Job title: Accommodation Solutions Officer
Mode: Onsite at Kensington
Contract duration: Until end of December 2025
Main Purpose of the Job
- To support the Accommodation Solutions Team Managers in securing the continuous development, improvement, efficiency and success of the Temporary Accommodation and Resettlement team as a whole.
- To provide housing options advice to households in temporary accommodation and promote effective move-on to other permanent housing, including intermediate rent, private rented and social housing.
- The post holder will also undertake suitability of accommodation reviews and related enforcement activity, work with accommodation providers and other services to resolve complaints and tenancy support issues; and support the implementation of a programme of tenancy audits. The post holder will assist in handling more complex suitability reviews and enforcement cases, including providing written statements to support the interests in judicial review cases or in response to other legal challenges.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
The post is responsible for a portfolio of services which may be altered from time to time but currently includes responsibility for:
- Follow policy and procedures to successfully place singles persons and families into suitable accommodation
- To make the most appropriate, equitable and cost-effective use of available resources, ensuring that all lettings comply with statutory requirements and policies
- Undertake assessments of suitability when offering accommodation
- Organise and/or facilitate with storage of goods and removals when necessary
- Assist with the management of the team's telephone lines and email inboxes and respond to customer queries regarding their accommodation.
- Liaise with the Procurement and Contract Management Team to ensure the most suitable available property is offered to the applicant
- Complete housing benefit forms and other forms as required
- Refer households for floating support when the need for assistance is identified
- Collect medical documents from the customer to appropriately refer an applicant for a medical review
- To visit households in temporary accommodation 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 and ability to sustain other options, including intermediate housing options and private rented accommodation.
- To monitor biding 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 signpost and refer households in temporary accommodation to other agencies as required, including employment and training providers, supported housing services, children's services or adult care.
- To encourage and help homeless households in temporary accommodation to comply with their licence or tenancy conditions, but where there is a serious breach of duty (including harassment, anti-social behaviour and hate crime) and/or has discharged its homelessness duty, ensure the accommodation is withdrawn and recovered as efficiently and quickly as possible.
- To promote effective use of the temporary accommodation budget by regularly reviewing move on from emergency to settled temporary accommodation and investigating the reasons for long stays in high-cost emergency 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, take action to discharge the homelessness duty.
- Close accounts where necessary and organise key returns
- Issue Notice to Quits when appropriate and liaise with the Legal Team where necessary
- Liaise with Social Services if household needs support or if no further duties are owed.
- To reply promptly to enquiries and complaints from customers and their advocates, including elected members, MPs and ombudsman cases in line with the procedure and attend court where required.
- To contribute to the development of policy, procedures and practice, and to the achievement of the departments aims, objectives and targets.
- To develop and maintain a positive relationship with clients, officers, housing providers, advocates, elected members and other stakeholders to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction are achieved.
- To create and maintain accurate records of the service to ensure compliance with reporting arrangements and provide management with the information required to monitor performance and service standards in accordance with policies and the legal framework. This will include producing writing performance and other written reports for managers in the Housing Needs Service as requested.
- To understand the value of information and to contribute to good information governance by keeping information safe, accurate and up to date and available to those who need it.
- To participate in appropriate projects relevant to the role of the team within and outside the section as appropriate.
- The post holder is required to take reasonable care for the safety and health of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts; and to work with management to comply with Service/Unit procedures and protocols and with clients Health and Safety Policy and all guidance, instructions and risk assessments. In particular the jobholder is required to attend training relevant to their post in order to ensure their health and safety responsibilities are met.
- To undertake any duties appropriate to the grading of this post, as requested by Head of Temporary Accommodation and Resettlement, Accommodation Solutions Team Managers, or another manager within the Housing Needs Service.
