HIGHTOWN HOUSING ASSOCIATION
JOB DESCRIPTION
May 2015
JOB TITLE: Home Ownership Officer
DEPARTMENT/PROJECT: Property and Commercial
RESPONSIBLE TO: Home Ownership Manager
RESPONSIBLE FOR: No line management responsibility
MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB:
To provide an effective, efficient and customer focused housing management service to the Association’s leasehold and shared ownership schemes and intermediate rent tenants/ leaseholders living on mixed tenure estates.
Context and Purpose:
Hightown provides management services to people who have purchased or part-purchased a property on one of our estates. These include: leaseholders who own a property purchased under the Right to Buy, Right to Acquire or through staircasing up from shared ownership; leaseholders on retirement housing estates; and shared owners who have purchased a share of their property and rent the remaining proportion. The number of shared ownership properties owned/managed by the association will increase substantially over the next few years.
The Home Ownership Officer will provide management services to leaseholders, shared owners and intermediate rent tenants within a defined geographical area and will provide support to other members of the team during peaks in workload.
Key Responsibilities:
1. To manage a number of schemes, including leasehold and shared ownership, leaseholders living on mixed tenure estates and intermediate rent housing.
2. To develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the legislation relating to leasehold tenure and service charges, and the lease agreements the Association has with its leaseholders/shared owners.
3. To keep up to date on current legislation, regulatory requirements and best practice.
4. For leasehold/shared ownership property, the management duties will include:-
- Responsibility for estate inspections and monitoring the services provided to residents
- Ensuring compliance with the terms of the lease.
- Monitoring of leaseholder/shared owners rent and service charge accounts, taking action to recover arrears and referring cases for legal action in accordance with policies and procedures.
- Provision of general advice and administration of re-sales of leasehold properties
- Assist the Leasehold Services Manager to consult with leaseholders in accordance with legislation, best practice and Association policy.
- Where applicable, liaison with Managing Agents and Freeholders to ensure the rights and interests of the Association and its leaseholders are maintained
- Monitoring service charge costs and providing information and assisting the Leasehold Services Manager in the preparation of service charge budgets.
- Responding to service charge queries, referring or seeking guidance on complex queries from the Leasehold Services Manager in a timely manner.
- Assisting with the sales of new shared ownership and leasehold properties
- Ensuring that unsold shared ownership properties are inspected regularly and making the necessary arrangements for cleaning/grass cutting or other services to ensure the properties/estates in kept in a good condition
- Meeting new owners on site following completion for handover of keys and providing information about the property and Association.
5. To advise customers and process applications for Right to Acquire, Right to Buy, Shared Ownership Staircasing and other available home ownership options.
6. For the management of intermediate rent housing, duties will include:
- Taking prompt action on void properties to facilitate reletting
- Undertaking tenancy sign ups and sign outs, including processing refunding of deposits/rechargeable works
- Tenancy management
- Property inspections during tenancies, at the end of tenancies and prior to lettings
- Maintaining Health and Safety standards
- Provision of furniture and equipment
- Regular inspections to ensure that the appearance of the properties and estates are maintained to a high standard, in liaison with the Asset Management Team.
Other Duties
7. Any other reasonable duties consistent with the responsibilities of the post, as requested by the Home Ownership Manager or Property and Commercial Director.
8. To maintain the appropriate level of skills necessary to do the job.
9. To contribute to and adhere to the Association’s financial regulations, standing orders, policies and procedures, in particular: Health & Safety, Confidentiality, Equal Opportunities, Data Protection and Customer Care.
Hightown operates a non-smoking policy. It is not permitted to smoke in any property belonging to tenants or the Association. Services Users co-operation can be sought to encourage them not to smoke whist you are in their homes.
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PERSON SPECIFICATION
Home Ownership Officer
Essential / Desirable / Evidenced by *Knowledge & Understanding
Ability to obtain a recognised qualification commensurate with the post / ü / Application/Interview
Knowledge of landlord and tenant law, law relating to leaseholders / ü / Interview
Skills & Ability
Computer literate with ability to be self servicing in letter writing / ü / Application and Test
Numerate and accurate with figures / ü / Test
Able to work in a team structure / ü / Interview
A clear communicator both orally and in writing / ü / Interview & Test
Able to use own initiative in dealing with a wide variety of people / ü / Interview
Able to respond to leaseholders/shared owners initial queries on service charge budgets / ü
Experience
Leasehold services / ü / Application
Housing management / ü
Service charge/rent arrears recovery / ü / Application and interview
Budget monitoring / ü / Interview
Experience of low cost home ownership options / ü / Application /Interview
Day to day decision making in an office environment / ü / Interview
Personal Characteristics
A high level of attention to detail / ü / Interview /test
Good time management and organisational skills / ü / Interview
Customer focus and excellent interpersonal skills / ü / Interview
Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines and targets / ü / Interview
Other requirements
Car owner and qualified driver / ü / Certification
Flexible approach to working hours / ü / Interview
Understand and demonstrate a willingness to promote positively Hightown’s Equality and Diversity Policy / ü / Interview