.

7.6  If financial abuse is suspected, decisions about recovering rent arrears will be made on a case-by-case basis and recovery action may be paused until the situation is resolved.

8.  Budget and Money Advice Service

8.1  Within the Housing Income Team there sits a Budget and Money Advice (BAMA) Team who will take referrals to provide free advice and assistance with multiple debt and budgeting difficulties identified by the Council’s officers within their caseload.  Their remit is to maximise income, identify where savings can be made and to assist with making grant applications.

8.2  Referrals to the BAMA service can be made at any point of the arrears process and can also be made multiple times.  They will assist the customer provided they disclose their financial circumstances to the officer and they engage with service.  If the customer does not do this, the BAMA Team can still assist by signposting the individual to other similar but independent services who the customer may feel more comfortable with.

9.  Deductions from DWP benefits

9.1  Where the tenant is in receipt of attachable benefits such as Universal Credit, the Council can request that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) deducts an amount from that benefit and pays it direct to Norwich City Council. The DWP will consider the application for third party deductions from the Council where the tenant owes rent arrears that are the equivalent of two months’ rent.  The tenant may also request that the DWP pays their rent (Housing Element of Universal Credit) directly to their landlord.  

9.2  Occasionally, managed payments are agreed by the DWP but they do not cover the full amount of rent due because of the under-occupancy charge, benefit cap or water charges being applied.  In this situation, the tenant is required to pay the shortfall plus an additional amount if there are arrears to be repaid.  For more information please check Alternative payment arrangements on GOV.UK 

9.3  It is also possible to request that the DWP make separate deductions to cover water rate debts plus a small amount off the arrears.  The arrears must exceed four weeks gross rent for this to be considered and other deductions, such as for child support will take priority so deductions for water rate debts are never guaranteed.

10.  Equality Act 2010 – Equality Impact Assessments (EIA)

10.1  Prior to a court referral, an EIA will be completed.  This is reviewed and updated prior to taking any subsequent significant action.  This is to ensure that any action taken does not disadvantage people with protected characteristics or other vulnerabilities.    The existence of vulnerabilities does not mean that recovery action will be suspended but Norwich City Council will ensure that the relevant support and assistance is offered to the tenant throughout the process.

11.  Complex Case Strategy meetings (CCSM) (Safety planning meetings)

11.1  These meetings can be called at any point by any Norwich City Council officer where there are concerns for the tenant and/or their tenancy.

11.2  The CCSM can be called at any point during the arrears process where there are concerns (not limited just to the rent arrears) about the residents.  These meetings predominantly involve officers employed by Norwich City Council but can also include external agencies where they are known to be involved with the individual.

11.3  A CCSM is required prior to applying for a warrant for possession where potential vulnerabilities are identified, for example, children living in the property, mental health issues present or known substance abuse issues.  The primary aim of these meetings in these circumstances is to assess whether or not there is any further support available to assist the tenant with maintaining their tenancy.

12.  Specialist Support Team

12.1  Norwich City Council recognises that many tenants have multiple and complex needs which can increase the likelihood of tenancy related difficulties

12.2  The Specialist Support Team’s (SST) principal role is to support tenants whose situations make them more vulnerable, to reduce the risk of eviction and abandonment and increase their ability to manage a healthy tenancy, for the long term.

12.3  The Income Team will make referrals to SST where the officer, through their work with the tenant, identifies circumstances which mean that the tenant falls within SST’s remit for support. The tenant must consent to the referral being made on their behalf.

13.  Interact

13.1   INTERACT provides proactive care and support for adults (18+) registered with a Norwich GP, whose health and/or wellbeing are adversely affected by their housing situation or home environment and experience any of the following:

• Frailty
• Multi-morbidity (two or more chronic health conditions which require complex and ongoing care)
• Complex needs (someone with multiple needs affecting their physical, mental, social or financial wellbeing including frequent users of health and care services)

13.2  Interact is a multi-disciplinary team with staff from other organisations such as Age Uk, Norfolk CAB and Voluntary Norfolk.

13.3  The Income Team will make referrals to Interact where the officer, through their work with the tenant, identifies circumstances that Interact may be able to assist with.

14.  Alternative dispute resolution – Pre-Court Mediation service 

14.1  Norwich City Council has an annual contract with Norfolk Community Law Service (NCLS) to provide this service.  Each month we refer a small number of tenants with arrears who are close to being referred for possession action who we believe may benefit from independent advice and advocacy to help them avoid formal legal action.

14.2  If there is no engagement with either NCLS or Norwich City Council and the arrears are not being reduced by a regular and acceptable amount, then the tenant is likely to be referred for possession action through the court.

15.  Breathing Space (Debt respite scheme)

15.1  Where our tenants are put into Breathing Space we will not contact them about their arrears provided they pay their ongoing rent from the date that Breathing Space was entered. We may contact their intermediary to discuss their case when ongoing payments are not being made.  Where enforcement action is in progress we will place a hold on that action and reassess at the end of the moratorium period.

16.  Debt Recovery Orders (DRO)

16.1  When notified by the Insolvency Service of the existence of a DRO, the Council will monitor the arrears situation for the duration of the moratorium period with the expectation that the ongoing rent, not included in the DRO, is paid as due.

16.2  Possession action can still be sought in these circumstances although the stated amount of DRO debt must not be included in the possession claim.

16.3 Once successful completion of the moratorium period is confirmed by the Insolvency Service the appropriate debt will be written off.  Generally, if the tenancy is in joint names but the DRO is for one party only to that joint tenancy, the remaining party will be pursued for the entire debt and it will not be written off.  In very exceptional circumstances it may be possible to consider a full write off of the debt.  Each case will be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis before making the decision to write off the debt or not.

17.  Credit balances

17.1  We will not hold excessive amounts of credit on rent accounts and regular checks for credits on rent accounts will be carried out.  Those accounts where the credit balance exceeds the equivalent of six weeks rent will be actively reviewed with reference to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.

17.2  Prior to refunding any credit on the rent account, we will check for any other debts owed to the council, such as former tenancy arrears, court costs, rechargeable repairs and outstanding council tax.  We will notify you of those outstanding debts and repay those first.

17.3  When all checks have been satisfactorily carried out, we will arrange the refund of any remaining credit to the individual’s bank account by BACS transfer.

18.  Leaving accounts in arrears when a tenancy ends

18.1  The expectation is that when an individual terminates their tenancy with Norwich City Council, they also pay any monies outstanding on all of their accounts.

18.2  Norwich City Council will actively pursue the recovery of all former tenancy related debts.

18.3  Where a current forwarding address is not available, the Council will use tracing agencies to locate the former tenant and will then contact that person to request payment of the debt.

18.4  Repayment arrangements can be made to repay the debt in instalments over a period of time.

18.5  If the debt is not paid it will be passed to Debt Collection Agencies for them to collect.

18.6  The existence of former tenancy arrears can prevent or detrimentally affect future applications to Norwich City Council for housing.

19.  Complaints process

19.1  If an individual is unhappy with any aspect of the Housing Service there is a complaints process to follow.

19.2  The complaints process can be viewed on the Council’s website.            

19.3  Alternatively, complaints can be made directly to the Customer Contact Team by calling 0344 980 3333.

20.  Summary

20.1  The Council has a sensitive but firm approach to collecting rent and other charges and will consider the vulnerabilities of each individual when making significant decisions about the continuation of that tenancy.  We appreciate that different people have different needs so we do not intend for this policy to be used as a blanket approach for all cases.  

20.2  The Council understands the need to ensure that there can be scope to adjust the income collection procedure in exceptional circumstances.

20.3  We understand that tenants’ circumstances change for a variety of reasons and this often makes it difficult to pay the rent. We have to balance this with the need for the Council to collect the rent due in order to provide an excellent housing service for all of its tenants. 

21.  Review

21.1  We will review this Policy to address legislative, regulatory, best practice or operational issues, otherwise every 3 years.

Published: 19 December 2025
Next review date: December 2028