Tenancy Support

The Tenancy Support Service helps tenants who are finding it difficult to maintain their tenancy. It aims to prevent residents from losing their homes. It is provided and paid for by Soha as a means of helping residents with complex needs to keep their homes.

How do I qualify for the service?

You must be a Soha tenant or leaseholder who is finding it difficult to maintain your tenancy or who is at risk of losing your home. The service particularly aims to help vulnerable people, including:

  • older people
  • people with learning difficulties
  • people with mental health problems
  • people with drug and/or alcohol problems
  • ex-offenders or those at risk of offending
  • refugees
  • people with physical or sensory disabilities
  • young parents
  • people who may not have rented before

How to get in touch

If you meet the criteria above, you can contact your Housing Officer and ask them to refer you. Alternatively, you can self-refer using the form available from the link below:

Download the Soha Tenancy Support self-referral form. link will open as a pdf (PDF 10KB)

What happens next?

When we receive a referral form, the Tenancy Support Officer will assess the information provided. They may get in touch with you for more details, or contact other family members or professionals involved in your care.

If we do not think the service is suitable for you, we will write to you and explain why. It could be that another service is better equipped to help you. If this is the case, we will give you information and offer to refer you.

If we think the TSO could help you, we will arrange a meeting with you to complete a needs assessment in order to get further information, work out your level of needs and see who can best meet them. After the assessment has been completed, we will decide if the TSO can help you. If not, we will explain why and refer you to other services that may be able to help.

The TSO will set up a series of achievable goals that will enable you to maintain your tenancy and possibly improve your health and well being. This is a written agreement between you and the TSO in a similar way that a tenancy is an agreement between a tenant and a landlord. In some cases the goals you are set may involve other relevant people, such as family members, Housing Officers or Social Workers.

Here are some examples of the types of things you might need help with:

  • housing options – finding your next home
  • ways to maximise your income and develop your budgeting skills
  • help to look after your health, such as registering with a GP or a specialist service
  • using services to access employment, education or training
  • practical, social and emotional support
  • help to access services in the local community.

How long does the Tenancy Support last?

The Tenancy Support Officer aims to work with you for about three to six months. This depends on your support plan and how successful it is in resolving the identified problems. The support plan will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

It will be formally reviewed at 6 months at the latest. If the goals set have been achieved, the Tenancy Support Officer may decide to end the service. This can happen earlier than six months, if all is going well. The Officer can also close the case if you have not cooperated with them.

When the support comes to an end, the officer can give you information about additional services that may be able to help you in the long-term. We will ask you for feedback on the support you have received to help us to improve the service we offer.

What if I don’t agree that the service should end?

If you disagree with our decision to end the service, you have a right to appeal. You also have the right to complain if you feel that you have not received a suitable service.

What is the difference between tenancy support and social services?

Please note: this service is not intended to replace support provided by social services, the NHS or any other statutory service. Soha’s Tenancy Support Service has been established to provide support in housing-related matters. We do not provide personal care to our tenants, as this would form part of a care package arranged and provided through social services.