Summary of activities

2014-2015

Advice & Support - Consultancy

Calls to our housing consultancy lines increased by 12%

….that’s 13,515!

Those calls produced 11,315 new and repeat enquiries, 11% more than last year

Altogether we sent 9472 confirmation of advice emails

Call time has increased slightly, with an average call taking 30 minutes

Use of the online call back service has increased too, we had 442 online call back requests, 68% more than last year

Members advice (by cases opened)

CAB; 55%

NATIONALS; 3%

LOCAL; 11%

LA; 31%

CABNATIONALSLOCALLA

Top 10 presenting problems*

Landlord dispute/problem/other; 1671

Assistance needed:

Homeless-ness advice general; 611

Possession action: s21/other mandatory;

609

Tenancy deposit

problem/ dispute; 398Assistance

needed: Challenge of homeless-ness deci-sions; 394

Rents: ar-rears; 370

Assistance needed: Help with homeless

application; 316

Dampness/disrepair;

302

HB / Local Housing Al-

lowance; 288

Possession action: Rent ar-rears; 276

*not including ‘other’

Assistance needed:

Homeless-ness advice general; 683 Assistance

needed: Help with homeless

application; 482

Possession action: s21/other mandatory;

409

Landlord dispute/prob-

lem/other; 339

Being threatened/ is at risk of

eviction; 133

Assistance needed: Chal-

lenge of homeless-ness deci-sions; 133

Possession Action: s21;

112

Reason seek-ing accom-modation

help: ineligible for help due to

immigration status; 104

Tenancy deposit problem/ dispute; 103 Reason seeking accom-

modation help: relationship breakdown; 93

NHAS Consultancy Line (bureaux and agencies)

Local Authority Housing Advice Line

Training

In 2014-15 we have:

Delivered 280 face-to-face courses to 3981 advisers Over 4687 e learning or bite size sessions Reviewed and updated 5 courses from our bureau and agency programme

and produced a new Housing Update course Produced 2 new Bitesize, and reviewed a further 7 Carried out 7 reviews and updates on Local Authority training and rolled out a

new Security of Tenure course Delivered 34 webinars, that included developing a new Out of Hours: Best

Practice webinar, and the AST:S21 Notices – an overview webinar Developed 3 new briefing sessions Oversaw the migration of NHAS bitesize on to a new platform, this involved

reviewing and reproducing the entire bitesize catalogue ready for launch in April 2015

Advisers trained (F2F) – all members

Q1 Apr - Jun 2014 Q2 Jul - Sept 2014 Q3 Oct - Dec 2014 Q4 Jan - Mar 20150

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

723 533 492 1050

272

377307

262

Bureaux/Agencies LAs

Ad

vise

rs t

rain

ed

Course Topics

Homelessness Advice Next Steps; 10

Housing Advice & Relationship Breakdown; 27

Housing and Welfare Reform; 29

Housing Assistance for Persons From Abroad; 11

Housing Foundation ; 94

Hlessness Casework Skills, 6

Housing Update Course; 7

Mortgage Arrears & Budgeting; 6

Mortgage Arrears & Possession Process; 7

Possession Proceedings for Rented; 20

Rented Housing Issues Made Clear; 2

Rented Housing Next Steps; 15

Courses delivered - Bureaux and agencies

Advising Non Priority Clients; 8Basic

Mortgage Debt Ad-vice; 8

Housing Advice for Housing

Options; 10

Persons from

Abroad; 30

Relationship Breakdown,

DV & Hlessness;

16

Security of Tenure; 7

Welfare Re-form for

Rented Ac-commoda-

tion; 16

Young People, Hlessness & Housing

Options; 7

Advising & Assisting

Non Priority Households;

5

Spare Room Subsidy; 1Student

Union Tenancy Deposits;

2

AST Section 21 - An

overview; 5

Advice on tenancy deposits,

2

Out of hours; 5Preventing Mortgage Repos-

sessions; 1

Persons from abroad:

changes to benefit enti-tlement; 13

Local Authority Face to face Webinars: Agencies and Local Authorities

Development – Training for Bureaux & Agencies

New face-to-face courses developed

Security of Tenure

Housing update course

New bite size

Challenging homelessness review decisions

Social housing tenancies

Briefings

Private Rented Sector tenancies briefing for all audiences

S21 and Tenancy Deposits briefing for all audiences

Allocations and Homelessness briefings for Citizens Advice

Webinars

Out of Hours best Practice

AST S21 notices – an overview

Course reviews – Training for Bureaux & Agencies

Bitesize & Self Study:

Applying to suspend a warrant of possession

Mortgage possession self-study pack

Localism bite size

Courses amended, reviewed, updated

Rented Housing Next Steps

Homelessness Advice Next Steps

Housing Assistance for Persons from Abroad

Housing and Relationship Breakdown

Housing and welfare reform Mortgage arrears & budgeting

Mortgage arrears and possession process

Development – Local Authority Training

Face to face course reviews

Housing Advice for Housing Options

Persons from Abroad

Young people: homelessness and housing options

Bitesize

The bitesize elearning platform was migrated and this included development of a new hosting site, as well as a review of all the existing materials and reproducing the content with new elearning software ready for launch in April 2015

Mortgage Debt Advice & Housing Debt Casework

Lenders had commenced possession proceedings in 40% of cases

Homelessness was prevented in over 1215 cases,

In October 2014, the Mortgage Debt Advice service became the Housing Debt Casework service. This wasn’t just a change in name, the service broadened to include more 2nd tier work and to also provide advice on welfare benefits and rent arrears, alongside mortgage debt.

Between October and March we:• provided support with 108 welfare benefits cases• Handled 104 2nd tier advice calls

A large number of cases were about interest only mortgages coming to the end of their fixed term and no means to pay off the capital loan

Mortgage Debt Advice – referrals April to Sept 2014

Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14

Local authority 51 29 21 21 15 24

Helpline * Shelter Services 104 136 137 149 68 80

Registered providers 16 13 7 6 6 5

Returning clients 21 21 20 16 23 24

Lenders 1 0 0 1 0 0

OVAs 26 25 13 13 14 29

25

75

125

175

225

Cas

es o

pen

ed

Housing Debt Casework – referrals Oct 2014 to Mar 2015

Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15

Local authority 19 24 14 13 11 22

Helpline * Shelter Services 61 72 54 101 64 71

Registered providers 2 2 1 0 0 0

Returning clients 27 21 13 15 11 23

CAB 12 7 3 9 9 15

OVAs 28 17 20 20 31 25

10

30

50

70

90

110

130

150

170

Cas

es o

pen

ed

Mortgage Debt Advice Outcomes – April to Sept 2014

Case stopped on advisers recom-mendation; 27

Cl advised & taking action self/with 3rd pty help; 182

Client loses accommoda-tion no other outcome

possible; 18

Homelessness delayed; 110

Client referred on ex-ternally/ internally; 17

Homelessness prevented; 162

One-off case - client informed of all op-tions; 90Permanently re-housed; 27

Other outcome; 150

Outcome unknown; 19

Permanent existing accomm retained; 445

Temporary Accommodation Secured; 8

Housing Debt Casework Outcomes – Oct to March 2015

Case stopped on advisers recom-mendation; 30

Cl advised & taking ac-tion self/with 3rd pty help;

182

Client loses accommoda-tion no other outcome

possible; 8

Homelessness delayed; 76

Client referred on ex-ternally/internally; 8

Homelessness prevented; 44

One-off case - client informed of all op-tions; 77

Other outcome; 87

Temporary Accommoda-tion Secured; 3

Outcome unknown; 20

Permanent existing accomm retained; 259

Permanently re-housed; 14

Mortgage Debt Casework - most common presenting problems

Affordability problems; 33

Arrears: mortgage; 337

Eviction (bailiffs war-rant): Mortgage; 255

Possession action: Mortgage arrears; 318

Possession action: Rent arrears; 72

Housing Debt Casework - most common presenting problems

Affordability prob-lems; 113

Arrears: mortgage; 247

Arrears: rent; 25

Eviction (bailiffs warrant): Mortgage; 104

Possession action: Mortgage arrears; 185

Possession action: Rent arrears; 13

Welfare benefits problems; 93

Information Resources

Housing and homelessness information in AdviserNet

Housing Matters and additional factsheet (bi-monthly)

Adviser magazine (bi-monthly)

Updated of publications e.g. dealing with mortgage arrears

Monthly e-bulletins to members

www.nhas.org.uk

Bi monthly updates for Housing Matters providing you with leaflets on the Out of Hours emergencies, Tips on temporary accommodation, Habitual Residence test, Mutual exchange, Health & Safety at home, Homelessness: 16 & 17 year olds and articles covering New rules for EEA workers and jobseekers, Tackling rogue landlords, Liverpool Family Support Service and Keeping homeless families together

Monthly email bulletin updates to all members and introduced HTML bulletin form from January 2015

Advisor magazine – contributed regular housing articles to this bi monthly publication

Developed or updated housing information items on AdviserNet

Development – Agency Membership

39 new members signed up34 local advice agencies and 5 national organisations

Overall membership included170 OVAs 19 Nationals34 Student Services26 Young peoples’ organisations

Membership154 expressions of interest in membership9 expression of interest meetings26 existing agency meetings11 presentations to potential, new and existing members

New members – local voluntary organisations

Gregory’s Place Barnardo’s Project

CommuniCare

Royds Community Association

New Era Enterprises Ltd

West View Advice & Resource Centre,

DSU (De Montfort Uni)

Framework,

My Sisters Place

Stonham Worcester

Teesside University

Canvey Island Youth Project

St Petrock’s

Just for Kids Law

Nomad

SUBU Advice (Student Union Bournemouth Uni)

County Community Projects,

The Oaklea Trust,

University of East London Students’ Union

Talking Money

Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network,

The Single Homeless Project

Croydon Drop in

Coast and Country

Moving on Durham

Swanswell,

Holme Wood Advice Service,

Kiveton Park Independent Advice Centre

Worcester University Union

Birmingham City University Student Union

Lancaster and District Homeless Action Service Ltd

East European Advice Centre,

EDP Exeter,

Manningham Project,

New members – national organisations

Christians Against Poverty

The Debt Counsellors Charitable Trust

DePaul UK

P3

Crisis Skylights

Resources

129,438 website visits

Top web pages for members:

Voluntary agencies Local Authorities

Training & Events Information & Resources

Face to face courses Training & Events

Bitesize Housing Advice factsheets

Housing Advice factsheets LA Housing Advice Line

Consultancy Housing Matters

NHAS website work

We migrated the website content to a new platform in April 2014 and continued to redevelop the site navigation to improve user’s experience. We also started the migration of the Improving Outcomes for Young People site, which will join the NHAS website in 2015.

A new Local Practice library has been added to showcase and share various NHAS audience local ideas and practice, 4 were added to the library in the final quarter:• Orbit: Sustainability Checker & guidance • Wigan Housing: Pre tenancy training workshop and pre/post

tenancy 121 advice & support• Ebor Gardens Money Buddies• Breathing Space (Wakefield Council)

youngpeopleoutcomes.org.uk

This website is a resource to help professionals working with young people on housing, homelessness and other issues.

It is designed to help frontline advisers, local authorities and their partners work together to prevent and tackle youth homelessness, recognising that safe, decent and affordable housing underpins achievement of other positive outcomes - whether these relate to education, training, employment, health, or safer communities

Follow us on twitter Improving Outcomes @1O4YP 

Visits to the site have grown hugely:• 12,507 website visits, more than double compared with last year• 32,422 page views:• 21,427 visits to the ‘Advice for advisers of young people’ page• 3,623 visits to the ‘Delivering services for young people’ page

Best practice workshops delivered by Citizens Advice

Between January and March Citizens Advice delivered 7 workshops (against a target of 6) in; Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York and London.

The workshops used practical examples and case studies and attendees were supported to draw out good practice, appropriate use of referrals, identifying action that can be taken by the client, the bureau and the courts at each stage:

Notices, grounds & defences (secure and assured)

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – offences and options/defences

Other tenancies Introductory, Family Intervention Tenancies, Demoted; homelessness duty related; starter tenancy.

Human Rights or public law defences & Article 8 proportionality threshold

Other Grounds for possession Exploring those other grounds for possession for secured and assured tenancies not necessarily linked to rent arrears or antisocial behaviour e.g. breach of tenancy, under occupation etc.,

Outcomes

We have continued our work in finding out about the outcomes for you and your clients. The percentages below are based on the members that replied to our request for information on outcomes from NHAS support:Consultancy Lines

100% of those that responded advised that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service received.  Likewise 100% of those responding would use the Consultancy Line again.

Approximately 90% of those that responded felt that the advice was very helpful towards progressing their client’s case.

Out of 39 responses that gave details of an outcome -  9 client’s secured accommodation (23%), 3 were able to stay in their current home (8%) and the vast majority of respondents (82%) felt their client had increased understanding of their rights and options

Training for Local Authorities90% of those that completed the survey said their confidence in dealing with the

training topic had increased, both immediately after training and the majority sustained this 3

months on

65% said that they had been able to apply the knowledge gained

90% said they had cascaded information they had learnt on to colleagues

Feedback

Consultancy Line: survey sent with confirmation of advice (COA)

Overall - 10% return rate

94% would use the service again

90% felt that the advice given was clear and helpful to the client

78% felt more confident in dealing with our current case and similar cases in the future

Training

Agency training – 95% (average) rated the course as good or excellent, 95% (average) rated the trainer as good or excellent

LA training - 93% (average) rated the course as good or excellent, 96% (average) rated the trainer as good or very good

89% that attended local authority training would recommend the course they attended

95% that attended local authority training thought the course level was appropriate

This was my first time using this service and was truly impressed. The consultant was absolutely brilliant. Not only in the informative answers but also with kindness,

patience and empathy. The advice given surpassed my own knowledge and gave me outlets and guidance to best support my client. It was concise and came in a surprisingly quick timeframe. I am most grateful for

not only the service but also the Consultant. (Advice Agency)

(Your trainer) came and did our Persons from Abroad training yesterday and the feedback from the team was that the

training was outstanding. I just wanted to say thanks for sorting this for us; the team feels much more confident about

tackling eligibility issues now..(Local Authority)

FeedbackMortgage Debt Advice / Housing Debt Casework

97% of LA’s that responded said that people they spoke to were friendly and informative.

94% of LA’s that responded said that they would refer cases to the service again.

94% of end users that responded said that MDA staff were friendly and approachable.

94% of end users that responded said that advice was explained clearly to them

97% of end users that responded said that they were happy with the service.

92% of end users that responded said that the service had a positive impact on their case.

Annual member survey

100% agencies were likely to recommend to a colleague

90% agencies are happy the training is meeting their organisation’s needs

76% agencies said they would find our Housing Debt Casework service useful

25% agencies said the extended consultancy line hours would benefit their service

the service remains highly thought of in a challenging, unpredictable environment

Excellent. Extremely supportive and reassuring. Not only

professional, but friendly and helpful. Got the job done! Thank

you.(HDC Client)