New for 2022 Care have launched ‘Home Check Cards’. These are for our housing officers – Jonny, Claire and Salvo – to use when visiting tenants and inspecting their properties.
The cards have space to write a comment as well as a blank face for the housing officers to draw a smile or frown on according to how well the property check went. We hope this will enable more of our tenants to understand the message and engage with Care. A frowny face and notes for improvement help remind recipients of their tenancy obligations and encourage them to take ownership of responsibilities (with support as needed).
A second function is if a tenant is not present for the pre-arranged property inspection, their housing officer can leave a card to still engage with them. The card will let the tenant know a property check has been completed and whether the inspection went well or there are any areas that should be improved.
We aim to carry out at least 4 visits to each property per year. As an incentive, any tenants who get 4 ‘good’ home checks in the year will be entered into a prize draw! Our Tenants’ Group will help decide what the prize should be* and we will let everyone know.
So far, the majority of tenants have responded positively to the Home Check Cards (and a number have been happy to show off their own smiley faces alongside the smiley face on their card). Members of support staff have also fed back that they think the scheme is a good idea and gives staff an extra way to encourage the people they support with things like keeping their home clean and tidy.
If you have any feedback about this or you have another idea to share, please contact your housing officer or phone Care on 0345 4377367.
*If you are a tenant and would like to find out more about the Tenants’ Group and how you can get involved please email doreen@careha.org.uk, speak to your housing officer or contact Care on 0345 4377367.