Private Rented Sector - Portsmouth, United Kingdom - Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council
Verified Company
Portsmouth, United Kingdom

1 month ago

Tom O´Connor

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter
Description

Fixed Term Contract until 31 st
March 2024

Salary:
Band 7 £ 27,852 - £32,020 p.a.**
37 hours per week

The Service:


Portsmouth City Council's Housing Needs, Advice & Support Service works directly with customers to help resolve housing issues and prevent homelessness in the city.

It is a busy front-line service dealing directly with customers, many of whom are vulnerable and/or facing homelessness. The service assesses and advises customers on the Housing Needs, Advice & Support available to them.

It also provides support services to vulnerable people and rough sleepers, which includes temporary accommodation where necessary, and works collaboratively with both housing and support providers across the city to help people move into a long term, settled home.


Job Purpose:


The purpose of the role is to help our customers who have, or have been at risk of, homelessness to be able to attain long term, settled housing.

This will include working with customers who need short-term tenancy support to ensure the sustainability of their new accommodation.

This means helping customers with claims for welfare benefits, maximisation of their income, managing their household budget, working closely with partner agencies, when needed, to achieve positive outcomes.


This will include they understand the terms of the new tenancy agreement, set up rent payments and to mediate with landlords if issues occur.


The role will require developing a professional working relationship with landlords across the city to identify safe, decent homes which are available for rent, negotiating tenancy arrangements on behalf of customers including rent deposits and rents as appropriate.


What is the role?

Support the customer to prevent homelessness

  • Based within the Housing Needs, Advice and Support Service, this role will be attached to the Private Rented Access Team. The role will work closely with the Assessment & Advice Team and Rough Sleeping Services, including those services commissioned by Housing Needs, Advice & Support to deliver accommodation based support to homeless people.

Support the customer in finding the suitable accommodation

  • This role will support a range of customers who need to help to, secure accommodation in the private rental sector. This may be temporary housing whilst decisions are made about the council's duty, but the aim for every customer is to help them to secure a long term, settled home.
  • The council has several approaches to helping tenants access the Private Rented Sector, and you will meet with prospective landlords, with other housing professionals, to assess property suitability and match prospective tenants to the right property which meets their needs.
  • The role will work across landlords, customers, partners and the council in to understand what help and support is required to achieve sustainability of accommodation.
  • This role will need to develop positive working relationships with landlords and customers, of the Private Sector Accommodation

Support the customer in managing the property and prevent homelessness

  • Once customers have secured and moved into their home, your role will be to support them to maintain a working tenancy and resolve problems if they occur.

Depending upon the specific arrangement, this could include:

  • Ensuring landlords who are part of the scheme comply with current and future legislation changes.
  • Support the customer with tenancy issues either about the property or complaints made about the landlord
  • Supporting customers to pay their rent and dealing with rent arrears.

Who is the person?

You will be someone who:
Experience

  • Must have experience in the delivery of housing, rough sleeping, or homeless services, either in the voluntary, social, or statutory sector
  • Ideally has worked with vulnerable customers, supporting them to sustain successful tenancies
  • Ideally has previous experience of working with customers in a challenging frontline service and be comfortable visiting customers in their home.
Knowledge

  • Has uptodate and detailed knowledge of the current issues in homelessness and rough sleeping at a local and national level
  • Understands or is willing to learn the relevant legislation with respect to tenancy management
  • Has knowledge and experience of the benefits system in relation to housing, including Universal Credit and Housing Benefit
  • Has an awareness of the diversity within Portsmouth's private housing market, and the options for temporary and move
- on accommodation.


Skills:


  • Is selfmotivated with the autonomy to make decisions and implement improvements where necessary.
  • Can understand customers' needs and translate them into finding the right accommodation for the individual customer.
  • Have excellent people skills with the ability to resolve conflict, but have a sympathetic, friendly, and empathetic manner to be able to understand the situations of our customers.
  • Good
More jobs from Portsmouth City Council
See all jobs of Portsmouth City Council