Job Details
ROLE PURPOSE:
To support the Housing Register and Allocations service in delivering an effective and responsive service to Hillingdon residents with a housing need. The post holder will be responsible for daily temporary accommodation placements and promote effective move-on to other permanent housing, including intermediate and social housing. To post-holder will support case by case allocations of social housing and maintenance of the Housing Register and transfer list and assist with the resolution of accepted homeless cases to ensure the service is responsive to client needs within available resources and ensuring agreed team plans and performance targets are delivered. This will involve providing advice and guidance to individuals supporting and directing clients to access a broad range of housing options and where appropriate making relevant onward referrals and signpost to other services. The post holder will ensure statutory requirements are met and local team targets are delivered through case working.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
To contribute to investigating and assessing all applicants under the Housing Act 1985 and Housing Act 1996 (Part VI) to assess whether housing is required.
To support the prioritising of housing applicants in the appropriate category and banding in line with the Council’s allocation policy and other guidelines. To assist in writing and serving decision letters on all applications.
To contribute to the maintenance of the choice based letting system which enables applicants to bid for properties, including the advertising and marketing of available properties.
To support appropriate nominations and allocations to all permanent accommodation that the Council owns or has nomination rights to. To do so within agreed timescales to minimise voids / re-let periods.
To be responsible for the daily booking of clients into B&B and temporary accommodation. Support the placing of households into emergency accommodation, where required, including households for social care services. To support reception and late duty rotas (outside office hours) if required to ensure that all customers approved for emergency accommodation are placed on the day.
To make contact with households in temporary accommodation where needed to provide them with advice and guidance on the full range of housing options available to them and manage their expectations, taking into account their needs and aspirations, their priority on the Housing Register, where this applies, and ability to sustain other options, including intermediate housing options and private rented accommodation.
To support the development and implementation of temporary accommodation tenancy checks, investigate cases where there is concern that temporary accommodation has been abandoned, sub-let or misused and where appropriate, assist in taking action to discharge the Council’s homelessness duty.
To work with members of the Team to monitor bidding activity across households in temporary accommodation and offer support to those households who require assistance, in order to help them make informed choices about their future housing.
To support the making of referrals to relevant services or departments, including the Council’s medical officer, social care services and housing options services and contribute to investigate high need or exceptional cases.
To encourage and help homeless households in temporary accommodation to comply with their licence or tenancy conditions. Where there is a serious breach of duty (including harassment, anti-social behaviour and hate crime) and/or the Council has discharged its homelessness duty, ensure the accommodation is withdrawn and recovered as efficiently and quickly as possible , where appropriate to do so.
To provide accurate advice to households regarding their offer and consequences of refusals.
To provide telephone and reception services as needed for customers with rehousing enquiries, including participation in section rotas.
Umbrella Rate – £22.47
