Lessons from RentSense Users on Tackling Arrears
As the latest Global Accounts Data highlights, housing providers are navigating a uniquely challenging landscape. Financial pressures are intensifying due to inflation, rising service demands, an ageing population, and a growing emphasis on regulatory compliance. With the Government targeting £45 billion in annual productivity savings through digital transformation, the message is clear: technology isn’t a luxury—it’s essential.
Amid these pressures, the performance gap between housing providers using income collection technology like RentSense and those that don’t has become increasingly stark. Over the past four years, landlords who’ve adopted RentSense have consistently outperformed their peers across three key areas: reducing current rent arrears, former tenant debt, and the overall financial impact of arrears on surpluses.
So, what exactly are RentSense users doing differently? And what practical lessons can the wider sector take from their success?
Rent Arrears Management: The Power of Proactive Intervention
Between 2020 and 2024, RentSense users reduced their current arrears by 10.8%, while non-users saw arrears rise by 4.9%. This isn’t by chance—RentSense equips income teams with the tools to act earlier, smarter, and more efficiently.
By prioritising cases based on urgency and risk, RentSense enables staff to focus on accounts that truly need attention. Early intervention prevents minor issues from escalating, which not only protects tenant well-being but also safeguards rental income.
Take South Yorkshire Housing Association, for example. Prior to adopting RentSense, arrears exceeded 4%. Today, they stand at just 2%, and evictions have dropped dramatically. This proactive, tenant-focused model of income collection is now widely regarded as best practice in the sector.
Former Tenant Arrears: A Forgotten Frontline
Former tenant arrears are notoriously difficult to collect—but RentSense users are bucking the trend. Between 2020 and 2024, RentSense customers achieved a 26.8% reduction in former arrears, compared to an 11.1% increase for non-users.
This is where automation and analytics come into their own. RentSense identifies patterns in arrears and flags high-risk tenancies early—often before a tenancy ends. This early warning system helps teams work with tenants to resolve debts before they become former tenant cases.
Lambeth Council provides a compelling case study here. Since adopting RentSense, the council has reduced its TA arrears by £181,000, achieving a year-to-date collection rate of 95.46%. The automation capabilities of RentSense allowed the council to move away from time-consuming manual processes, enabling more efficient management with a small team of officers. This shift not only improved debt collection rates but also enhanced tenant engagement, increasing customer satisfaction from 65% to 80%.
Reducing Rent Arrears: The Financial Payoff
The true impact of arrears isn’t just measured in percentages—it’s reflected in the bottom line. RentSense users saw a 64.2% reduction in the financial impact of arrears on their surpluses over the past four years, compared to 37.6% for non-users.
This includes reductions in bad debt provision, write-offs, and how these costs erode overall surplus. For the 38 housing providers using RentSense, the difference is stark. Had they performed like their peers, the collective financial cost would have totaled £57.8m over the four-year period.
By streamlining workloads, automating routine tasks, and improving case prioritisation, RentSense frees up officer time for more complex, value-added work. The result? More tenants supported, less income lost, and stronger organisational finances.
Behind the Success: RentSense in Action
So, what are the real-world behaviours and strategies that separate high-performing RentSense users from the rest?
1. Data-Led Prioritisation
RentSense’s AI-powered caselist compliation ensures income teams aren’t bogged down by low-risk cases. Instead, they’re guided by intelligent recommendations that target accounts where timely intervention will make the biggest difference.
2. Automation Where It Counts
Routine but critical tasks—like flagging failed Direct Debits—can be automated. This reduces admin and ensures tenants receive timely nudges that keep them on track.
3. Early Support for New Tenants
Preventative work with new tenancies has been a key success factor for many RentSense users. By identifying potential arrears risks from day one, income teams can offer support before issues arise.
4. Multi-Channel Engagement
SMS, email, and automated calls increases contact rates and tenant engagement. With RentSense’s Intelligent Automation, landlords can tailor messaging by tenant preferences, boosting engagement and responsiveness.
5. Actionable Performance Insight
Real-time dashboards and heat maps help managers spot localised arrears hotspots, track officer productivity, and balance workload with quality—ensuring that performance improvement is both data-driven and sustainable.
RentSense Case Studies: Success at Scale
The benefits of RentSense are evident across a range of housing providers:
- Calico Homes cut rent arrears to 2.42% and FTAs to 1.88%—both beating targets—after implementing RentSense .
- Ipswich Borough Council reduced arrears by 35%, from 2.43% to 1.57%, across nearly 8,000 properties, using early intervention and AI-powered insight to reshape its income service.
- Stirling Council cut gross rent arrears by 22% and has seen notable reductions in court actions after adopting RentSense.
- South Yorkshire Housing Association halved rent arrears from over 4% to 2% thanks to smarter working and tenant-focused engagement enabled by RentSense.
Social Housing Arrears Solutions: Practical Lessons for All
While RentSense may be the common thread, the broader lesson is clear: successful rent arrears management requires a shift from reactive to proactive. That means leveraging automation, focusing on early intervention, and embedding data-driven decision-making at every level.
Even for housing providers not currently using RentSense, these behaviours can be adopted to some degree—whether through refining internal processes, using existing data more effectively, or investing in staff training and development.
Learning From Leaders
The gap in performance between RentSense users and non-users is widening—but this isn’t about competition. It’s about learning from what works and using technology to empower income teams to achieve more with less.
In a sector where the pressure to deliver better outcomes with tighter budgets is mounting, the experience of RentSense users provides a clear roadmap: prioritise smart, automate where possible, intervene early, and use your data to act—not just to report.
As we head into another financially challenging year, social landlords who adopt these approaches will not only reduce arrears but also improve tenant satisfaction, staff morale, and long-term financial sustainability.
If you’d like to learn more about how RentSense can help your organisation achieve similar results, explore our RentSense case studies or get in touch with Mobysoft’s income collection experts for an informal conversation.
Mobysoft AI-powered PropertySense® applications RentSense® and RepairSense® help landlords improve their income-collection processes and the productivity, quality, and sustainability of their repairs service for the benefit of all involved.