Housing Solutions Officer - Maldon District Council

Housing Solutions Officer - Maldon District Council

Maldon District Council

Permanent, Full Time

£36,037.47 up to £40,765.29 per annum

Location: Maldon

Closing Date: 16th August 2026

Maldon District Council is working in partnership with Essex Shared Services to support the role of Housing Solutions Officer, a full-time position offering hybrid working with an expectation of attending the office 2 days per week.

Role Purpose:

• To provide accurate, up-to-date, and tailored housing advice, determining duties owed under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. This includes conducting Full Housing Assessments (FHAs), creating, and maintaining Personalised Housing Plans (PHPs), and scheduling regular review meetings.
• Ensure PHPs are outcome-focused and empower applicants toward sustainable housing solutions.
• Undertake proactive casework to prevent or relieve homelessness, including landlord negotiation, mediation, and partnership working.
• To issue Prevention and Relief acceptance letters, to conduct robust casework to prevent or relieve homelessness, and propose main duty decisions.
• Ensure compliance with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and other relevant housing legislation.
• Engage applicants effectively, gathering accurate information in a sensitive but thorough manner.
• Stay up to date with developments in housing legislation, case law, and statutory guidance.
• Deliver empathetic, respectful, and non-judgemental service to all customers. Handle complex and often distressing cases professionally and sensitively.
• To enable the delivery of effective early intervention and homelessness prevention.
• Work collaboratively with other agencies (e.g. social care, health, probation) to offer joined-up support.
• Ensure that enquiries and cases are managed efficiently and recorded accurately.
• Effectively manage incoming queries and referrals in line with service timescales.
• Liaise with temporary accommodation providers, emergency services, or safeguarding teams where necessary.
• Case recording and decision-making must be accurate, evidence-based, and legally sound due to potential legal challenges or reviews.
• Participate in the out of hours duty rota as and when required.

Accountabilities – Service Delivery:

• Demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, including its duties around prevention and relief, personalised housing plans and local authority responsibilities. Be familiar with accompanying statutory guidance and how it applies in practice.
• Direct or refer customers to the appropriate services, including and external partners such as Essex County Council, Social Services, Citizens Advice, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and domestic abuse support organisations, working collaboratively with teams and external agencies to resolve housing needs.
• Actively promote early intervention by supporting customers to sustain their existing housing where appropriate, or to access suitable alternative accommodation.
• Understand the full range of housing pathways available, including remaining in the home, private rented sector options, supported housing, and social housing routes, to ensure accurate advice and effective case progression.
• Maintain accurate case notes and records on the housing case management system documenting all interactions, actions and decisions made.
• Monitor and manage all incoming queries to the Housing Solutions service, responding efficiently to high volumes of communication received via Outlook, telephone, and face-to-face interactions.
• Conduct risk assessments to identify safeguarding concerns, tenancy risk factors or vulnerability indicators escalating accordingly and act in line with council procedures.
• Deliver a respectful, trauma-informed, and inclusive service to vulnerable and distressed customers. Maintain professionalism when handling challenging or emotional conversations.
• Ensure all communications are inclusive, professional and customer focused.
• Actively contribute to service improvement, highlighting trends, issues, or gaps observed during triage.

The Experience You Will Bring:

• Educated to NVQ Level 3 / A Level or equivalent experience.
• Understanding of the governance arrangements for the service and the Council.
• An understanding of housing legislation, particularly the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
• Strong awareness of safeguarding responsibilities.
• Excellent understanding of good customer service and confidentiality.
• Experience working