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What role does housing play in safeguarding?

Safeguarding is very much a core part of the business for the housing sector, the focus of the work is much more than bricks and mortar and with a greater focus on the people living within the properties.

One of the main aims for housing is about households sustaining their tenancies and to support communities – housing have a wider social responsibility to support households to sustain their tenancy.

Housing staff have a key role to play in safeguarding, and we work alongside our partners in social care, healthcare and the police to keep all household members who live in our homes or use our services safe and support them to make their own choices.

Published case reviews highlight that housing services often have a unique insight into the lifestyles of their tenants. They may receive complaints from neighbours about behaviour and they often conduct regular inspections of family homes. Because of this, they may well know about a number of issues - including parental substance abuse, anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse and neglect – sometimes before other agencies.

How is housing made up?

There is no such thing as council housing/homes anymore so this can cause confusion for our partners over who to contact in ‘housing’ often when there are concerns.

To be able to identify who to seek advice or support from, it’s important to identify the tenure of the households address.

In terms of housing tenure, housing stock tends to fall into 3 categories as follows:

  1. Registered Providers – this is where a household rents the property from a social landlord (organisations such as Salix, ForHousing, Great Places, Together Housing, etc) and used to be called Housing Associations.
  2. Privately rented housing – this is where a household rents the property from a private landlord (such as an individual or letting agent).
  3. Owner occupied – this is when the property is owned by the person living there.

Salford City Council Housing Services such the Housing Options Service and the Supported Housing Service provide support to households that are at risk of homelessness, or who are experiencing homelessness.

Under each of the registered providers and the council Housing Services, there are designated safeguarding officers who can be contacted when there are safeguarding concerns.

Housing have safeguarding systems in place and workers at all levels work to prevent abuse where possible and should be able to recognise and respond appropriately and proportionately when it occurs or is suspected.

Why are housing staff important partners when it comes to safeguarding?

Housing staff and contractors may:

  • be in a position to pick up signs of abuse and neglect when visiting tenants
  • be aware of households with needs who are not known to Children’s or Adult services
  • become aware of an individual developing care and support needs as a result of age, disability or illness
  • have local knowledge of anti-social behaviour or crime patterns such as distraction burglary

By working in partnership, particularly where there are safeguarding concerns, or concerns around non engagement and poor property condition, housing can assist to break down barriers and work jointly where appropriate to achieve the best possible outcome for the household.

Key information to seek to support joint working

When working with a household, ensure you identify the tenure of the property and the landlord at the earliest stage. Essential questions that should always be asked at the beginning of support or as part of any ongoing assessment are:

  • What is the tenure of the property? (Registered Provider, Privately Rented, Owner Occupied)
  • Who is your landlord?
  • Are there any issues in relation to your tenancy e.g. rent arrears, repairs, anti-social behaviour that I need to be aware of?

Identifying the landlord and involving the most appropriate housing rep(s) at the earliest stage in multi-agency meetings and discussions is key to being able to address more serious or complex housing issues at a later stage and to also avoid an eviction and risk of homelessness.

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