Halton Housing Trust's campaign to target customers who fail to pay their rent on time has taken to the road as the message is rolled out on buses across Runcorn and Widnes.

The "If you don't pay, you can't stay!" campaign highlights to customers that paying their rent must be seen as a priority and not something they can put off for another day. And, the Trust wants to remind its customers at every opportunity it can.
 
While offering a package of support to customers who fall in to financial difficulty, the Trust also has to recover the money it is owed in outstanding rent. This then enables the Trust to provide a wider range of services and improvements in customer's homes.

The posters which appear along the outside of the buses and again inside reinforce the message that failure to pay rent will not be tolerated and also points out who to contact if they are having financial problems.

Since the launch of the campaign in December 2007 many customers have responded positively, leading to a reduction in outstanding arrears by £123k.

However, for those who have failed to take action to resolve the problem the Trust has taken a tough stance against persistent non-payers. Last year (2007/2008), 26 customers were evicted from their home and a further 25 have received warrants for eviction which are due to take place within the next six weeks.

Nick Atkin, Chief Executive of Halton Housing Trust, said: "We have had a really positive response to the 'If you don't pay, you can't stay!' campaign with many customers contacting us for support or settling their unpaid rent. Other customers have welcomed our approach to recover monies owed to us, recognising that this is then used to invest in improving services and the quality of our customer's homes.

"However, there is still a significant amount owing to the Trust and we have to take steps to recover this because rents are the Trust's main source of income and pays for the housing service customers receive."