Client Interviewing and Negotiation Skills

This webinar will provide an understanding of how various aspects of housing law apply to students, in particular their rights as tenants and how they can gain access to homeless services. It will consider, in detail, how best to assist people in the context of (threatened) homelessness and how to defend people’s homes and challenge adverse homeless decisions.

Delegates should have a basic understanding of housing status. This course builds on material in the NHAS ‘Housing status and security of tenure’ course. Participants should have attended the NHAS ‘Housing status and security of tenure’ course or achieved the learning objectives for that course by another route.

This training explores the basics of social housing allocations, how it works, what a local authority’s duties are, and what powers they have in order to decide who gets housing.

This practical webinar helps delegates to develop their confidence and gain the skills to ask for what they want, disagree with others, and stay assertive when faced with challenges in order to have more impact in the workplace. Participants will be equipped with practical, implementable strategies to move away from non-assertive behaviours and toward more consistent assertiveness.

This webinar provides attendees with an opportunity to look at the barriers homeless clients experience when approaching a local authority for assistance and considers ways to reduce these barriers.

The course is aimed at an introductory level and is therefore designed to provide you with a basic understanding of what debt is, why we need to be able to identify whether a debt is a priority or not and how we use this information to advise our client's on housing related matters. You are also supplied with resources that should enable you to direct a client to suitable sources of further support should their situation require this. The course provides a general overview of debt and debt advice. Its primary function is to enable you to help clients to formulate accurate financial statements when making offers of repayment to landlords or mortgage lenders either at court, or privately.

Learn how to ensure that clients in mortgage arrears can maximise their income and prioritise their debts. The session features questions designed to assess your understanding.

This course equips delegates with the key skills to manage their caseload effectively. Participants will be enabled to set targets, identify deadlines and overcome the difficulties associated with long-term casework. Delegates will explore the issues around shared work on case files, the importance of note taking and the effective closure of cases. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

How to recognise and resist victim-blaming. Housing and homelessness legislation and the Domestic Abuse Act. Resources for both workers and their clients.

This e-learning course provides a basic understanding of Community Care and Housing in England.

An overview of community care and housing, Assessments under the Care Act.

This course provides a detailed explanation of cuckooing, including who is most at risk and the common signs that a person is being cuckooed. It covers the implications of cuckooing on a homeless application, with a focus on Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. This course includes: the responsibilities of landlords and adult social care to victims of cuckooing, an explanation of closure orders, who applies for them, how long they last, and the consequences of a breach, the evidence required by a court for a closure order, injunction, or eviction.

This course examines the seven basic needs of clients and the most common frustrations of people who are dealing with poor customer service. You’ll learn to help distressed or difficult customers through positive language and active listening, implement strategies to prevent further upset and apply techniques using case studies.

This course provides a practical understanding of court’s powers to assist mortgage borrowers in arrears. It looks at practical and legal issues that arise in defending mortgage possession proceedings in court and the court’s powers to allow borrowers to remain in their homes. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

Following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in 2022, the government announced plans to make major changes to the law on damp and mould for both the private and social sector. This training covers current housing law provisions in relation to disrepair and housing conditions. It focuses on landlord’s legal obligations, tenants’ rights and the different methods of enforcement. Future reform, and what the sector can expect when it comes to tackling disrepair and poor housing conditions, are also covered.

Definitions of Domestic Violence, Different forms of Domestic Violence, Myths and stereotypes, Signs and indicators of Domestic Violence, Why clients may remain in or return to abusive relationships, 'Honour' based abuse, Risk assessment overview and high-risk support services, Overview of Civil Law legal rights and options, Non-Molestation Order and Occupation Order Injunctions, Protection from Harassment Act, Sanctuary Project Provisions by local authorities, Signposting and referral to specialist domestic violence services.

This event covers the duty to refer process under s.213B Housing Act 1996. You'll learn how to achieve the best possible outcomes when working with women in housing need and those in the criminal justice system. This event will cover: how the duty to refer works, relevant homelessness law and guidance, including priority need, suitability and intentional homelessness, how to address the key challenges for women with complex needs and those supporting them.

This workshop provides an overview of the key elements considered by local authorities when deciding if a homeless applicant is eligible for homelessness assistance. This workshop will focus on the second test of a homeless application whether the applicant is eligible for assistance. When an authority considers whether an applicant is eligible it must be able to identify whether the applicant is a person who is entitled to housing assistance. You will explore the legislation and case law that applies to this part of the second test of whether an applicant is entitled to the main housing duty.

The right of abode and eligibility of commonwealth citizens. The classes of people who are subject to immigration control and eligible for housing assistance. Relevant case law which can apply to non-EEA nationals.

This webinar provides an overview of emotional labour. Emotional labour is the personal energy it takes for the purpose of addressing people’s feelings, making people comfortable, or living up to social expectations. It’s called “emotional labour” because it ends up using – and often draining – our emotional resources. Staff working with people at risk of homelessness require high levels of social skills and emotional intelligence. This course will help them to consider the impact of emotional labour, skills to enhance their resilience, and models of reflective practice. The training also serves as an excellent reminder of ‘why I do this job’ and can assist in avoiding ‘job burnout’.

This course trains advisers/staff to support residents to make better decisions around money with a view to being more likely to afford accommodation sustainably. It will allow advisers to discuss budgeting, maximising income, prioritising spending, borrowing and debt, fuel costs and managing relationships with institutions such as banks and fuel providers when issues arise. It will also give advisers/staff an overview of Universal Credit problems and solutions. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

This course will support participants to recognise and address challenging situations using a range of strategies developed through psychological theories. The training will support participants to effectively manage difficult conversations and situations and be able to diffuse situation before they escalate. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

½ Day Course. Delegates will develop an understanding of the issues surrounding hoarding behaviours and have the skills to refer concerns appropriately in order to get them some support. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back.

This workshop provides an overview of the key elements considered by local authorities when deciding if a homeless applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. This workshop will focus on the first test of a homeless application whether the applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. When an authority considers whether an applicant is homeless it must be able to identify whether the applicant is homeless now or within the next 8 weeks. You will explore the legislation and case law that applies to this part of the first test of whether an applicant is entitled to the main housing duty.

This introductory course is for trainee advisers and others who would like to develop their knowledge of homelessness. It is not aimed at experienced/specialist housing advisers who have existing knowledge of homelessness legislation.

This course aims to provide a basic understanding of homelessness law and access to local authority housing. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

This training will cover the obligation on landlords introduced by The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 to keep their property "fit" and the rights it gives tenants to take legal action where their landlord fails to do so. It will look at the new non-statutory guidance issued by the MCHLG to help tenants, landlords and local authorities understand the Act which comes into force on 20 March 2019. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

This course trains advisers/staff to understand the complex regulations which apply to the Housing Benefit awarded for Supported Housing. It is designed for advisers/staff that work in the supported sector, those who set rents for the schemes, and decision makers at Local Authority housing benefit sections. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

This course outlines the role of housing benefit within the wider welfare benefits system, and enables delegates to establish who can claim housing benefit and how it is calculated. Delegates will develop the confidence and knowledge necessary to give basic advice about housing benefit.

This course trains advisers/staff to understand the complex regulations which apply to the Housing Cost Element in Universal Credit. It is suitable for advisers/staff that check claimant’s awards and advise on benefits generally. Having training delivered face-to-face allows more time for interactive groupwork, activities and questions. Delegates also benefit from receiving a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.

Provides experienced practitioners with an update regarding key developments in housing law, with an emphasis on recent case law decisions and their implications for housing advice and casework. Housing law is vast and multifaceted. While we have done our best to distil the most critical information for you, it’s important to note that not every possible case will be covered in this training. Instead, we have focussed on the key cases and updates that will provide you with the knowledge you require to excel in your role within housing and homelessness. This selective approach to what is covered during the session ensures you receive the most valuable and practical insights into new case law and legislative/ policy updates. However, we do provide every delegate with our Roundup booklet which contains helpful summaries of recent cases and other housing and homelessness-related content for review after the training.

This practical course gives an overview of the procedural rules governing possession claims and will help participants to prepare for possession hearings and to appear for landlords or tenants in court. It covers the Pre-Action Protocol, the Civil Procedure Rules and a practical approach to hearings. This practical training is delivered face-to-face to allow time for interactive group work, activities and questions. Delegates receive a detailed course handbook to revisit when back at their desk.