Head of Community Learning, Leisure and Housing – Frances Troup
Our vision for housing for the next 5 years states that “Orkney Islands Council is committed to ensuring that every citizen has access to a warm, dry, secure, and affordable home, suited to their particular needs and, wherever possible, in a community of their choice.”
The Council’s housing and homelessness service provides a broad range of housing advice and support services across all tenures. These include:
Homelessness Service
Provision of housing advice covering a broad area of law including security of tenure and other tenancy matters covering Council, Housing Association and private sector tenancy matters, harassment and illegal eviction, relationship breakdown, discrimination in housing;
Housing options
Including transfers, exchanges, private sector tenancies, low cost home ownership and related grants and the mortgage to rent scheme:
- Housing support services.
- Private Sector Landlord Registration.
- Allocation of Council housing including properties for general needs, sheltered, supported and extra care housing.
- Tenancy management including dealing with anti-social behaviour, rent arrears etc.
- Repair, maintenance and improvement of our housing stock.
- Tenant Participation.
- Through our Scheme of Assistance we provide advice, information and assistance to homeowners and disabled occupants living within the private sector.
- Provision of services to assist with energy efficiency within the private sector.
We are the strategic housing authority for Orkney and consequently are responsible for all strategic documents relating to housing and homelessness including the Local Housing Strategy and Homelessness Strategy.
Our Homelessness and Housing Advice Services are accredited to the National Standard for Advice and Information Providers which is a nationally recognised quality assurance programme.
In addition the Housing and Homelessness Service incorporates Papdale Halls of Residence which is a care service registered with the Care Inspectorate. Its primary purpose is to accommodate secondary school pupils from the inner and outer isles to enable them to complete their secondary school education within mainland Orkney.
