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As the private rented sector continues to grow apace and as the great local authority restructuring pendulum swings between specialist officers and generic officers (and back again) there has never been a better time to lay out the toolkit of the Tenancy Relations Officer for all to use.
Last week I dragged my frozen body down from South London to a snowy Hampshire to share my 25 years of experience with the good folk of Basingstoke & Deane Council, a good, experienced crew with that combination of ‘been there, got the T shirt’ wisdom and a sense of humour which is always so prized among trainers for lubricating the day’s proceedings.
A mixed bag of homelessness prevention officers, procurement officers, EHOs and 202 reviewing officers attended.
A good spread of people, because as any TRO will tell you, the work isn’t just about prosecutions and tenants rights, it’s the best homelessness prevention tool you can have.
If you can spot dodgy eviction procedures or know how to back off a recalcitrant landlord from harassment then voila….the property is ‘Reasonable to continue to occupy’ again. Homelessness prevented, and nary a bond scheme or DHP solution needed.
We looked at tenants rights, landlords obligations, remedies for various breaches and even a section on tracking down people who don’t want to be tracked down using the internet, which is quite scary…….close your facebook account now!!!!!.
"The team really enjoyed the day. I think the toolkit will be really useful for us. We received a phone call on Friday regarding a landlord harassing his tenant over the use of a parking space so have been able to put the training in to practice already!".....Victoria James, Manager Basingstoke & Deane Council
