Victoria Barrett

I bring over 30 years of comprehensive experience within the housing sector, with a strong track record across all areas of housing management, including leading on complex anti-social behaviour (ASB) cases. Throughout my career, I have developed extensive skills, knowledge, and a deep understanding of delivering effective, customer-focused housing services, particularly when supporting vulnerable individuals with complex needs. I have regularly operated in a supervisory and leadership capacity, providing direction, oversight, and support to teams of housing officers.

I am experienced in monitoring team performance, managing caseloads effectively, and ensuring resources are prioritised to address high-risk and complex cases. I have a strong understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs) and budget monitoring, and I am confident in managing competing demands, reviewing service delivery, and contributing to audits and service reviews to ensure continuous improvement and compliance with regulatory standards. I maintain high professional standards, with a strong work ethic and a consistent focus on delivering quality outcomes.

I am adaptable, resilient, and confident in managing change and leading teams through challenging environments.

Community Safety - 54 North Homes - Leeds

(2024-01)

• Managing high level anti-social behaviour
• Preparing cases for court action
• No access injunctions, ASB injunctions, abandoned properties, illegal occupiers, subletting, domestic violence
• Weekly reviews with housing officers on how to manage their low level ASB
• Giving support and advice to all departments and the housing team
• Preparing reports for the Board of executives
• Working closely with maintenance teams
• Managing data and KPIs
• Attending court
• Leading on action days
• Partnership meetings
• Training housing officers

Housing Officer - Incommunities - Bradford

(2021-01 - 2024-01)

• Managing a patch of 500 properties
• Dealing with anti-social behaviour
• Estate inspections
• Environmental issues
• Tenancy issues
• New tenancy visits
• Enforcement
• Signing up new tenants
• Viewings
• Councillor enquiries
• Repairs and inspections
• Permissions
• Report writing
• Abandoned properties
• Welfare checks
• Signposting
• Allocation referrals
• NISPs and NTQs
• Terminations
• Tenancy breaches
• Attending partnership meetings
• Issuing section 21s
• Mutual exchanges
• Transfers
• Direct let referrals
• Problem solving
• Attending court
• Successions
• New sign-ups and customer viewings
• Yearly inspections
• Working closely with other team members

Housing Officer - Leeds City Council

(1997-01 - 2009-07)

• Rent account monitoring
• Evictions
• Benefit entitlement
• Visits
• Telephone calling
• Making arrangements
• Estate inspections
• Interviewing
• Following procedures
• Inspecting repairs
• Sign ups
• Exit surveys
• Means testing
• Void properties
• Abandoned properties
• Working to targets and key performance indicators
• Taking payment over the phone
• Preparing cases for court
• Meetings
• Out of hours phone calls for arrears
• Referring to outside agencies
• Working closely with other agencies
• Recognising vulnerable and hard to reach tenants
• Recording information on computer system
• Former tenant arrears
• Introductory tenancies
• Secure tenancies
• Mutual exchanges
• Shared ownership
• Service charges
• Managing caretakers
• Tenancy breaches
• Debt advice
• Organising own workload
• Advertising and letting of empty properties weekly
• Issuing NISPs
• Court attendance
• Tenant Involvement meetings
• Yearly inspection of properties
• Demoting tenancies
• Recognising problem areas and setting standards
• Part of setting up the new financial inclusion awareness programme
• Programmed works
• Dealing with anti-social behaviour
• Using legal remedies
• Parenting orders
• Dispersal orders
• Injunctions
• Mediation
• Tenancy warnings
• Abatement notices
• ABC
• Equality and diversity
• Deputised for the manager in their absence

Income Officer - Places for people

(2009-10 - 2010-03)

• Arrears monitoring
• Preparing cases for court
• Visits
• Taking payment over the phone
• Working to performance targets
• Means testing
• Making arrangements
• Benefit claims
• Benefit entitlement
• Signposting to outside agencies
• Inputting all information on computer systems

Housing Officer - Yorkshire housing

(2010-03 - 2012-07)

Housing officer role with responsibilities across estate management and tenant services.

• Estate inspections
• Tenancy sign ups
• Abandoned properties
• New tenancy visits
• Benefit claims
• Voids
• Arrears monitoring
• Preparing cases for court
• Evictions
• Making arrangements
• Attending court
• Working to targets
• Phone calling
• Visits
• Recording all information on housing computer system
• ASB interviews
• Mutual exchanges
• Former tenant arrears
• Leasehold properties
• Shared ownership
• Managing caretakers
• Managing housing assistant
• Service charges
• Audits
• Breaches of tenancy
• Meetings with police weekly
• Building relationships with outside agencies

Housing Officer - Chevon

(2012-09 - 2013-08)

Self-employed housing officer managing a patch of approximately 60 properties.

Housing Officer - Railway housing

(2013-08 - 2014-06)

Self-employed temporary position managing rent arrears and housing services.

• Rent arrears monitoring
• Preparing cases for court
• Evictions
• Making arrangements
• Phone calling
• Visits
• Sign ups
• Exit visits
• Repair inspections
• ASB
• Vulnerable and hard to reach tenants
• Estate inspections
• Working with outside agencies
• Keeping computer system up to date
• Working to targets

Income Officer - Broadacres

(2014-08 - 2015-05)

Self-employed temporary income officer role focusing on arrears and court case management.

• Rent arrears monitoring
• Evictions
• Visits
• Phone calling
• Making arrangements
• Following procedures
• Benefit entitlement
• Signposting
• Report writing
• Broken arrangements
• Taking payment over the phone
• Keeping records
• Inputting all information on computer system

Income Officer - Federated housing

(2015-07 - 2016-01)

Self-employed temporary position managing arrears and providing financial advice.

• Arrears monitoring
• Visits
• Phone calling
• Making arrangements
• Benefit entitlement
• Referring to outside agencies
• Preparing court cases
• Evictions
• Broken arrangements
• Working to targets and KPIs
• Keeping records up to date
• Debt and budgeting advice
• Service charges
• Former tenant arrears

Housing officer generic - Housing association

(2018-11 - 2020-02)

Role involving shadowing to maintain skills and knowledge in all areas of housing officer and rent officer duties.

• Ongoing shadowing in all areas of housing officer/rent officer duties
• Attended benefit course for up-to-date knowledge on benefit claims and entitlements

A-level - Selby comprehensive (1980-01 - 1985-01)