Brent Housing Partnership (BHP), the company which looks after council housing in Brent, is now texting tenants to remind them to pay their rent.

Tenants who sign up for the service will get text messages if they fall into rent arrears letting them know their account balance and how much they owe.

Within three months of the service being set up £12,662 of rent arrears was collected as a result of 76 residents receiving text messages.

Director of housing management, Sandra Royer, said: "Most people have mobiles and we found this approach worked very well at reaching our tenants - especially the younger ones.

"We normally send a letter reminding the tenant that they are in arrears and need to pay their outstanding balance.

"Often people forget about these letters so we follow up with a text message which reaches them immediately and reminds them of our contact details and their balance."

Contractors working for BHP will also be sending text messages to remind residents of their appointment with workmen.

Sharon Carter, repairs contact centre manager, said: "Repairs are often booked well in advance and tenants may forget the date their contractor will be visiting.

"Sending a text message the day before the repair work is due to be done ensures the resident will be at home and the job will get done on time."