Housing Officer
| Posting date: | 17 April 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £26,421 to £32,076 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Local Government Pension Scheme |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 03 May 2024 |
| Location: | Barnstaple, Devon |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | North Devon District Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: |
Summary
You will attend to general service requests regarding advice and assistance.
You will assess the housing needs of our clients by office, telephone and home based interviews. You will then provide advice to help them find acceptable solutions to their problems. This will include for example:
(i) Advising regarding Devon Home Choice
(ii) Providing advice to third parties who are acting on behalf of our clients
(iii) Working with other agencies to ensure a co-ordinated approach to maximise the range of advice available
(iv) Early pro-active prevention of homelessness through the provision of comprehensive housing and welfare advice
You will investigate service requests when clients present themselves as homeless or are threatened with homelessness. You will use the Council’s agreed homelessness prevention policies to prevent homelessness. This will include, for example:
(i) Providing advice and financial assistance to help customers remain in their home, or assistance with obtaining accommodation privately
(ii) Liaising with mortgage lenders and other debt advisors
(iii) Mediation with private landlords, letting agents or family members
(iv) Liaison with other statutory, voluntary and external agencies
(v) Advice to private landlords regarding their obligations under the Housing Acts and protection from eviction legislation, etc.
(vi) The provisions of comprehensive housing and welfare advice
(vii) Supporting our clients in court
(viii) Liaison with organisations who are providing tenancy support
You will administer and carry out the Council’s statutory obligations to people threatened with or are experiencing homelessness. This will include, for example:
(i) Undertaking detailed interviews/enquiries to determine homeless applications and notifying applicants in accordance with the legislation, Council performance standards and Codes of Practice
(ii) Liaising with Temporary Accommodation Officers over the placement of homeless persons into temporary accommodation
You will carry out initiatives to promote the Council and the service.
You will support staff training and peer reviews.
You will be appointed to act or speak on behalf of the service on:
(i) Project teams
(ii) Specialist sub-groups
(iii) Multi-agency task teams
You will supervise contractors who are engaged by the service.
You will support the service in meeting its on-call/emergency responsibilities by providing advice by telephone and on-call cover outside of your normal working hours.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.