Alfred, one of our Rent Payment Officers, recently helped a tenant whose parents had passed away and was left on his own in a 3 bedroom property.
*Tenant names have been changed for anonymity
What was the issue?
Mr Hopkins’ father, a former tenant of ours, sadly passed away in July last year. Mr Hopkins had lived all his life in a 3-bedroom property with his parents and was now left alone and afraid of being made homeless. He also suffered from severe panic attacks and anxiety, which made it difficult for him to get help.
This is where our Rent Payment Officer, Alfred, stepped in.
How our Rent Payment Officer helped
Our RPO, Alfred, managed to get in touch with Mr Hopkins and arranged a meeting to discuss moving him into a smaller property. Mr Hopkins mentioned to Alfred that he stayed indoors at all times and even hid whenever he heard a knock at the door.
Because of this, Alfred made sure he took Mr Hopkins’ health condition and privacy into consideration and called beforehand with the exact time he would visit. He also made sure to have his badge clearly on show when he arrived so Mr Hopkins knew it was him.
Alfred helped Mr Hopkins contact Universal Credit to submit an application so that he could pay his rent. He also referred Mr Hopkins to our Money Advice Team to help him with fuel and food vouchers, and to look more closely at his benefit entitlement.
We managed to get Mr Hopkins a direct offer for a one-bedroom property in one of our Retirement Living schemes with help from one of our Lettings Officers, Zara. Alfred arranged a viewing for the new property and when Mr Hopkins saw the flat, he was delighted and said it brought back childhood memories because he lived in the same area when he was young.
Mr Hopkin’s reaction
Mr Hopkins called Alfred and thanked him for the support we’d given him. He said that we’d ‘given [him] a new start.’
Mr Hopkins is now in a property that he loves with good relationships with all his neighbours and doesn't have any concerns about being made homeless.
We’re really pleased our RPO was able to help in this situation. Remember, we're here to support all our tenants so if you need any support with your finances or paying your rent please give us a call on 0345 60 20 540 or get in touch with your Rent Payment Officer.
