Job responsibilities
The role of the Housing Triage and Needs Officer is communication, fact and trust-based. The post
holder will quickly build relationships with customers on the telephone and by email.
The overwhelming majority of customers will be members of the public, but there will also be regular
contact with professionals at different levels from many agencies.
The Housing Triage and Needs Officer will be in contact with people who need to access services for a
range of reasons often sensitive, e.g. serious illness or disability, difficulties sustaining accommodation,
homelessness or threatened with homelessness, relationship breakdown, domestic abuse or
harassment and trauma.
The postholder will be skilled in confidently building rapport, de-escalating and resolving conflict,
responding to callers in a tactful, courteous and professional manner. There will be close contact with
other team members to share specialist knowledge, problems, solutions, and support to ensure
continuity of service and consistent standards.
The purpose of the post is to provide advice at the first point of contact and perform housing needs
assessments.
More specific duties and responsibilities include:
Receiving service requests
Receiving and processing contacts via phone, email and in writing.
Having strength-based conversations with the individual to establish what the housing issues
are and ensure their understanding of all personal resources available to meet any housing
need/s identified.
Where required, signpost the individual to relevant community-based and preventative services.
Where appropriate email or post written information, provide introduction to the relevant service
and provide follow-up.
Where adopted by the council in future, support the use by customers of online self-help tools
including self-assessments and advice to resolve their own housing difficulties independently
using their own resources.
Where adopted by the council in future, support the webchat function.
Triage function
Where customers are seeking help with a housing problem, issuing appropriate verbal and
written advice and making appropriate referrals to other services where necessary.
Where customers are stating that they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, asking
questions to determine whether this is likely to be the case and prior to an assessment of
potential homeless duties by a duty Housing Caseworker, considering the councils potential
duties under Part 7 Housing Act 1996, ensuring that duty staff have all relevant information toperform their role.
Where customers are stating that they are homeless or threatened with homelessness,
explaining how the statutory homelessness system works.
Where customers are seeking to be considered for an allocation of housing, deciding
whether the person may have a housing need under the councils Allocation Policy and in
law.
Exploring with each customer seeking to be considered for an allocation of housing what other
opportunities are available to resolve the presenting housing issue(s) and improve their
housing conditions, issuing verbal and written advice to help them recognize what they can do
to improve conditions.
Arranging, where a housing need may exist, appropriate to the persons needs and making
any reasonable adjustments necessary, for them to complete a social housing application
form.
Where necessary, ensuring a customer has support to make an online social housing
application and other relevant applications e.g. for low-cost home ownership direct with other
organisations.
Housing needs assessments
Carefully considering information received from the customer, performing appropriate and
sufficient inquiries of the customer and third parties to determine eligibility for an allocation of
housing, bedroom need, housing need and connections.
Where information, comment and/or action is required from other council services, ensuring
appropriate and sufficient information is passed to the relevant team to respond.
Recording all contacts appropriately on the system to ensure the customer record is fully
comprehensive and up-to-date.
In making decisions, consider and balance all information obtained relevant to a customers
likely housing need.
Analyse and objectively consider complex data to ensure that decision-making is appropriate
and lawful.
Assessing eligibility and issuing legal decisions in relation to an allocation of housing,
bedroom need, housing need and connections in accordance with the councils Allocation
Policy, Part 6 and Part 7 Housing Act 1996, statutory guidance and relevant caselaw.
Maintaining knowledge of and advising customers of alternatives to social rented housing
e.g. private rented accommodation and the various types of low-cost home ownership,
depending on customers circumstances.
Performing annual renewal exercise on a 12-month rolling basis, where applicants have
remained on the Housing Register, verifying that the assessment remains up-to-date.
Performing housekeeping in the computer system to ensure that bedroom needs remain
accurate, pregnancies trigger additional bedrooms where necessary and any other updating
necessary.
Where necessary to support Lettings and Sales Officers, checking adverts, shortlisting
homes and advising sellers about shared ownership and low-cost home ownership.
Resolving issues raised by customers and third parties in the scope of the Allocations Policy,
choice-based lettings scheme, housing providers lettings policies, rights of review and
appeal, liaising with colleagues at the council and outside it to achieve resolutions.
General
Inviting customer feedback, having an awareness of and an ability to discuss the complaints
procedure and advise people appropriately if they wish to complain, taking necessary action
to resolve issues directly within the roles discretion.
Being able to identify if an adult or child is at risk, making relevant referrals where necessary.
Updating content on the website / digital portal to ensure current and relevant.
Responding to civil emergencies under instruction.
Analysing and appraising work and personal development through discussion, supervision
and annual appraisal with line manager.
Engaging in continuous personal development to meet the requirements of the role.
Maintaining customer records wherever required by the manager.
