Gandlake

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), the only social housing organisation in the North East to have achieved a three star excellence rating from the Audit Commission, is using Gandlake Enterprise Layer technology to improve tenants’ access to and understanding of their rent accounts.

The software, aimed at further improving tenant communication allows tenants with internet access to log on and examine their rent charges, levels of housing benefit, benefit overpayments, payments made by themselves and any money they owe to YHN.

This means they will no longer have to wait until their local housing office opens or spend time on the phone waiting to speak to a member of staff.

YHN Director of Finance and Resources Ross Atkinson said: “Gandlake’s Housing Rents Online aims to make it simpler for tenants to keep track of their rent by offering a secure area on our website which allows them to view details of their account online. This will ultimately enable YHN to make some paper, staff and cost savings as well as improving our customers’ overall online experience.”

It will mean YHN can cut the costs in staff hours, paper and postage that are involved in sending out around 200,000 sheets of paper to tenants every year and reducing amounts of paper used will cut the organisation’s carbon footprint.

Gandlake’s Housing Rents Online also includes an online user guide that should help reduce calls and face-to-face enquiries from tenants.

Over the coming months, YHN also hopes to provide email and text message directing tenants to the online rent section of the website when there is new information for them to view, and expand the system so that staff can view the information as it appears on the tenants’ computer screen.

Gandlake managing director John Gandley said: “By complementing YHN’s existing channels of communication with the new online service, customers can migrate at their own pace to a ’self serve’ culture over time. I’m confident this will enable YHN to deliver a broader and more cost-effective service to its customers.”
ENDS

For more information on Gandlake:
www.gandlake.com
http://blogs.24dash.com/robdefelice

For more information on Your Homes Newcastle:
http://www.yhn.org.uk/home.aspx

Or contact:
Will Mapplebeck, Press Officer, Newcastle City Council
Phone: + 44 (0) 191 211 5076

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