1. NCH – Tenancy Sustainment Team

2. Context 25,592 current tenancies Annual rent debit £105,000,000
62% of tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit
2,400 affected by the under-occupancy charge
223 households affected by the reduced benefit cap
407 live UC cases – average debt £566.66
8/326 of Local Authorities for income deprivation

3. Our approach Supportive approach to income management
Tenancy Sustainment Strategy
Advice and support tailored to individual needs
Supporting health and well-being
Developing financial resilience and employability opportunities
A “Rent First” company-wide approach

4. Who we are There are seven full time Tenancy Sustainment Officers:
Kayleigh Fairholm
Denise Ferdinand
Jill McQueen
Mark Thornton
Agnes Husswin
Jessica Carreira

5. One Health and Tenancy Sustainment Officer:
Louise Bonsor
Three Rent Support Officers:
Kelly Fairhurst
Jez Poyser
Waqar Mulak

6. The Team

7. How we work
The team works in patches – each person taking responsibility for a particular geographical area of the City
There are two main areas of focus – new tenants and referrals
We take referrals from any source for NCH tenants who are in need of support to sustain their tenancy
The team primarily sign-post to the most appropriate agency for on-going support

8. Tenancy Sustainment Officers
Last year the team dealt with 2,215 new tenancies and 1,443 referrals
All new tenants are referred to the team for support with establishing their tenancy
Vulnerability assessment dictates level of support
Priority is rent being paid / Housing Benefit / essential furniture
Also help with budgeting, food parcels and clothes vouchers

9. Example of a vulnerability assessment

10. Example of a vulnerability assessment

11. Health and Tenancy Sustainment Officer
There is a proven link between health problems and financial difficulty
The H & TSO works with cases where health is a factor
Links with health agencies
Drug and alcohol dependency
Mental health issues
Health awareness campaigns

12. Rent Support Officers
Brought into team in response to welfare reform challenges
Pre-tenancy work and Universal Credit
Interviews carried out with applicants prior to taking NCH tenancy to establish financial capability and support needs
Based in JCP one day per week – sees new NCH UC claimants to provide support with claim

13. Outcomes
Positive impact on rent arrears with average rent balances being lower at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks into the tenancy compared to previous years.
Some applicants have realised that they are unable to afford the tenancy and so have not taken up the offer
Some under 35s have realised that they cannot afford flats with high service charges
The feedback from TSOs is that they are getting much better engagement from new tenants as the service has been introduced prior to tenancy sign up

14. NCH – UC figures Live UC cases – 407 UC ended cases – 102
Total UC cases since rollout (including live and ended) – 509
Average arrears for UC cases = £566.66
Average arrears on all cases = £324.83

15. Outreach Clifton Cornerstone – 2nd and 4th Tuesday each month
Denton Green, Broxtowe – once per month
Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank –every Thursday afternoon 1pm – 3pm.
RSO –
Thursday all day – Notts Central JCP
Friday – AM – Bulwell JCP
Friday – PM – Loxley House JCP

16. Additional NCH support
Education and employment key to releasing tenants from the “benefit trap”
Tenant Academy offers a range of courses to tenants including basic English and maths skills, IT, working in construction taster workshops, and how to start a market stall
Employability support has included workshops such as introduction to working in beauty and hairdressing, CV writing skills and the Work Club
Links with libraries
Employability Manager - “My work search”

17. Contact details: Moneymatters@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk
Text DOSH to for free
NCH rents line –