Holding on to Home study publishes key findings and guidance for social landlords

The final outputs from the ‘Holding on to home: tenancy sustainment in social housing’ study from Sheffield Hallam University, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, have been published, including the key findings - Tenancy sustainment in social housing - and guidance for social landlords endorsed by CIH's chief executive Gavin Smart.

The two-year study into tenancy sustainment in social housing, conducted between March 2022 and September 2024, looked at the causes of rent payment difficulties, and rent arrears, in particular.  It also shows the sacrifices tenants make to avoid falling behind with their rent highlights the difficulties and sacrifices tenants face paying their rent. The study also examines landlords’ approaches to tenancy sustainment, and how they communicate and interact with tenants and tenants’ engagement experiences.

Tenancy sustainment, and the drivers of rent arrears/ difficulties paying rent, are relatively under-researched areas so the research and final outputs published address important gaps in knowledge.

Key findings from the study include:

• Many more tenants are struggling to pay their rent than shown by arrears figures alone – a survey as part of the project found that 9 per cent were in arrears but 70 per cent were struggling to pay their rent. Significantly, 69 per cent were making sacrifices (not eating, selling possessions, borrowing money or not using heating) to afford their rent. This means there may be a significant number of social housing tenants at risk of rent arrears but not known to their landlords as needing support.
• The introduction of Universal Credit (UC) appears to have increased tenants’ risk of rent arrears – analysis of rent account data found that tenants in receipt of UC were at greater risk of accruing additional rent arrears.
• Analysis of rent accounts revealed that payment patterns fluctuate from one month to the next. This means tenants cannot be easily categorised into those who do/can and those who do not/cannot pay their rent.
• Survey and interview data revealed that those tenants most in need of support were the least likely to seek it out, with anxiety and stigma being the greatest barriers to accessing support

Professor Paul Hickman from Sheffield Hallam University, who led the study with Dr Kesia Reeve, said: “The research has clearly shown that rent arrears are primarily caused by tenants’ financial circumstances – low income, precarious employment, indebtedness, lack of savings - rather than their budgeting capabilities or motivation to pay. Tenants actively avoid falling into arrears, even if it means prioritising rent payments over other essential items and are generally skilful money managers.” 

Recommendations from the report suggest that when developing interventions to improve rent payment levels, landlords should focus on activities to maximise tenants’ income, rather than activities to improve motivation or financial capabilities.

The research has also called on the government to rethink their approach to the implementation of UC.

Dr Catherine Dennison, Programme Head, Welfare, at the Nuffield Foundation, said: "We welcome the team’s systematic analysis revealing the challenges faced by significant numbers of those living in social housing in paying their rent, and the sacrifices that this frequently requires. We encourage social landlords and national policy makers to take note of their recommendations, including to work with tenants to maximise their incomes through all available routes.”

The report is accompanied by a guide for social landlords - Promoting tenancy sustainment in social housing. Endorsed by CIH, it provides evidence and guidance to help social landlords develop and improve tenancy sustainment policies and practices. The guide includes practice examples from the Holding on to Home case study landlords.

Commenting on the guide for social landlords, Gavin Smart said: "The guidance set out in the Holding on to Home report will be an invaluable resource for social landlords."

"Tenancy sustainment is a critical issue for all social landlords especially given the marked increase in financial and other pressures on tenants and residents in recent years. Importantly, the guidance presented here is evidence based, both from extensive survey work with tenants and residents and in valuable case study examples from the partner social landlords involved in the study.

"In some places the guidance will be confirmatory, supporting and reinforcing our understanding of existing good practice, in other places the guidance documents new and innovative approaches, drawn directly from the experience of tenants and residents and social landlords as well as from specialists in disciplines that can bring new insights to these issues. This guidance makes a value contribution to an important topic and is a welcome contribution to the resources social landlords can draw upon as they consider how best to support tenants and residents to sustain their tenancies and their home, which, after all, is the purpose of our sector."