3 jobs found

A fantastic opportunity has emerged for a Property Acquisitions Officer to join one of Adecco's key public sector clients in a temporary role for the next 6-9 months. A car driver/owner is not essential. The right candidate will increase the supply of private rented properties available to clients of the Council's Housing Options Team. You will proactively develop links and positive working relationships with private landlords and letting agents to source homes in the private rented sector. By doing so, you will contribute to a proactive service for people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, by maximising opportunities for them to rent privately. Based near to Heathrow Airport in West London but with a requirement to travel around other boroughs locally, this is a full time role (37 hours per week, Monday to Friday). You will ideally have experience in local authority housing and preferably in a similar role where you have assisted customers in seeking and securing privately rented accommodation. Other key elements of the role include: Building and maintaining relationships with private landlords and letting agents to identify and secure accommodation for clients at risk of homelessness. Negotiating tenancy terms and promoting landlord incentive schemes such as rent deposits, bonds, and rent in advance. Supporting clients to secure their own accommodation through affordability advice, tenancy readiness, and budgeting support. Skilled in mediation with landlords, friends or family to prevent eviction or homelessness. Sound understanding of tenancy rights, welfare benefits, and local housing pathways. Being able to carry out home visits, working with vulnerable individuals, and collaborating with internal teams and partner agencies. Sourcing suitable, affordable private lettings with new and existing landlords that would enable the Council to discharge its full homelessness duty into the private rented sector where this is considered appropriate. Assisting with the provision of tenancy training for clients referred by the Housing Options Team to enable them to prepare for and then sustain their tenancies. Liaising where necessary with support providers and voluntary agencies to ensure that appropriate support is secured for clients so as to prevent homelessness. Carrying out visual property inspections (condition, safety checks etc.) with potential landlords to assess the suitability of their properties and make recommendations where remedial works are required in liaison with the Council's Housing Standards Team. Assisting in maintaining a database of information on private landlords who have been engaged by the post holder, for use by the Housing Options Team. The successful candidate will not need to come into the office everyday (only 2 days each week), but will need to be prepared to travel across different boroughs as they will need to attend property inspections etc as well as meeting with customers and other members of staff. Only applicants who are available to start on short notice (2 week's maximum) and feel they meet the above criteria need apply for this role.

Your new company You will be working with Birmingham City Council, the UK's largest Local Authority, as an Assistant Housing Officer. This is a full-time position, Monday to Friday, with a total of 36.5 working hours per week. The role is based at Barry Jackson Tower, Birmingham, B6 5BW, with hybrid capabilities, although you will be required to conduct visits across the city. Driving is essential for this role, and you must have access to your own vehicle with business insurance added if not already in place. An enhanced DBS check is required, which will be arranged free of charge by Hays. Your new role As an Assistant Housing Officer, you will deliver high-quality tenancy support services to homeless households in temporary accommodation (TA), responding effectively to changing customer needs and legislation. You will support the process of making suitable TA offers, issuing and explaining licence agreements, and maintaining tenancy records. Risk assessments must be conducted fairly and transparently, and you will notify other local authorities of accepted TA offers outside Birmingham. You will help reduce the use of bed and breakfast accommodation, ensuring it is only used as a last resort, and support the transition of households into more suitable emergency accommodation. You will ensure families with children are not placed outside the borough unless absolutely necessary. Floating tenancy support will be provided to help customers access services outlined in their housing plans, including referrals to support agencies and guidance on managing finances. You will process housing benefit and DHP claims to reduce rent arrears and liaise with finance officers regarding non-payment issues. The role also involves checking invoice accuracy, monitoring customer attendance, and reporting changes in circumstances. You will follow procedures for issuing warnings for tenancy breaches and report serious breaches to your manager and caseworker. Attendance at court evictions may be required. You will ensure decisions regarding discharge of duty and notices to vacate comply with legislation and policy. You will assist in compiling review paperwork and court bundles, inspect property maintenance and furniture standards, and carry out health and safety inspections. Safeguarding concerns and compliance issues must be reported promptly. Building effective relationships with local communities, agencies, and service providers is key to delivering tenancy support. You will collaborate with the Housing Solution & Support Case Management Service and assist in responding to complaints, member enquiries, and Freedom of Information requests. You will support service reviews and new working practices, maintain knowledge of welfare benefits and housing legislation, and ensure compliance with relevant laws and council policies. Safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable individuals is a core responsibility, and you may be asked to undertake other duties appropriate to the role. Flexibility is essential to meet service needs. What you'll need to succeed To succeed in this role, you must be a proactive and organised individual with a strong understanding of housing legislation and tenancy support. You will need excellent communication skills, the ability to manage a varied caseload, and a commitment to safeguarding and service improvement. A full driving licence, access to a vehicle, and business insurance are required, along with an enhanced DBS check. What you'll get in return For the first 13 weeks, the pay rate is 14.12 per hour, including holiday allowance ( 12.60 basic) + mileage/parking expenses. After this period, the rate increases to 16.77 per hour, including holiday allowance ( 14.32 basic) + mileage/parking expenses. You will gain valuable experience working within a dynamic housing team and contribute to meaningful outcomes for vulnerable households across Birmingham. What you need to do now If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now. If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career. Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at (url removed)

Connect2Luton are excited to recruit a Private Rented Sector Discharge Officer behalf of Luton Borough Council. Main purpose of position: The Private Rented Sector Discharge Officer will liaise with Landlords and Agents to secure properties and undertake assessments on clients to ensure a private rented tenancy is suitable for them. The officer is required to assess the suitability of the property and provide tenancy related advice and support working together with the household to help them maintain an existing tenancy or support the household to move on from temporary accommodation into their own permanent home. The post holder will also be responsible for monitoring the choice-based lettings bidding of accepted homeless households to ensure compliance within the councils allocations policy and intervene as necessary. You will be responsible to: To visit/work with households in Temporary Accommodation (TA) 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, their priority on the Housing Register and ability to sustain other options, including private rented accommodation. Undertake detailed suitability assessments giving consideration for example to the physical condition of the accommodation, location, affordability, overcrowding, and risk of violence from any person to enable to discharge the council homeless duty. You will liaise with Landlords and Agents to secure properties and undertake assessments on clients to ensure a private rented tenancy is suitable for them. You will be required to assess the suitability of the property and provide tenancy related advice and support working together with the household to help move on from TA, into their own permanent home. You will monitor biding activity across households in TA and offer support to those households who require assistance, in order to help them make informed choices ensuring compliance within the council's allocations policy and intervene as necessary. To undertake casework including completion of financial affordability assessments, assessing suitability of properties and issuing discharge of the duty decisions subject to the council's statutory duty for households to whom the council owes a full housing duty under the Housing Act 1996 Part VII as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act. You will have knowledge and understanding of the Public Sector Equality Duty subject to the Equality Act 2010 and its effect on discharge of duty decisions. To assist homeless households in TA deal with the effects of the welfare reforms by providing advice and assistance on benefit entitlement and referral for employment opportunities and support. Skills and Experience: Demonstrable experience of working in a busy and pressurised environment as part of a team to achieve set targets and outcomes within a housing arena Demonstrable experience of working with vulnerable individuals and families with complex needs Strong communications skills both written and orally, influencing, negotiating in person and on behalf of individuals and providing advice to aide with. Empowering individuals to resolve their problems Good numerical skills to carry out affordability tests to recommend financial awards/grants/loans working on ledgers and assessing on finance issues whilst ensuring within affordability envelope to protect the council from incurring additional costs Able to work under pressure, manage competing work demands methodically to achieve targets and meet changing demands and priorities Able to deal with difficult customers and maintain positive working relationship at all levels Able to problem resolute, critically analyse financial and management information, think outside the box and sell the positives of a property or service in a reassuring and supportive manner Able to undertake casework including completion of financial affordability assessments, assessing suitability of properties and issuing discharge of the duty decisions subject to the council's statutory duty for households to whom the council owes a full housing duty under the Housing Act 1996 Part VII as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act Demonstrable knowledge of Housing and Homelessness legislation, Housing Act 1996, parts VI and VII, as amended, the Homelessness Act 2002, Localism Act 2011, Homelessness Suitability of Accommodation (England) Order 2012, Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and related legislation and case law Good knowledge of landlord and tenant law, the possession grounds relating to rented properties and the eligibility criteria for means tested benefits NVQ level 3 in a relevant vocational relating to Housing or equivalent work experience or training GCSE or equivalent in Maths and English Ability to take a flexible work approach, able to for one Saturday per month with day off in lieu and work proactively Able to travel between sites, hold a clean driving licence and have access to a car is essential About Us Luton Borough Council have partnered with Kent County Council to create Connect2Luton, a recruitment managed service for all contingent temporary agency, contract, and interim roles at the Council. Our heritage and being local government owned which means we have a wealth of knowledge and expertise within the public sector, with many of our employees having previously worked for the Council or have supplied previously into the Council, for several years. We are an equal opportunities employment agency and business that positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates. Connect2Luton is a trading style of Luton & Kent Commercial Services LLP - A joint venture between Luton Borough Council & Commercial Services Kent Ltd. Connect2Luton is an equal opportunities Employment Agency & Business. It positively encourages applications from all suitably qualified and eligible candidates.