Housing associations rely heavily on IT systems to manage daily operations and engage with tenants. Providing essential, affordable housing and support to a huge variety of tenants, they depend on reliable technology solutions that keep their services running efficiently.
Therefore, when those systems fail, there can be severe consequences for both the housing associations and the residents they serve. The ripple effects can disrupt everything from rent payments and maintenance requests to customer service platforms and regulatory systems. In serious cases, it could also lead to financial strain and health risks for vulnerable tenants.
In this article, we explain exactly how critical IT systems are in housing associations and what kind of impact they have when they fail. Plus, we explore how ROCC’s cloud solution could resolve your IT woes.
The impact of IT system failures
IT failures in housing associations can affect both the association’s internal operations and the tenants’ quality of life. Here are some of the main challenges IT system failures create.
1. Disrupted rent payments and financial operations
Financial issues may arise from tenant management systems going down, such as the inability to process rent payments properly. This could cause cash flow problems if large volumes of payments are delayed and seriously disrupt the process of collecting rent and other payments.
Housing associations also rely on timely payments to fund repairs, maintenance and other services. A prolonged disruption could result in delays in these essential functions.
Plus, tenants will often face late payment fees, so those on tight budgets will find any kind of financial uncertainty distressing, especially when it is out of their hands.
2. Delays in repairs and maintenance
An outage will also impact housing maintenance systems, leading to delays in processing repairs requests. This is especially damaging if the job is an emergency repair.
For example, if a tenant reports a leaking roof that needs fixing immediately, this issue could go unresolved for days if the system is down. Not only is this incredibly frustrating for tenants, but it also causes serious damage to a property and makes the job more complex and expensive for a housing association further down the line.
3. Communication breakdowns
Swift communication is key for housing associations when responding to tenant requests, including providing updates on repairs and other services. Without the ability to communicate with customer service, tenants can feel isolated and left in the dark. This lack of communication leads to distrust and impacts the relationship between tenants and a housing association.
Some tenants may be impacted by this more than others. For example, vulnerable tenants, such as those with disabilities or mental health conditions, will likely rely on customer services more heavily. For these tenants, failure to get in touch with customer service during an outage could be devastating.
4. Regulatory and legal risks
Housing associations operate in a highly regulated environment. Compliance with regulations is critical, especially when managing sensitive tenant data. If an IT system failure compromises tenant data or leads to missed regulatory deadlines, then significant fines and other legal consequences could be imposed.
Plus, delays to maintenance and repairs could cause a lapse in health and safety compliance, which might lead to penalties or even legal action from tenants. After an incident like this, rebuilding trust can be incredibly difficult for housing associations (and costly).
The cost of downtime
IT system failures are not only disruptive and can seriously impact the relationship between housing associations and tenants, but they are also very expensive.
Whether it’s compensating tenants for missed maintenance services or paying field-based operatives overtime to deal with backlogged tasks, the financial impact on housing associations can be huge.
Not to mention the impact this can have on tenants, who could be hit financially, become incredibly frustrated by any disruption and miss out on vital property maintenance.
Preventing IT failures: How ROCC’s cloud system can help
Given the critical role of IT systems, housing associations must prioritise IT infrastructure that prevents system failures. Fortunately, ROCC’s cloud system delivers 100% guarantees to housing associations, with 100% uptime recorded since its inception over five years ago.
By partnering with ROCC, your housing association can benefit from:
- Regular system maintenance: Routine updates and software upgrades to ensure your system prevents crashes and runs smoothly.
- Cloud-based solutions: Cloud technology offers greater flexibility and resilience, allowing staff and tenants to access services reliably from anywhere.
- Expert IT support: Our customer service team is always on hand to answer your questions and resolve any issues immediately.
- Extensive backup plans: Robust backup systems and disaster recovery plans are in place to ensure data is protected and services are restored quickly if issues arise.
- Strong cybersecurity: Strong cybersecurity measures protect sensitive data and ensure the integrity of IT systems – minimising the risk of cyberattacks.
For IT system infrastructure that enables efficient management of tenant relationships, property maintenance and financial operations, you can’t go wrong with ROCC.
To find out more about how our cloud solution can revolutionise your IT systems, simply get in touch with a member of our customer service team today.
