Housing Options Officer

HOUSING OPTIONS OFFICER - £15 - £17 AN HOUR FULL TIME - 6 MONTHS

ABOUT THE ROLE

My client who are a large Council are looking for an experienced officer required to carry out full Housing Options interviews of potentially homeless applicants both in person and by telephone. It will involve making thorough investigations into individual Housing situations to prevent homelessness where possible. Also to investigate and make formal decisions on the Councils statutory responsibility towards applications received under part 7 Housing Act 96, as amended by Homelessness Act 2002.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

To be responsible and advise potentially homeless applicants of all the housing options available to them to prevent homelessness through housing advice and liaison with other voluntary and statutory agencies and private sector landlords

Liaise with other Officers in the section or other Council departments in an attempt to prevent homelessness

Contact private landlords to negotiate on behalf of the applicant to prevent homelessness

Complete referral forms to supported housing schemes and attend nomination panels if required

Liaise closely and carry out joint visits to tenants of Homes in the area or local Registered Social Landlords when required ie when an applicant is threatened with eviction

Arrange placements of homeless families in temporary accommodation as and when necessary and assist in the management and monitoring of temporary accommodation in respect to supply and demand

Assist in the management of the temporary accommodation units including the hostel and short term leased properties

Deal with all correspondence, telephone enquiries or face to face enquiries concerning applicants threatened with homelessness

You will need to have knowledge and experience in the following:

Experience of working with homelessness people

Knowledge of Housing Act 1996 as amended and extended by Homelessness Act 2002. Along with, knowledge of Landlord and Tenant legislation and private sector housing issues and Supporting People regime and Supported housing issues

Meeting targets

Managing change

Ability to write reports and statistical data

Good organisational and time management skills

Ability to manage a heavy workload

Experience of being a team player and of being able to work on own initiative

Capability to listen and negotiate and influence effectively

To apply for this role please send your CV or please call.