Bridge Housing Annual Report 2022 - Flipbook - Page 41
RENT COLLECTION
AND REVIEW
Bridge Housing has very low levels
of rental arrears. This is due to our
proactive management of arrears
by the housing team and a range of
initiatives to identify and assist tenants
to reduce their debt. In addition,
pandemic supplement payments from
the Commonwealth Government
assisted tenants to manage and
reduce debt in 2020-21 however these
payments ceased in March 2021.
The result of this saw arrears plateau
across the period at 1.22 per cent for
2020-21 and 2021-22.
Bridge Housing undertakes rent
reviews twice a year to ensure
organisational sustainability. In 202122, we increased our gross rent by
approximately $650,000 per annum.
SUPPORTING OUR
QUALITY TENANCY
TENANTS TO SUCCEED MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
Bridge Housing’s Partnerships and
Support Coordination team is made
up of dedicated specialists who work
with residents and service partners to
provide practical support to sustain
tenancies and support wellbeing.
Their focus is working with our most
vulnerable tenants and assist them
to navigate the complexities of the
service sector through a wellbeing plan
that places the goals and ambitions of
the tenants at the centre of those plans.
During 2021-22 we assisted 294 tenants
with referrals to support and a further
79 tenants by implementing wellbeing
plans and supported them to access
a range of services to enable them to
continue to live independently and
sustain their tenancies.
Our Hand Up Arrears Initiative
enables tenants to engage in financial
counselling and other activities and
programs that help them to address
the causes of their debt and save their
tenancy. This innovative program
has assisted 54 tenants to save their
tenancy, including 26 people in the last
financial year.
Bridge Housing has four tenancy
teams. Three are geographically
based focusing on the North, East and
Western Sydney areas of our portfolio
and the fourth is a programs team
that manages our supported housing
initiatives including disability housing
and our newly formed Housing First
portfolios.
Our Housing Managers work
individually and at a neighbourhood
level to conduct wellbeing and
property inspections for tenants,
respond to neighbourhood issues and
build connections between neighbours
through our annual program of block
meetings.
Coming out of COVID lockdowns in
2021-22 the Housing team completed
over 1,921 tenant wellbeing inspections
and a further 511 tenant wellbeing
checks by phone. We are looking
forward to being out in the community
more in 2022-23.
We work to ensure a fast turnaround
of vacated properties to house those
waiting for a home. In 2021-22, all
vacant properties were leased within
the 14 day regulatory benchmark, for
minor repair works and re-letting. For
those properties where considerable
upgrade repair work is required, we
were able to lease these within 25 days,
which is under the 28 day regulatory
benchmark.
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