A day in the life of a Housing Officer

9am

I’ve already made a cup of coffee and I’m now at my desk getting started. I’ve got a few emails to respond to that have come in overnight (and often a few to catch up on from earlier in the week!). Mornings are also a good time for me to check action requests, and today I find that a recent Mutal Exchange has been approved by my line manager, so I spend some time drafting an approval letter and set a reminder to call the tenants concerned to discuss next steps.

10am – first visit

I’m visiting a tenant I’ve been working with on his hoarding for a while. Mr A has vulnerabilities and I’m aware that he doesn’t like speaking on the phone. So following my letter arranging the appointment, I text him to let him know I’m nearby, which he appreciates.

We have a chat at the doorway for a short while, and I see how he’s doing. He tells me that he’s been doing well since my last visit and even started engaging with recommended talking therapies that I had signposted him to. He seems happy to see me, however I sense the nervousness under the surface which he reports he always feels when he has visitors come into to his ‘den’, as he calls it. I reassure him, and he allows me in.

I’m impressed!! Mr A has done so well within a relatively short space of time to declutter, so he can navigate each room easily and safely. I let him know he’s doing great and he lightens up as we discuss goals for my next visit.

11:30am – second visit

Next I’m due to visit with the alleged perpetrator in a noise nuisance case. The tenant has been hard to reach on the phone, so my visit is unannounced and I wonder if I will receive an answer at the door from the young man who lives there.

Answer, he does! I introduce myself and ask if I can come in for a chat.
It’s not long before I start to pick up on a few points of concern just from the walk through to the kitchen. The house is not in great condition, through a gap in the door the bathroom appears to be inaccessible and I spot what appears to be Class-C drugs, nitrous oxide cannisters, littered all over the living room.
There’s clearly something more than noise going on here.

I decide that I have a lot of questions to ask at once, so why not make sure I’m covering everything, and I ask if the tenant would be happy for me to conduct a Home Checks assessment. We make our way through the form and cover all manners of tenancy concerns, including outstanding repairs and importantly the tenant’s welfare. The tenant tells me that somebody has been coming and going from the house, apparently “a friend”, who has locked the door to the only bedroom of the flat, restricting our tenant from accessing it to sleep.

I now feel I have a wealth of information to make appropriate referrals and reports, to ensure that the tenant is receiving the right support. My first port of call is sharing what I discovered with the ASB team and we arrange a joint visit to explore possible cuckooing.

1pm – third visit

After a quick lunch at headquarters (my Nissan Micra with broken AC), I have time to check in with a tenant who I know is currently involved in a succession downsize. Their rehousing application went live a few weeks ago, yet despite guidance from me, I haven’t seen them placing any bids.

I knock on the door and I’m invited in for green tea. I ask how they’re getting on with bidding, and I get a few non-answers, so I suggest an alternative bidding process which they might find more practical.

After explaining that I’m able to bid for them if they wish, or alternatively we could set up an auto-bid, the tenant suggests that they would like to set up the latter. I take a few details and we get the process underway.

2:30pm – fourth visit

I’m scheduled to be meeting with a tenant regarding reports from their neighbour that they have been neglecting to maintain and keep tidy their portion of the shared garden.

Since receiving the report, I had also been advised by the Electrical Safety team of another unsuccessful appointment by their team, so I was keen to find out what was going on.

Upon arrival, I see a few notes suspended between the door and the door frame. One is an appointment note from the electrical inspection visit, however the other is a letter dated 4 weeks prior. As the notes appeared undisturbed, it could be that our tenant been away for a little while but wasn’t yet reaching the threshold for abandoning property.

I decide to knock on some of the other neighbours’ doors to see if anything had been shared and if they were aware of a return date. Unfortunately, not. Apparently our tenant keeps themselves to themselves. I conclude that I will have to keep an eye on this particular case.

4pm – back home

Home in time to write up the days notes, and make any urgent referrals. It’s been a good day, and I’m glad to have progressed some cases.

However, as always, other cases have just raised more questions so I make a priority to diarise upcoming appointments that I’d arranged during the day and send important enquiries.

When I finish for the day, I start getting the tea on and boot up the PlayStation, ready for brand new challenges tomorrow – because no two days as a Housing Officer are ever alike!

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