A day in the life of a tenancy services manager at one of Bolton at Home's housing offices

Having seen a number of enquiries about issues related to tenancy services come through our social media channels I’m looking forward to getting out and seeing how they’re dealt with in a housing office.

Tenancy services are the first point of contact for customer enquiries, to housing offices and deal with allocations, sign ups, terminations and other tenancy related enquires. As part of their process they identify vulnerable customers who might require additional support from the Support and Sustainment team and signpost people to specialist teams in Housing Services such as enforcement and to other external agencies.

Gareth has worked in Housing Services at Bolton at Home for 16 years starting off in Concierge as a Control Operator. He is experienced in being the subject of a ‘Day in the Life’ article as back in 2008 he volunteered to be interviewed for our in house magazine. Back then he was a Housing Officer and he says there have been big changes in the way that our housing services teams work moving from Housing Officers looking after a patch and dealing with a range of enquiries to more specialist teams such as Income Management, ASB, Estate Enforcement, Support and Sustainment and Tenancy Services. Although the teams have only been structured like this for a year the feedback from customers so far is positive. As well as the in house changes Welfare Reform is also having a big impact upon customers and the manner in which Housing Services are delivered.

Gareth begins the day following up on a client leaving a probation hostel. He’s at the top of the list for a flat but staff are concerned that the area might not be suitable for this particular customer. After discussions with the local police constable and probation services about the current situation in the area it is decided not to offer him the property. It is thought that the types of problems in the area might increase the likelihood of the customer breaching the terms of his licence and lead to him being unable to sustain a tenancy. It is agreed by all agencies that the customer will be advised to express interest in properties in other areas. On average Gareth deals with about two or three allocations every week that require further consideration following verification checks; and for him to work with other agencies to find the right solution.

Next on the agenda is going through list of provisional voids in the north area. A provisional void is where a tenancy termination notice has been submitted for a property and Gareth needs to check whether the keys have been handed in or not. All tenancies terminate on a Sunday and keys need to be handed into the housing office by 10am on Monday. This week three properties are due to terminate and the keys have not been handed in. Housing Officers from Gareth’s team will follow this up through contacting the tenant and if necessary visiting the property to check whether they’ve moved out. Sometimes a tenant not handing back the keys can result in the locks needing to be changed and a delay in a void property being handed over to technical services for inspection and any necessary repairs.

It is possible that sometimes tenants haven’t been able to move out for various reasons for example they’ve been let down by a new landlord or have had problems organising their move. In these cases the tenants are advised that they need to make arrangements to move out as soon as possible as their notice of termination has expired and their tenancy has now ended. If in these circumstances a tenant does not make arrangements to vacate the property it may be necessary to consider legal action. However this is an extreme and hasn’t happened in Gareth’s experience and a solution is usually found in most cases.

Next new termination notices are checked to see that they’ve been registered properly and arrangements have been made to advertise and make pre termination visits to the property.

Late morning we head out to a viewing with a couple who need to leave their property due to structural issues. Customers offered a decant like this don’t have to wait on the waiting list like everyone else, instead they are made a direct offer of alternative accommodation. They do still have to meet the criteria for the propery they’re applying for.

These customers are keen to stay in the immediate area which limits the number of properties available to them. They have seen a property we’re currently refurbishing around the corner. As it’s been given a complete overhaul following major works it looks brand new inside and the garden’s been refenced and levelled. The customer has some concerns about the size of the kitchen and whether there is enough room for a dryer as well as a fridge freezer as some of the kitchen has been taken up with the downstairs bathroom, a requirement given the amount of work carried out on the property. Our surveyor promises to look into how these can be fitted in and the customer seems happy with this. In the living room she requests that the fireplace be fitted on a different wall so she can fit in the sofa and the surveyor agrees to accommodate this.

Having recently been on a few viewings and shown people round properties for private sale in the past this seems like a good service. For investors we would rarely have put the effort in to make amendments to fixtures and fittings for anyone other than a big bulk buyer and in flats I’ve viewed recently I wouldn’t have even thought it worth asking the letting agent.

Later a discussion comes up in the office around unhappy customers and people who are abusive to housing services staff. I ask whether this has increased since the bedroom tax was imposed on people, leaving many struggling to paying their bills.  Gareth says he hasn’t noticed this particularly but is in no doubt of the challenge we face to mitigate the impact of welfare reform through debt and money advice and moving options to help people avoid building-up rent arrears.

The rest of the day involves looking at developing new policies and procedures. Some developments are made in response to changing legislation or to providing clarification for staff. Working with our in house legal team changes are made to make sure there are less ways our policies are open to challenge for example on issues such as termination notices.  Following up these policy and procedural changes will involve communicating the changes to customers and providing additional staff training to ensure they are implemented smoothly. I had thought that housing services staff would be constantly out and about but there’s a lot more paperwork than I expected. Gareth estimates that he spends about 60% of his time in the office, about the same as the housing officers in the neighbourhood offices.

It’s been good to spend some time in the neighbourhood office and I’ve come away with more ideas for these articles on staff and other aspects of our work. Looking at enquiries from a customer point of view as they come through social media I can see how the processes we have are confusing and sometimes inaccessible but with the massive scope of the work done here, the complex individual needs of customers and the policies and legal framework the teams work it’s hard to see how it could be any other way. There are long conversations about the needs of both individuals and groups of customers and what really comes across from these is the focus of the staff on getting the best service

A day in the life of our ESF team

With their offices hidden away in an unmarked ground floor office of one of our properties in Breightmet the first challenge of spending the day with our ESF team is finding them. In the pouring rain it took me too long to work out that the sat nav had taken me to the back of the building and then more time to find Warren's number to ask to be let in.

Worlds away from the smart new offices at Valley House they are based in converted flats with tenants living on the first floor. As we go to the team meeting we have to shut the windows in the office for security, cross the tenants stairwell, and go through two locked doors past the door to the tenant's garden.

Bolton at Home's ESF team was set up in December 2011 as part of a government response to entrenched worklessness. Money from the European Social Fund (ESF) was allocate to deal with the wider family problems around worklessness. G4S were awarded the contract for the North West and Bolton at Home were commissioned by G4S to carry out the work in this area.

A target set within the contract is to reach 500 individuals over 3 and a half years but given that ESF is a voluntary programme this is unlikely to be reached. Unlike the work or voluntary programme there are no benefits sanctions for people who choose not to engage with the ESF team. Referrals come from a range of organisations including housing staff, UCAN centres, social workers and the jobcentre. Working within the DWP framework can be complicated for the team as they need to make sure their work sits within other programmes. People already on the work programme cannot be accepted for ESF but when people are on ESF and are put on the work programme the team have to demonstrate they are providing an additional service above and beyond this.

A major difference between the work of the ESF team and the rest of Bolton at Home is that the contract is on payment by results. Sixteen progress measures, ranging from improving parenting skills to acquiring work experience are in place and individuals on the programme need to achieve against these. In addition to these the larger objective of finding work for an individual means a larger payment from G4S. On each case the team will only get paid for three progress measures so even though they might be working on five there will be no additional provision within the contract for this. This extra work aims to get them into work orhelp them to remove themselves from the cycle of worklessness and take control of their own lives.

In assessing against these progress measures very specific requirements are in place. For example progress against English language development would involve attendance at 16 hours of training over 4 weeks. Within the training certain areas would need to be covered. This and the need for detailed reporting means the team need to be able to work very closely with training providers to get information about the course or work placement.

ESF clients are required to be available for work and this means being on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) or another Working Age Benefit. Clients range from having never worked to people who have been made redundant recently and are struggling to get back into employment.

On receiving a referral Susan Isaacs has to contact the potential client within four hours and attempts at contact need to be logged. A meeting is arranged where Susan carries out an initial assessment where people are assessed for suitability for the service and the necessary paperwork is completed.

In line with the DWP requirements this includes ID checks and declarations around their suitability for the service. Susan tells me it can sometimes be difficult to get clients to confirm that they're not on the work programme and as there is no real way of checking this without the help of their jobcentre advisor the stronger relationship they are building with the jobcentre is proving helpful.

It is at this initial interview that Susan will find out more about their aspirations and what they want to get out of the programme. For many people their goal can seem unachievable given long periods of unemployment, lack of education or training or a general lack on confidence in their ability. "Its all about taking small steps to improve yourself" Susan tells me. For example a mother who has had children before she's left school might not feel she's prepared for work but its all about identifying what skills they do have and can build on.

"Its about bringing what they want into their lives removing the large obstacles and making them into smaller steps." Where a risk assessment has not been carried out on a new client's home Susan will meet them at a local office or UCAN centre. She tells me to make sure I get in a big thank you to the UCAN staff and The Workshop for making the effort to accommodate her meetings.

Some clients are worried that going back to work will leave them worse off than being on benefits but it is hoped that the introduction of the benefits cap will make this a clearer decision for families in this situation.

Benefit reforms had little impact on referrals, biggest impact on referrals is simplifying the referral process to place more of the initial work within the team rather than with the referrer.

After the initial assessment clients are passed onto another member of the team who consist of Warren Rogers, Dionne Willis, Sarah Nicholson and Susan Owen who will take the case for the next 12 months. The team’s work with clients ranges from intensively supporting people and transporting them to every appointment through to checking they’re ok in their new job by occasional text messaging. Using text messages can be helpful for dealing with people who might not have credit or may have a lifestyle where they're not available for phone calls during office hours.

After lunch there are children playing outside the door and music coming from the flat above. With the windows open to help with the humidity all the conversations from around the office and the path across the yard can be heard in the office. Susan is inputting cases onto the new IT system brought in the previous week and scanning the paperwork that goes with each case.

Warren and I head out to see some clients, a young guy from Breightmet who is looking for work in construction and a women from Great Lever who is recovering from a drug addiction.

At the first visit the client is shy when Warren asks about his Bolton at Home placement but seems to be happy with how its going and Warren has had good feedback from the people he's been working with. The main task at the visit is filling in an application for an apprenticeship. The form isn't long but the competency based questions require some experience to fill out properly and Warren guides him through his previous experience to look for good examples of his skills. It’s clear that Warren knows his history well and has built up a relationship with both him and his mother who takes an interest in the visit.

On the second visit the client seems happy to see Warren and is relaxed and open around him. She is participating in a couple of programmes run by other organisations, is starting a Learn Direct course and is keen to go to college to study catering. Warren is encouraging but seems to be working on what Susan told me previously about breaking goals down into simple steps, build confidence and get the basic skills first. This visit really brings home the range of organisations that the ESF team work with and the depth of knowledge they need to have about what services are available.

Although the people we've seen today seem to be really happy with the programme on the way back to the office Warren tells me that there are times when client's refusal to engage can be frustrating with unanswered texts, phone calls and front doors. However when he and the rest of the team talk about the success stories it is clear that there is a lot of job satisfaction in this area and that when it does go right its a very rewarding thing to be doing.

Amy Lythgoe, Digital Marketing Manager

An inspirational vist to a Rotary housing project

All housing today with a trip to see Brookside, a joint development with the Rotary and Kawad Kalinga. Worlds away from the estates we see in the UK the exotic plants and palms were carefully planted between brightly painted houses and people worked alongside children playing in the street.

Residents pay around 300 pesos (£6) for their property and the land is owned by a church group.  There are community facilities on site with a library and boards in the public space showing the photographs of the area before the construction, through the build and now.

Work with the residents is continuous and residents can be removed for ‘antisocial’ behaviour. From what I understand this is largely governed by the religious principles of the site and grounds for eviction would be activities such as drugs and prostitution.

The school overlooks a wooden chapel and basketball court in the main area and is well kept. I was shown around by the Grade 6 teacher who had a great passion for the children and the work of the school later breaking down when she described her gratitude to the Australian team for their solidarity in the problems faced in the school. A great emphasis was placed on getting the children a good standard of education and parents pay a reduced 50 pesos a month (£1) and help out with cleaning and the cooking the breakfasts provided to give the children a good start to the day.

In 2009 the area flood waters rose over the roofs of the houses and families came to the first floor of the school for shelter. But the water rose higher and reached that level and children had to be passed along a rope to the community centre up the hill where they were safe. Families belongings brought to the school for safe keeping and the schools books and records were all destroyed. I notice now there are no offices on the ground floor. The local Rotary club worked with a sister club in Singapore to provide food for families over the two or three days it took for the floodwater to subside.

The teacher was genuinely proud as she told me how the solid construction of the houses in this project had meant that there had been no deaths from the flooding as there had been in other areas.

Like in Bolton work is being done to provide employment opportunities and income for families on the project. Following the flooding the sister rotary club in Singapore was keen to do more and with RC Holy Spirit they developed a scheme where women in the project were provided with materials to do quilting, candle making and sewing and now produce items to be sold in Singapore. This is a fantastic example of what rotary is like in Manila.

Projects here are targeted to meet specific needs in local areas and inventive sustainable schemes allow the work they do to have great long term effects. In principle they focus on the basics as we do, education, training and employment to allow people to lift themselves out of poverty. When they walk through the estates they are greeted by workers and the residents recognise the badge demonstrating what looks like a really meaningful relationship with the communities and their beneficiaries. 

Links are also maintained with the children through the Rotaract club within the school which is partnered with the club that supports the project.

If anyone does want to know more about this my driver from the host club, Angel, has offered to answer any questions I might have about their work. 

Fiesta at a housing project and gangnam style the Filipino way

A slightly hungover start to Saturday with another early start. At breakfast in Jollybee (Filipino McDonalds) I knocked over two juices, a coffee and my pancakes. A promising start to the day as we discussed the traditional games we’d be playing later. I hoped they wouldn’t require too much coordination!

Today’s activity was a fiesta at a housing project on a relocation site in San Matteo outside the city. The informal settlers are encouraged the leave the city slum areas and are provided with a house in return for 500 hours labour. Schools and community spaces are built and a livelihood provided in the form of a mango grove. With mains electricity not available in the local area power is provided through solar panels on the roofs of the homes.

Getting out of the car the second thing you notice after the scorching heat is the stunning panoramic view of Metro Manila. Our guide told us that next to the site millionaires pay above the odds for the privilege of having this view.

Workers from one of the partner organisations Christians for Christ mix easily with the families who welcomed us into their houses to show off their carefully put together interiors. Constructed of concrete blocks and Styrofoam the units come finished with a  white painted cement interior and brightly painted outside in a terrace formation. Each consists of one room and a small kitchen area and bathroom to the back.

One owner, a carpenter, had, in his spare time, constructed an intricate shelving system that wouldn’t be out of place in an English country kitchen and the living area had been painted bright blue to match the exterior. All the properties were immaculately kept and tide. Richard, off meeting the voters had made a friend whose mother was providing the rich rice cakes for the fiesta and the whole room was covered in wide plates containing the carefully decorated cakes.

The development is not a government one and is a partnership project with Rotary, ANCORP (I’ll try and remember what that stands for) and Couples for Christ.

After a minor panic from our team leader when we once again lost Richard (he was of course in someone’s house chatting) the fiesta kicked off with a brief introduction to the project and thanks to all the partners involved. Some traditional Filipino dancing was performed by students from a local school and included one that involved balancing on an upright piece of bamboo – not exactly easy on the uneven ground but they persevered and didn’t let it get out of time.

The majorettes performed what we at first thought to be local music played on drums but later we recognised Katy Perry’s ‘Fireworks’ and the Gangnam Style dancing. Dan went down well with the female dancers although was oblivious to the attention he was getting!

I was lucky enough to be able to go with my hosts to their daughter, Ella’s graduation – at three! It was a wonderful experience although the logistics of lining up small children on the stage and getting them to follow direction looked challenging to say the least. The graduation ceremony as we would expect, complete with caps and gowns, was followed by some musical numbers recognisable as the end of term play we’d see at home. Although with it being ‘more fun in the Philippines’ there was a great emphasis on the fun and a fantastic showing from the parents with the retro dancing.

Afterwards some more photos and then off for a ride in a Kalasa (apologies on spelling) with Kassie. It’s so good that the girls have finally started to open up to me, my knowledge of Disney princesses is much improved, and its such a shame that I have to leave so soon.

My final meal with my hosts where unfortunately I was dropping off slightly on the energy levels and worrying about my 3am start was a great finale. Going to the fish market, selecting the fresh fish from the stalls, choosing your cooking method and eating in a canteen style restaurant was fantastic. The food was amazing and as always there were vast amounts with the leftovers taken home for tomorrow. On the way home it was maybe the tiredness or I just genuinely couldn’t believe that after the amount of food anyone would want to go for ice cream. But this is Manila so we did.

As I packed to go to my next host I was further overwhelmed by receiving gifts from hosts that have already been so generous. The hospitality I have had this week has been amazing. I would like to say a massive thankyou to my wonderful hosts for the first week for making me feel so at home and welcome in their home. It was sad to leave and I am already looking forward to seeing them again at the district conference. 

How many women?

Today I was honoured to be asked to come to speak to people at the ‘How many women does it take?’ event put on by Vanessa McDermott one of the Community Development Officers in our Neighbourhood East team. Women from Breightment and the surrounding area gathered at St Catherine's Academy, donned bright yellow t-shirts and sustained by cups of tea put the world to rights. 

After a brief into on the 'power' of social media' with discussion of the Arab Spring, Kony 2012 and Malala Yusefzai some people (if not all!) were, I hope, inspired to be using these channels to campaign and get their voice heard. 

As the day went on and Craig from our Income Management team faced a barrage of objections and complaints around the bedroom tax it was clear that there were some main themes and that there would be no problem in getting the women to share their opinion. 

One of the sessions was working with a writer to write a 'rant'. I've never seen a writing workshop and it was great to see Louise draw out the ideas and get something produced in only 20 minutes. 

Below are the women's rants. They're not complimentary and the language reflects the strength of feeling. You'll note that one woman has ranted about her damp property - this has been passed on to someone who can help! 

Am looking forward to getting some specific social media sessions set up with the women to get them all tweeting these themselves in the future. 

How many women: Rants

The bedroom tax is out of order as people who have lived in a property for years are being made to move after putting in money, blood, sweat and tears.

Squash it.

I am really worried about universal credit. I’m having sleepless nights.

I think its really unfair that only certain people are allowed EMA. Education is important and everyone should have the right to it. As you need education for a good future and some people may not be able to afford travel due to being skint. It makes me fucking mad.

Rant over.

I am very angry that I was misled and lied to about I was told I needed a three bedroom house and now I have been slammed with the bedroom tax. I think that its unfair that people who have a three bedroom house and two children of a different sex have to share or you have to pay £12.95 a week. When if you do downsize when your children are old enough you have to move again.

How do you expect people on  low income to live on when you got bills to pay and food to put on the table. When you have more than two kids they need their own room It makes me angry and upset because they’re taking money out of kids mouths. I would campaign and protest to save other families.

If you keep taking benefits off us how can I possibly do my degree? It’s unfair for us that will work for the NHS and struggle. Its punishing us before we even start our career

My kids will be punished for me wanting a good job. This makes me fucking angry.

Keep funds for people who are going to give up their lives for others.

I will keep murderers and rapists off the streets or I will help others from taking their lives. I will help people in crisis but I will be in a crisis of my own.

Don’t get me started on stereotypes. How stupid people assume how all teenagers are lay thugs and how chavs sit on street corners drinking in tracksuits also how people think men are stronger than women – if it want for women they wouldn’t be here. We deserve more respect and the way people bully people that are different and how they think gap people are all womanly, love wearing pink and shopping.

Why do I bring my child up on my own? Its unfair that some people get away with paying for their children – yet walk around with new clothes and always with drink and cigs. Why do I not have enough at the till, the sleepless night – no tea for me?? The government protect justice for fathers buts its always the single mother’s fault. The lies and deceit, frauding the country – yet get protected.

Why?

Single them out for once!!

It gets me mad cos my house is damp and it seems like nothing is being done for me and my two kids.

I find dog fouling fucking angry it makes me want to go and kick him in the balls. A man outside my house dog no lead there watching his dog have a shit on the grass the dog wiped his feet then they both walked off. Just wish I had the guts to say would you like a bag but I didn’t.

How unjust is this country? Where have all our rights gone? What about all the old people who have spent their lives fighting for their country who now are living in poverty? We have people here who sit on their backsides and do nothing and get all our money! Come over here where we literally pay them to live here! And those who do work take all the jobs. Think about your kids or yourself? What jobs are you going to do in the future? You stupid wankers in parliament sit on your arses and are in denial about it. You’re so cushty in your lives Unjust soft country. Pathetic bastards.

I am fed up of having to tell people with dogs letting the shit along my home and along the pavement and on the road I live on. Also all the litter, several of us go along picking all the rubbish up, even the roadsweepers don’t do there properly.

I keep going out telling them no one will listen. I feel I would like one of the councillors to go round with the sweeper people or gutter people and supervise.

People on benefits are not scroungers. It is unfair to class everyone suffering from poverty.

Don’t tar everyone with the same brush. Its unjust and hurtful. Lots of people are genuine lots of people have worked hard all of their lives in all weathers for a pittance of a wage and some need help when they retire. Only a very few people are really scroungers a small number.

So you’re alright Jack! Doesn’t affect me – bedroom tax – what does that mean? They’re all on benefits anyway. All scroungers its time they all cut the money they get serving all those scroungers right!

Recognise any of these feelings? Believe any of these? Well if you do then you should rethink and be ashamed of your ignorance.

This bedroom tax is wicked – it is unfair divisive and disgraceful that the government are endorsing the misery fear and dislike that this will cause to the most vulnerable and disempowered members of society. Those that are the most easy targets.

This policy is poison – it is demeaning – it is fat cats who close their eyes – ‘let them eat cake’ till echoes today.

The cost of this insane policy is scandalous. It will cost more in human suffering than will be so called saved by the government. This government doesn't care about people any more. 

I am very angry about the EMA system it is very unfair that only certain people can receive payment for attending college. Some of the people who do not receive payment are skint and I think everyone should be entitled to some kind of money to help with travel food costs.

People may not be able to get to college and to get jobs people need an education to have a good future. It is important that people have an education. I think if not everyone can get a small out of money the college should be scrapped. 

I am very angry about Child Tax Credit because it leaves you feeling like you are along you can't do anything. 

Low income don't pay enough tight fuckers. Bedroom tax causes more poverty. Government selfish make us angry. Want to move me into smaller property they can come and pick me up hunger and poverty. 

It just scares me that there is so much poverty in this country that their are people starving hungry and having to survive without a job and clearly desperate to work but because of the media, we're all being labelled as scroungers and skivers and just not trying hard enough to make something of our life.

I feel that the government has a lot to do with this and what they're doing is in no way helping us to support us enough to get us out of the mess that they've put us in. 

The next step is to work out how the women can do something about this whether it be campaigning, protesting or taking action. There's a march organised by Bolton Councillor Kate Challender against the bedroom tax on Saturday and although I'll be away by then I hope to see the women and their bright yellow t-shirts there having their say. 

You can keep up with the how the women will be changing the world following #howmanywomen

People to follow:

Vanessa McDermott @veemcdee 

Lisa Forrest @LisaF_BaH 

Kate Challender @katechallender

It's not often I leave a meeting and think 'I must write about that'

Although I knew we had tenancy services I don't think I'd considered what this actually meant. I don't really go to meetings where discussion about what we do comes down to individual cases but this meeting opened my eyes to what these services actually mean for our customers and why what we do really matters. 

Being at Bolton at Home for less than a year I sometimes think I'll never get used to the slower pace of change, the endless bureaucracy or ex-local authority culture. However I don't think there are many private sector landlords who would consider so carefully whether a tenancy was suitable for someone or not, make regular visits to ensure problems were addressed early on or create relationships with families to allow us to understand them and provide the right support. 

In the context of cuts and staff shortages there were extra meetings arranged to allow tenants to feel happy with services, time taken to arrange cleaning and food parcels and clean bedding left on the doorsteps of vulnerable people. Caseloads discussed seemed to me to be more than enough to do let alone allowing staff much time to be going the extra mile. 

From a communications point of view (which is of course why I was there in the first place) it was so important to hear how we are going the extra mile and also to get an insight into why so many people tell me they are too busy to spend time on social media when they attend the training. 

But before anyone in housing services think they're let off the hook I'm now keener than ever that they tell people about what they're doing. It's far more positive and more interesting than I thought it would be and although many people working in housing might think this is run of the mill there will be many more people out there to whom this would be news. 

And for me it was a useful reminder of why the bright lights of the private sector might not be all they're cracked up to be.