Accommodation Officer

Harrow Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The London Borough of Harrow is seeking a proactive Accommodation Officer to join the Housing Needs service. You will manage a portfolio of temporary accommodation, including Private Sector Leased housing, ensuring safe and well-managed homes for homeless households.

You will oversee tenancy management, repairs coordination, contract management, and regular property inspections to ensure health and safety compliance, while supporting residents with housing options and welfare concerns.

Qualifications

• Experience interviewing and assessing clients’ housing needs.
• Experience handling complex casework face to face and in writing.
• Delivering a customer-focused service and resolving queries by phone or in person.
• Ability to manage properties including anti-social behaviour and tenancy breaches.
• Experience dealing with people in stressful situations.
• Team player with initiative, flexibility and resilience.
• Maintain accurate, concise records with attention to detail.
• Strong numeracy to assess rent affordability.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of temporary accommodation, including PSL, ensuring safe, suitable and well-managed homes.
• Oversee tenancy management: voids, lettings, sustainment, repairs coordination and landlord liaison.
• Contract management with temporary accommodation providers to meet contractual obligations and compliance.
• Conduct regular property inspections to ensure health and safety compliance.
• Monitor tenancies, visits to residents, and manage authorised occupation, vacation and repossession.
• Provide practical support and signposting on housing options, welfare benefits and finances, coordinating referrals as needed.

Skills

Front-facing interviewing

Assessing housing needs

Complex casework

Customer-focused service

Rent affordability numeracy

Team collaboration

Record keeping

Dealing with stressful situations

Job description

Overview

The London Borough of Harrow is seeking a proactive and customer-focused Accommodation Officer to join the Housing Needs service. This important role is responsible for the day-to-day management of a portfolio of temporary accommodation properties, including Private Sector Leased (PSL) accommodation, ensuring that homeless households are provided with safe, suitable and well-managed homes.

As an Accommodation Officer, you will oversee all aspects of property and tenancy management, including void management, lettings, tenancy sustainment, repairs coordination and landlord liaison. You will also be responsible for managing contracts with temporary accommodation providers, ensuring that suppliers meet their contractual obligations and that accommodation remains compliant with statutory requirements and local standards.

The role involves undertaking regular property inspections to ensure accommodation continues to be suitable for occupation and fully compliant with health and safety legislation. You will monitor tenancies, conduct visits to residents in temporary accommodation and ensure authorised occupation, vacation and repossession of properties in accordance with the Council’s duties under homelessness legislation.

Working closely with households to whom the Council has accepted a housing duty, you will provide practical support and guidance to help residents explore and secure alternative housing solutions. You will also deliver advice and signposting on a broad range of issues affecting residents’ wellbeing and independence, including housing options, employment and training opportunities, welfare benefits, personal finances, tenancy management, mediation, life skills, safeguarding concerns and hoarding behaviours. Where appropriate, you will make referrals to specialist agencies and partner organisations to ensure residents receive the support they need.

This role requires close collaboration with teams across Housing Needs and other Council services to ensure a coordinated and effective approach to supporting statutorily homeless households. The successful candidate will have excellent communication and organisational skills, a strong understanding of housing and homelessness legislation, and a commitment to delivering high-quality services that improve outcomes for vulnerable residents.

About You

• Experience working in a front facing team interviewing and assessing clients’ housing needs.
• Experience of dealing with complex casework face to face and in writing.
• Experience of delivering a customer focused service, dealing with customer queries by telephone and/ or face to face, achieving satisfactory outcomes.
• Ability to manage properties including dealing with anti-social behaviour and other tenancy/licence breaches.
• Experience of dealing with people in stressful situations.
• Ability to work within a team setting using own initiative with commitment, flexibility and positive approach to achieving results and overcoming obstacles.
• Ability to maintain accurate and concise records with attention to detail.
• Effective numeracy skills to include the ability to assess rent affordability.

Related Documents

For more information, please refer to the Role Profile/Selection Criteria