ROCHDALE Boroughwide Housing is offering thousands of pounds in cash prizes to tenants – just for keeping up with the rent.

Tenants who stay in the black will be entered into an ‘Easter draw’ and given the chance to win two top prizes of £1,000 each.

Nine other sums ranging from £100 to £500 are also up for grabs to those who pay on time.

The organisation has taken out adverts in the Observer promoting the scheme

RBH’s principal housing manager Kath Shaughnessey said the measure helped reduce the amount of time spent chasing up debts and was funded through savings made elsewhere.

She added: "The Easter prize draw is a tenants’ incentive scheme funded from efficiency savings to encourage tenants to clear their year

end balances. All tenants are given clear directives on when and how to pay their rent, but unfortunately we do have to spend a lot of time chasing non-payments.

"This is just one of a range of measures used by RBH to maintain an excellent record of collecting rents and dealing with rent arrears."

But the novel approach has sparked anger in some quarters.

Bev Axford-Hawkes, of Duke Street, Falinge, contacted the Observer after seeing an advert in last Wednesday’s paper.

She said: "If I fall behind with my mortgage I don’t get offered money to keep up, I just get an angry letter from the bank.

"No doubt they will claim it is cheaper to pay out the money in prizes than have people in arrears. But it seems ridiculous that RBH is having to resort to something like this."