Housing Options Officer

Job Title: Housing Options Officer
Location: Chatham Kent
Contract: Temporary, 3 months
Pay: £21.54 per hour LTD
Working Pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday
Working Style: Hybrid

Service Care Solutions are recruiting for a Housing Options Officer to join a busy Strategic Housing team in Medway. You will provide frontline housing advice, homelessness prevention and statutory homelessness casework, supporting residents to secure suitable and sustainable housing solutions.

Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering housing options advice to customers at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
• Completing homelessness assessments in line with Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
• Producing and monitoring Personal Housing Plans, taking reasonable steps to prevent and relieve homelessness.
• Managing a complex caseload, including carrying out investigations and making recommendations on the duties owed.
• Preparing clear, legally robust Section 184 decision letters within required timescales.
• Supporting customers to access social housing, private rented accommodation, supported housing and other appropriate housing options.
• Completing affordability, welfare benefit and basic financial assessments, alongside referrals for debt, benefits and specialist support.
• Working closely with landlords, Registered Providers, Social Care, health professionals and voluntary agencies to achieve positive outcomes.
• Supporting households in temporary accommodation and helping to minimise length of stay through effective move-on work.
• Maintaining accurate case records and documentation, ensuring GDPR compliance and accurate HCLIC reporting.
• Responding appropriately to safeguarding concerns, domestic abuse and other vulnerabilities.

Essential requirements:

• Proven experience within homelessness prevention, housing options or statutory homelessness casework.
• Strong working knowledge of Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and relevant homelessness guidance.
• Experience completing housing needs and affordability assessments, Personal Housing Plans and homelessness decisions.
• Confident communicating with vulnerable customers in difficult or stressful circumstances.
• Excellent case management, written communication and partnership-working skills.

For more information or to apply, please contact:

George Westhead
Recruitment Consultant, Service Care Solutions

01772 208966
george.westhead@servicecare.org.uk