How Vico HomesHelped tenants pay arrearsas they shop
Project at a glance
Executive Summary
Vico Homes, formerly Wakefield District Housing, is one of the largest social landlords in the North of England, managing 30,000 properties. Many tenants face financial challenges, with local wages below both regional and national averages and many households affected by deprivation and fuel poverty.
Vico Homes partnered with Housing Perks to give tenants a simple way to save on essentials and contribute to rent and arrears while they shop.
The Challenge
Vico Homes wanted to find an innovative way to support tenants struggling with rent arrears without asking them to choose between everyday essentials and rent payments.
The live case study highlighted a challenging local context: average wages in the area are lower than both regional and national levels, 16% of the population live in areas ranked among the top 10% most deprived in England, and 15% of households are considered fuel poor due to low energy efficiency and high heating costs.
Vico Homes needed a practical, scalable solution that could support tenants through everyday spending while helping rent contributions become a regular habit.
The Solution
Housing Perks partnered with Vico Homes to deliver a solution allowing tenants to contribute to their rent arrears as they shop.
Through the Housing Perks mobile app, tenants can earn savings from everyday purchases at participating retailers, which are automatically applied towards their rent arrears.
This removes the need for tenants to make difficult financial decisions, while making paying arrears feel simple, regular and connected to spending they were already doing.
I really like the app. Being able to contribute to my rent while I shop takes a few seconds and costs nothing. Why not?
Set up in days not weeks
DAY 1
App launch: no integration or development needed
The Housing Perks app is free to download for tenants. Our app prioritises data security and is compliant with social landlord security standards.
DAY 2
Tenant promotion: emails, flyers and newsletters and website article
The Housing Perks team provides templates, designs and copy which converts tenants to download the app and start saving.
DAY 3
Tenants save on essentials and contribute savings to rent arrears
All with zero extra admin for the social landlord or development time needed. The Housing Perks team remain on hand to support.
The Impact
High engagement with measurable savings.
Since launch, 6,000 tenants have signed up and spent £2.5m in the app.
This activity has helped tenants save £100,000 in total while paying £50,000 directly into rent and arrears.
The figures show how everyday shopping can become a simple route to easing financial pressure, supporting household budgets and strengthening rent payment habits.
Ready to get started?
See how Housing Perks could help your tenants, with zero admin.
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Security and compliance
Protecting our social landlords and their tenants is our highest priority
Housing Perks is certified by HM Government backed Cyber Security Essentials scheme for both standard and plus. All our data in stored in the UK on Google Cloud services, with the highest levels of encryption available. Housing Perks is registered with the Information Commissioners Office.
