Who are we?
Structure of the Directorate
Provision of and responsibility for housing services sits within
the Directorate of Social Services and Housing. The housing service
consists of the following four divisions within this
Directorate:
Housing Management:
are responsible for managing the Department's 9,700 properties
throughout the County Borough. We have 3 conveniently situated Area
Housing Offices in Port Talbot, Neath and Pontardawe.
Homelessness and Grants:
offer housing advice and support to potentially homeless persons
and families together with a range of grant advice and where
relevant assistance to both council tenants and private owners
needing to renovate or adapt their homes.
Housing Strategy:
Housing Strategy has a wide range of functions including policy
development, statistic collation, establishing and maintaining
partnerships with Registered Social Landlords, implementation and
administration of the Supporting People Programme, and tenant and
resident participation.
Housing Finance:
provide accountancy support to the Housing Services Department. The
section is also responsible for the processing of Right to Buy
applications, the management of Service Charges for leasehold
flats, the processing of Grant payments and the recovery of Former
Tenant Arrears
Building Services:
provide day to day repairs services to 1200 properties, manage
capital investment to improve council homes and the service that
repairs empty council homes before they are re-let.
Housing
Management Division
Housing Management are responsible for allocating and managing
all Council owned properties and ensure that tenants adhere to
their conditions of tenancy. The department is directly managed by
the Coordinator of Council Housing Services. The section also plans
for and supports current services provided by the Department by
monitoring its performance, developing customer care standards and
practices, facilitating Best Value Service Reviews and developing
new policies and procedures.
The Housing Services division has three conveniently located
local housing offices, each managed by an Area Housing Manager.
They are located at:
Port Talbot Area Housing Office,
Civic Centre,
Port Talbot,
SA13 1PJ
Neath Area Housing Office,
Neath Civic Centre,
Water Street,
Neath,
SA11 3QZ
Pontardawe Area Housing Office,
One Stop Shop,
Holly Street,
Pontardawe,
SA8 4ET
At Housing Offices tenants can pay their water charges and
Council Tax, report repairs, get help and advice about anything
affecting their homes such as nuisance or anti-social behaviour,
and issues regarding their tenancy such as transfers, mutual
exchanges, right to buy, and receive information about other
Council services.
Housing Management administer the authorities waiting list for
Council accommodation, allocating properties to people on the
waiting list through the allocation policy. Persons interested in
being housed by the authority need to complete a housing
application one can be picked up from the above offices or downloaded using the following link. Should any
difficulties be experienced in completing the form, call in person
to any of the above offices where a member of staff will be more
than willing to assist.
In addition to managing the Council's general needs
accommodation (Houses, Flats, Bungalows and Maisonettes), the
department also manages 22 Sheltered Housing Complexes / schemes
scattered throughout the Borough. Sheltered Housing provides
accommodation for persons over the age of 60, a Scheme Manager is
resident in the complex who acts as a good neighbour.
The department is also responsible for nominating suitable
applicants to Housing Associations who have vacancies through
nomination agreements. Details of applicants who have expressed an
interest in being accommodated by Housing Associations will be
forwarded on request when they have suitable vacancies. The
National HOMES exchange scheme is also administered by the
department, this scheme allows people to apply for accommodation in
other parts of the country.
Each Housing Office is staffed by a team of:
- Housing Assistants who administer Housing Applications, the
garden maintenance scheme, garage and HOMES applications, the
movement of keys on void / vacant properties, collect rent, pursue
water and rent arrears and provide support for Housing Officers as
and when required.
- Housing Officers are responsible for a patch of approximately
440 properties, allocating vacant homes, visiting and assessing
applicants for housing and related services, giving housing advice,
pursuing rent arrears, dealing with complaints of nuisance and anti
social behaviour, deal with all estate management related problems
in their designated area.
- A Senior Housing Officer who supports, organises and advises a
team of Housing Officers and Assistants, recording and monitoring
performance management information, deals with and attends court
cases and the higher level arrears cases of rent and water debts up
to and including the eviction of tenants for non payment.
- A Special Projects Officer is responsible for developing and
overseeing new initiatives especially around regeneration
projects.
- Senior Housing Officers - non operational provide cover for the
operational Senior officers, manage Information Technology for
letting and arrears monitoring, supervise the Sheltered
Accommodation Scheme Managers and relief Scheme Managers who
service Sheltered Accommodation. Implement and develop performance
monitoring information and processes.
- Sheltered Housing Scheme Managers provide a good neighbour
service to tenants in sheltered housing schemed.
Homelessness,
Renewal and Regeneration
They deal with homelessness applications in accordance with Part
III of the 1985 Housing Act as well as providing general housing
advice. The Single Homeless and Young Single Homeless Strategies
have in conjunction with Social Services, Housing Associations and
voluntary bodies provided housing and support for young single
homeless persons. Rough sleepers and roofless initiatives are also
being developed in order to provide direct access and move-on
accommodation as well as support packages.
Housing Renewals and Development is responsible for the Private
Sector Housing Strategy, Policy and Procedures. It undertakes
improvement and disabled facilities grant assessments and
administers the grants system for private home-owners, tenants and
landlords and bids for Government funding for private sector
improvements. It also co-ordinates urban renewal programmes,
Neighbourhood Renewal Areas and private sector group repair
programmes.
Many Community Partnership Projects are being undertaken where
we work with other organisations to improve tenants and residents
homes and surroundings, such as the Care and Repair agency which
also falls within this Service.
Housing Strategy
Housing Strategy has a wide range of functions. Policy
development in this section provides the strategic planning role
for the housing service. This involves the development and
publication of the Local Housing Strategy, co-ordinating the
development programme for new affordable housing, undertaking the
necessary research into housing issues. The section plans for and
supports current services provided by the Department by monitoring
its performance, developing customer care standards and practices,
facilitating Best Value Service Reviews and developing new policies
and procedures.
Residents’ Participation is one of the ways in which The Council
keeps in touch with the people and communities it serves, and makes
sure that the services we provide reflect the needs and aspirations
of the community. Neath Port Talbot is committed to the principle
and recognises several different groups as representative of the
communities they live in. For further information and to see where
groups are active visit our Residents'
Participation page.
The Supporting People Team is also located within the Housing
Strategy section. Supporting People is new Government programme for
the funding and planning of housing related support services. The
aim of the programme is to make sure that the support services
provided are of a high quality, and that they meet the needs of
local people therefore enabling them to live independently in the
community.
The Supporting People Team has the responsibility for
administering the scheme locally and ensuring that the programme is
implemented effectively within the council. The Team is made up of
five members of staff who each have a lead responsibility for an
element of the Supporting People Programme whilst sharing some
generic project responsibilities.
The Team comprises:
- Supporting People Planning and Development Manager
- Supporting People Contract and Review Manager
- Supporting People Planning Officer
- Supporting People Finance Officer
- Supporting People Administrative Officer.
Housing
Finance
Housing Accounts is a section that provides accountancy support
to the Housing Services Department. This involves the setting of
budgets, budgetary control, payment of invoices, rent accounting
and statistical returns.
This section is also responsible for the processing of any Right
to Buy applications, the management of the Service Charge system
for leasehold flats, the processing of Grant Payments and the
recovery of Former Tenant Arrears.
Building
Services Division
Building Services is comprised of all of the professionals
responsible for building maintenance and upkeep, such as Project
Managers, Surveyors, and tradesmen who deal with project
management, construction administration and monitoring of planned
and cyclical maintenance to the Council's housing stock. They also
manage and administer, monitor and manage the responsive repairs
and works to void council property and developing the long term
repair, maintenance and improvement program for council
housing.