870 letters sent out to Longford tenants as rollout of new rent app gets underway

870 letters have so far been sent out to social housing tenants in Longford informing them of a new rent payment app, MyCoco.

The new service will allow tenants to make payments online for rents, as well as view their transaction history and download invoices, statements, and payment receipts.

While the app is now accessible to all, tenants still have the option of paying at the cash desk, by rent collector, by telephone, or by direct debit/standing order.

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​Longford County Council’s Director of Finance, John McKeon, said the app had been “very successful straight from the launch,” and invited council staff officer Aisling Logan Heaney to deliver a presentation to the chamber and run through the service in depth.

Addressing the councillors, Ms Logan Heaney said the app could be accessed through the MyCoco website and downloaded to the user’s phone and that in addition to the many services it offers, it will also give tenants “a view of where their account stands on any given day and they can make payments towards it.”

To register for their MyCoco app on the mycoco.ie website, each tenant will require their customer number and their personal pin number which will be issued by Longford County Council via letter.

Explained Ms Logan Heaney, “We’re writing to every single one of our tenants to let them know about the service and we will provide them with their customer number and personal pin number they will need. 870 letters have been sent to date and 93 tenants signed up so far. We will be sending another 250 letters each week until each of our tenants have been contacted.

“We’re doing this in a phased approach so this way, if any of our tenants need support or need us to run through things with them, we have the time to give them that support while still running the day to day operations of the unit.”

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She added, “The letter will also contain a QR code for the app store so they can download the app straight from the letter. There will be contact details for myself and Philip so tenants can contact us if they need assistance. On the county council website, under the ‘I Want To Pay My Rent’ page, there is also an instructional video on how to use the app.”

Councillor Paul Ross pointed out that while the app was a great idea, “it’s not for everyone” and queried if direct debit would still be an option for tenants. Fema Flanagan, Financial Management Accountant, replied that the app was simply to provide tenants with an easier method of payment and to digitise the payment process so that people who pay via the cash desk would now also have the option of using the app.

They added, “While the app is there, people still have the option of standing order. It’s ideal to pay by standing order as it’s recurring.”

Cllr Padraig McNamara also praised the app but pointed out that older people should not feel pressured into using it. He asked the council to keep older tenants in mind as many become fearful when they see changes being introduced.

He also added that he hoped tenants payment details on the app were secured.

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According to Longford County Council, the online service has been “carefully developed and tested in collaboration with council staff across Housing, Finance and Information Systems, with strong governance and data protection measures in place.”

While the app - which is available on both desktop and mobile devices - is currently being rolled out to Local Authority housing tenants, it is planned to extend MyCoco to other customer groups, including rate payers, in the future.

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