South Essex Homes Achieves HQN: MIST Accreditation
The Housing Quality Network Accreditation: MIST (Maximising Income: Sustaining Tenancies) has been designed to assess how well a landlord manages its rent related income streams, including all the activities associated beyond rent collection itself. This includes supporting new and existing residents to build and maintain successful tenancies, providing money advice and help with benefits, training and skills development and income maximisation work.
The accreditation provides an independent assessment of the Income Management Service, applying an objective, rigorous and challenging scrutiny process, which focuses on the things that matter. The accreditation is designed to recognise and reward organisations which maximise their own and their customers income.
South Essex Homes’ HQN re-accreditation took place in March 2023 and the process commenced with a pre-assessment. This involved providing a summary and evidence of the work we do, including our performance trends for the past 5 years. The assessment focussed on the following key areas;
- Customers and communities
- Income collection
- Arrears prevention and recovery
- Welfare reform
- Financial Wellbeing
- Value for money
Following the pre-assessment submission, at the end of March 2023 interviews took place with the assessor Tony Newman, a consultant from HQN. Tony spoke with residents and several members of the Income Management team, Tenancy and Support Services team, Housing Maintenance and Lettings team and the Citizens Advice Service Southend.
As part of the interview process, a review was undertaken of multiple accounts, looking at a range of tenants that were in arrears or in credit with their rent account. The review of accounts assessed how our policies and procedures were implemented at all stages of a tenancy, including but not limited to pre-tenancy checks, reviewing sign up documents, introductory and secure accounts in arrears with their rent and reviewing the support we had provided to assist residents in sustaining their tenancies. The account reviews and interviews provided an opportunity for the assessor to also review our partnership working both internally and externally to provide the best possible service to our residents.
We are very pleased and proud to announce that following the scrutiny of our Income Management Service the HQN panel awarded the HQN MIST accreditation to us for the fourth time, successfully maintaining our accredited status since we first joined the scheme back in 2012. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all the team members involved in delivering a robust and effective Income Management Service.
Thank you and well done to everyone involved.