Birmingham launches new housing advice and mediation services

New housing advice and mediation services were launched by Birmingham City Council for World Homelessness Day.

The housing advice service provides a step-by-step guide to dealing with housing issues, including how to solve problems affecting a person’s housing situation, what to do if they have been asked to leave their property, how people can find somewhere else to live and how they council can help.

The housing mediation service is provided by Right Mediation, who will independently mediate between family members and landlords and tenants on behalf of the Council.

Cllr Hussain, cabinet member for homes and neighbourhoods, said: ‘The Housing Advice service is excellent and is really easy to use. It’s very straightforward and with a few clicks will navigate you to the right advice. It is always important to know your rights and responsibilities as housing issues can arise at any time. Whether you are threatened with eviction from your landlord, or simply cannot afford to maintain your mortgage repayments – getting the right advice at the right time is vital.

‘Birmingham Advice Aid provides 24-hour interactive guidance tailored to an individual’s circumstances. It helps people find the answers to their specific housing concerns and so will help prevent homelessness. This tool is not linked to any internal Council systems and will therefore not store any information once the user has exited the self-serve platform.’

Commenting on the Mediation Service, Cllr Hussain added: ‘Housing disputes can really impact upon people’s lives and in the worst-case scenarios can result in family breakdown, anti-social behaviour, legal proceedings and homelessness. This new housing mediation service will be tailored to an individual’s circumstances and will help affected people to resolve their issues. It uses professional mediators and will help find solutions to specific housing concerns and so help to prevent disputes escalating.’

In related news, Caerphilly County Borough Council has launched a new website which aims to prevent homelessness by matching people to suitable properties.

Photo by Tom W