On Wednesday 8th December we held a session at one of our housing projects to speak to residents about rent.
We wanted to help break the stigma that rent conversations are negative and remove any feelings of it being about “chasing someone for money”, and more about our team being here to support people to manage their home and finances.
Our aim was to encourage tenants to speak openly about their finances and barriers to making rent payments and any difficulties they may have or have experienced in the past, so we could help them to find solutions or access any support they need.
At Petrus we believe there is a lot of value in co-production and find it incredibly important that people we support help to shape the services we deliver. During the sessions, they shared opinions on how they would like our rent services to look like.
They said they would welcome support from staff and text reminders to make payment for service rent charge and asked for notice boards at properties so our teams can share useful financial support and advice. We also spoke with service users about their views on alternative ways to pay rent and they advised that this should be explored on an individual basis as everyone has different circumstances.
During the sessions, we discussed factors that impact individual’s abilities to manage rent payments, what information and support they would benefit from while being supported by Petrus and things that would prepare them for moving on to their own homes.
Ideas they shared included:
- Understanding welfare rights
- Knowing where to go for help
- How to open a bank account so they can set up direct debits and standing orders
- How to save money by getting the most competitive deal with an energy supplier
We're so pleased that the session went well and our residents have asked that we hold more sessions every couple of weeks, where we will ask what topics they would like us to cover to empower them to successfully manage their accommodation now and in the future. We look forward to holding further sessions to cover the topics they identified during our first session.
A massive thank you to Sweet Deceits for donating cakes and brownies for our rent session, these were enjoyed by our residents and we’d like to thank owner Laura Barton for coming along especially to our housing project to deliver them.
If you or someone you know is looking for financial or housing support, please contact our Hub team on 01706 526289 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 4pm) or email petrus@petrus.org.uk