Job Description

Accommodation Officer

Maidstone

Contract

£17.70 per hour

Our client is looking for an experienced Accommodation Officer.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

- To work across a patch delivering housing and tenancy management to residents living in the Councils own accommodation and temporary accommodation (and from time to time delivering these services to customers of our private rented homes and Gypsy and traveller plots).

- Be the point of contact for residents throughout their tenancy, including sign-ups and explaining their obligations and the responsibilities of the Council to the resident under the relevant tenancy agreement or licence.

- Resolve tenancy enquiries and take responsibility for managing tenancy enforcement actions where tenancy conditions are broken, whilst working with others in our wider teams to support customers to sustain their tenancies as much as possible. Write clear, easy to understand but legally correct letters.

- Manage cases of anti-social behaviour and hate incidents, ensuring cases are recorded and customers kept informed throughout case management.

- To complete regular inspections of council owned properties ensuring adherence to Health and Safety legislation and regulation including fire safety, gas and electrical certification and asbestos � this list is not exhaustive.

- Be responsible for the completion of health and safety compliance checks, risk assessments, including fire risk assessments, and ensure these are recorded and actioned in line with MBC�s responsibilities for health and safety.

- Raise repairs and carryout inspections to owned accommodation and communal areas, ensuring adherence to regulation and legislation.

- Manage void properties to ensure a rapid turnaround, making the property ready and available for re-letting within target timescales.

- Log and monitor repairs, compliance actions and voids works in the patch and work with the Asset Management Team and contractors to ensure these are delivered within target.

- Work with the Housing Finance Team to closely manage income collection and proceed to tenancy enforcement actions required to collect debt, including where necessary eviction.

- Take responsibility for the delivery of personal and team performance targets.

- Work with our Housing and Inclusion teams to sign-post customers being housed following homelessness to access support, including ordering supplies such as bedding and kitchen utensils as required.

- Respond to customer complaints, using the Council�s Complaints Policy and Processes always meeting target response times.

- Record all tenancy management actions, customer interactions and health and safety inspections in an accurate and timely way in the shared IT systems and databases used by the Housing Teams.

- To maintain accurate and up to date records of client details.

- To be able to work effectively as part of a team.

- To attend out of hours meetings and appointments as required and to participate in an out of hours on-call rota for households in TA and other council managed accommodation.

- Commitment to the Council’s Strategic Plan

- To undertake any training and development as required

- To comply fully with the Council’s Equal Opportunity and Safeguarding Policies

- To comply fully with the Council’s Health and Safety at Work Policy

- To assist as required in the Counci’s Emergency Plan

- To comply fully with the Council’s IT Security Policy

- To undertake other duties commensurate with the grade of the post

A Chartered Institute of Housing recognised qualification and/or extensive experience of working in Housing Management.

An understanding of legal proceedings in relation to housing including tenancy management

Highly skilled computer system user including housing management systems, Microsoft office, word and excel

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Experience of working with vulnerable housing customers and homeless households

Experience of housing management including lettings, voids, repairs etc

A thorough understanding of Safeguarding including domestic abuse and risk management.

PLEASE ONLY apply if you have the necessary skills, experience and expertise.

The first part of our recruitment process is to send your CV. Should you be short listed Colbern Limited will contact you within 5 days or we may contact you about other job opportunities. Colbern Limited along with our clients are an equal opportunities employer