Housing Officer (AR)

Job Details

ROLE PURPOSE:

To provide a customer focused, proactive and high-quality tenancy/leasehold, neighbourhood management service to general needs and sheltered residents. Enable our residents to hold sustainable tenancies, ensuring customers can actively engage in decision making, to create neighbourhoods where people want to live. Ensure tenants and leaseholders comply with the terms of their tenancy/lease in respect of housing and tenancy management and take appropriate action to remedy any breaches. To build effective relationships with residents, increasing resident satisfaction and quality of life. To identify, and provide support to our more vulnerable residents, ensuring they are linked into support services and the local neighbourhood. To lead on a programme of tenancy audit visits, updating business intelligence held for the people and places we manage.

ROLE DUTIES:

1 Responsible for the day to day management of a patch of tenancies, leases, and licences, to include sheltered housing, to ensure all agreements are adhered to and action is taken to address breaches where appropriate.

2 To maintain up to date knowledge of relevant housing and leasehold legislation and case law in respect of tenancy, neighbourhood, and estate management. To develop an excellent understanding of H&F policies and procedures relating this and to apply these appropriately in day to day working.

3 To identify fire safety issues on our estates and in resident homes, to give advice and report issues to appropriate departments to ensure risk is reduced and we comply with guidelines and best practice. Work with the Estates & Fire Safety team to action any recommendations for housing management from fire risk assessments within required timescales

4 To plan, co-ordinate and undertake a tenancy audit of your patch, visiting all properties within an agreed timeframe to build our business intelligence of the people and properties we manage.

5 Working with the voids team to deliver an effective voids/re-letting process which minimises void rent loss by working closely with internal teams and external contractors to meet performance targets.

6 Carry out all sign-up interviews in line with agreed policy and procedures. To ensure tenants have all the information they need at the start of their tenancy to fully understand their rights and obligations under the tenancy agreement, and to enable them to successfully sustain their tenancy and reduce the incidence of tenancy breakdown in the borough. Identify any support needs and signpost to relevant agencies

7 Make the best use of our housing stock by identifying and supporting residents to be in the right home, through application of moving on policies and products, such as beneficial transfers, Homes and Countryside Moves and Homeswapper.

8 Give good quality housing advice to residents on all tenancy and estate management services, and signpost people to partner agencies to increase residents’ access to services and improve their satisfaction with LBHF.

9 To lead on investigations into illegal occupancy, sub-letting and squatting to repossess properties speedily and minimise loss of income to LBHF.

10 To manage and make decisions on all tenancy change applications, including succession, discretionary awards of tenancy, assignment/mutual exchange, and joint-tenancy applications, applying relevant policy, procedures, and legislation to ensure applications are processed promptly and in accordance with housing law and H&F policy.

11 Manage the review and assessment processes for introductory and secure/flexible tenancies. To decide whether tenancies should be made secure or terminated and manage resulting actions within agreed timescales. To have delegated authority to serve an NPP or/and NOE to extend and terminate tenancies.

12 Take a lead on ASB management, ensuring a victim centred response where cases are resolved quickly through partnership working and the effective use of relevant tools and powers. To include enforcement action for breaches of lease including co-ordination of applications and responses to First Tier Tribunal cases, representing H&F at tribunal hearings.
13 Deliver a victim centred approach towards victims of domestic violence by responding quickly and sensitively to reports from customers (within 24 hrs), supporting victim, referring to specialist DV services and taking tenancy action, where appropriate, against the perpetrator. To make referrals to MARAC where appropriate

14 To have delegated responsibility for service of Notice of Seeking Possession and Notice to Quit in cases of tenancy breach or non-occupation. To instruct legal and prepare the court case and documents, in conjunction with legal services and represent the department in court and at evictions, giving evidence and presenting the case on behalf of H&F.

15 To initiate, convene and chair professional’s meetings, multi-agency meetings and case conferences on behalf of the department, to manage and resolve complex housing cases.16 To identify safeguarding issues through the course of your duties, making appropriate referrals and convening safeguarding meetings where required.

17 Establish strong relationships with tenant & resident association representatives and to act as a key source of advice and support, enabling them to increase their involvement in LBHF service delivery and decision making.

18 Develop and maintain effective relationships with relevant stakeholders including health services, third sector, voluntary groups, police, contractors, internal and external customers (tenants and leaseholders), colleagues, and community organisations.

19 Respond to emergency situations on our estates, such as power losses and floods, including outside of normal working patterns. Providing on-site support and reassurance to residents, identifying vulnerable customers and being a visible presence.

20 Investigate, resolve, and respond to enquiries and complaints from residents, members, and MP’s within agreed timescales, to identify and implement improvements to the service, ensure that customer service standards are met, and customer satisfaction is continuously improved.

21 To deputise for the housing manager and to supervise the work of the housing support officers.

22 Officers are required to attend evening meetings when required and to participate in Forums and events outside of office hours when needed, in line with LBHF guidelines.

Umbrella Rate – £26.89