Housing & Property Services recruitment specialists

Housing recruitment – social hearts, commercial minds

More than 150,000 people are employed in housing & property services across the UK and are tasked with managing and servicing the five million homes owned by housing associations and local councils. Whilst local authorities have historically been the main employers of housing professionals, in recent years, the transfer of property to large-scale voluntary transfer (LSVT) organisations has meant that housing associations are now the main employer. Housing functions are under huge pressure to work more efficiently, with increased demands and fewer resources. External factors including welfare reform, the lack of housing supply and the increasing gap between income and housing costs, are placing significant pressure on both housing organisations and tenants, resulting in the current push to identify cost saving initiatives, and recruit the people needed to implement these. In April 2016 housing associations were forced to cut social housing rents by 1 percent each year for years, in an attempt to decrease the country’s housing benefit bill which constitutes around 14 percent of welfare spending. The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 has had a huge impact on the sector since its roll out, greatly reducing the number of homes being built, which has further impacted the housing shortage. More recently we have also witnessed the implementation of The Homeless Reduction Act which again is placing greater pressures on professionals working within the sector. Local authorities staffing needs are greater and will continue to grow as the workload rises. My worry is the sustainability of this long-term. With more people being classified as homeless there comes a much greater need for homeless prevention officers and review officers, and if budgets are not increasing dramatically with the new system I worry local authorities will not be able to afford the support they need. In addition to this, the benefits cap which saw a reduction in the amount a family can receive in benefits in a year, has further created a need for cost saving within housing organisations. Tenant’s loss of income from the reduced benefit cap will first hit their housing benefit allowance, which is likely to result in increased arrears and many urban areas becoming unaffordable for large families. Impact on recruitment So how has this impacted recruitment in the housing sector? Currently there is a strong demand for housing professionals with solid strategic and commercial experience, who can dissect the way a service is run and implement changes to drive cost savings. Specifically in demand are policy officers, who are able to navigate and contend with the policy changes the government continues to implement. Rent arrears is and always has been in huge demand, given it is the main source of income for housing associations and local authorities, with an immediate impact on the bottom line. We are seeing a marked increase in the demand for rental arrears officers who are skilled not only in rental arrears recovery, but also taking preventative measures such as educating tenants on how to avoid going into arrears moving forward. We are also witnessing an increase in demand for temporary and contract housing professionals, as a number of housing organisations internally restructure their teams to support policy changes. This results is an increased need for interims, from strategy to support level, whilst restructures are taking place. Today’s housing candidate needs the ability to be effective in a quickly changing environment, possess commercial awareness and the ability to respond to challenging situations creatively. Due to cost cutting measures across the sector, candidates need to be aware that lower rates may be offered compared with previous years, and they may need to be more flexible. Interestingly, we are seeing a rise in clients and candidates using social media platforms like LinkedIn and social housing website forums to reach out to recruiters, reducing the reliance on the traditional method of job board advertising. The housing team here at Sellick Partnership have identified and responded to the demand for commercially minded housing professionals and can provide tailored recruitment solutions to housing associations, local authorities and charities. Please visit www.sellickpartnership.co.uk/housing for our latest vacancies within housing, or if you are interested in the sector please feel free to get in touch with me directly for a confidential chat on 01782 572000 or email claire.harrison@sellickpartnership.co.uk.

Homeless Reduction Bill: new efforts to tackle homelessness

For years we have seen demand for affordable housing outstrip supply, rents rapidly rise above incomes and affordable housing lists grow. Subsequently, once again one of the major housing crisis’ we face nationally is homelessness. Under current legislation, homeless people are not considered a ‘priority’, with many being turned away when they approach their local authority for help. The homeless reduction bill is a newly proposed law making its way through parliament that aims to change this. It will require councils to prevent and relieve homelessness regardless of priority need, extend the time that households are considered at risk of homelessness, and house those at risk in emergency accommodation. Implications Decrease in homelessness: The latest figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) report found there was a 30 percent increase in people sleeping rough in England from 2015 to 2016 and major aim of the legislation is to alleviate such statistics nationwide. St Mungo’s believe it is “a momentous opportunity to improve the current legislation to prevent and tackle homelessness in England more effectively, at a time when rough sleeping is continuing to rise.” Saving government money in the long-term: Crisis, a leading homeless charity is another organisation backing the bill. Matthew Downie, Director of Policy believes in the longer term the bill will save money for both local and national government by helping to prevent homelessness earlier and minimising money spent on temporary accommodation and support. Increased cost to councils: The greatest cost incurred to councils is projected to be from the increase in need for private rented temporary accommodation. Other cost incurrences have been highlighted to arise from the proposed increase in staffing numbers needed to fulfil the new duties. Lewisham Council alone has estimated an extra £2.3 million will be needed a year. To counteract this, the government have proposed a further £48 million funding for council’s to help them deliver new and expanded services. What lies ahead? Homelessness is a subject that has been in the public eye for years, yet one that has been easily overlooked for decades. With the UK being one of the wealthiest countries, the level of homelessness we now face and the poor attempts to reduce them is unacceptable. Many will be in support of a government plan to bring in a proactive homelessness duty on local authorities, however, the proposed legislation is surrounded by complex arguments, challenges and judicial reviews that cannot be ignored. Subsequently, debates continue and it still remains to be seen whether this will be the beginning of a resolution to one of the many current housing crisis' the UK faces. For further information on legislative changes within the housing sector, visit our insights page. Alternatively, browse our latest roles.

Housing & Property Services

Housing recruitment – social hearts, commercial minds

Our five top tips to contracting in Supported Housing

Homeless Reduction Bill: new efforts to tackle homelessness