Jackie's housing 'passport' provides peace of mind

Tuesday 7th June 2011

Hyndburn Homes is one of a number of social landlords in the East Lancashire area supporting a new Passport to Housing qualification.

Linda Chelton from Hyndburn Homes explains: "People living independently for the first time often find it difficult to cope," she said. "This could be because they are young first time tenants, or they have issues around drugs, debt or mental health. Obviously we want to help people remain in their home and we are looking at ways to offer support."
Passport to Housing is one such method. It is a package of pre-tenancy training designed to teach people how to maintain a tenancy successfully. The programme covers how to be a good tenant, budgeting and money management, dealing with utility companies and progression to work and training.

46 year old Jackie Scott is one of the first residents to gain her Passport to Housing. Jackie is a recovering drug addict and currently lives in a supported housing scheme in Accrington. She is now looking to gain independence and move to her own home.

"I'm now on the housing waiting list," she said. "Having this qualification means that when I bid for a property through the B-with-us choice based letting scheme, the qualification will give me a better chance of getting a social housing property because landlords know that I can manage my tenancy."

Passport to Housing is an accredited level one qualification and has been developed by social landlords working in partnership with Accrington and Rossendale College. To date, Hyndburn Homes has delivered the pilot course to 19 students and the feedback from them has been very positive.

"It is in both the tenants and the landlords best interest to ensure that both of them understand what is expected of each other," said Jackie.

"This course provided me with lots of information that I didn't know such as thinking about the best sort of lease for my needs and how to prioritise bills and avoid getting into debt.

"I now feel more confident than ever about managing my own home and better still I know that there is a support network available should I need it. It's a great idea."

Posted by 0 for Hyndburn Homes Ltd.