More than half of social landlords have reported that their IT systems are limiting their ability to prepare for universal credit.
According to Inside Housing:
The poll of social landlords, carried out by Sheffield Hallam University for software firm Housing Partners, found 56% of landlords think their IT systems are hampering their ability to cope with direct payment ofbenefit to tenants under universal credit.
The poll asked landlords ‘is anything limiting your ability to prepare for direct payments?’, and allowed them to choose more than one answer from a list of options. More than half cited ‘suitability of IT systems’ as a limiting factor with a third of landlords saying it is difficult for them to pull together datafrom different systems.
The report said ‘limited functionality of IT systems and the fact that some information remains paper-based’ is likely to explain why some landlords are finding it difficult to access information on tenants.
The study also found 39% of landlords keep information on more than one electronic system, while 42% keep information on electronic and paper-based systems.
Three quarters of landlords cited ‘availability of data about tenants’ as a factor limiting their ability to prepare for direct payments. The government last month changed the law to allow the Department for Work and Pensions to share personal data with social landlords, councils and charities.
Under universal credit a number of different benefits, including housing benefit, are merged into one monthly payment paid direct to households.