City Housing Authority Achieves 94% On-Time Payment Collection with Resident Portal
CityHousing replaced paper-based rent collection with an APS-powered resident payment portal. On-time payment rates jumped from 71% to 94%, and staff time spent on collections dropped by half.
CityHousing administers 6,200 affordable housing units across 14 properties. Rent collection relied on in-person cashier windows, money orders, and a legacy IVR phone system. On-time payment rates hovered around 71%, and the collections team spent roughly 40% of their time chasing late payments.
APS implemented a branded resident payment portal with ACH, debit card, and cash pay-at-retail options. Automated payment reminders via SMS and email were configured 5 days and 1 day before each due date. APS also integrated directly with CityHousing’s property management system for real-time posting.
Within two months of launch, 68% of residents enrolled in autopay. On-time collection rates reached 94%, and the collections team was redeployed to tenant services. Annual late fee revenue — previously a budget dependency — dropped by $210K, a figure the authority views as a positive outcome for residents.
