Contract with us

Direct Debt Line - Contract with us

DDL specialises in providing money advice services to tenants of Registered Social Landlords

Housing providers are quickly beginning to recognise that the provision of debt advice can have a positive impact on their own business. The principle of 'invest to save' is simply another way of thinking about recovering arrears, and its aim is to achieve a successful outcome, for both debtor and landlord by adopting sustainable solutions to the financial exclusion faced by tenants on low incomes.


Research from CRISIS suggests that the cost of an eviction of a single person is £4,500 over a six month period. Tenants evicted for rent arrears still need rehousing, but the whole process can be avoided for those tenants who might have other money problems.

We know that many people on the lowest incomes borrow to make ends meet, may not be able to access mainstream financial services and may have low financial capability. Direct Debt Line's solution is to offer dedicated money advice services that are linked to other financial services to ensure a joined up resolution to the problem of debt that can be resolved with one contact to one organisation.


We can help the client prioritise their debts and maintain a working budget. This means that any disposable income is paid to creditors in order of priority. The result is that the client is motivated because they can see an end to the problem, alleviating the stress which can cause illness, loss of work and family break up, all of which can also reduce available income and exacerbate the original problem.

You may find our brochure for Registered Social Landlords of some interest. You can also download our recent Annual Review. Transact have undertaken some research into the business case for landlords supporting financial inclusion with their recent report, Making the Link.

We currently run telephone-based money advice services for Hyde Housing Association, London & Quadrant Housing Association and are running a pilot for Hexagon Housing. We are anticipating supporting the tenants of seven housing associations by the end of 2008.