Meet the Team

 

Lisa

I'm Lisa, the Income & Support Manager at Prima Group. I joined Prima Group as an Income Officer in 2018 and was appointed to the Income & Support Manager role in March 2020. I have worked in the Social Housing Sector for 26 years in various different Income Management roles.

Our team consists of four Income Officers, one Tenancy Sustainment Officer and one Income & Finance Assistant. Although our main focus is collecting income, what many people don’t know is everything else the team do.

Our approach to the collection of income is prevention through support. Our Income Officers provide tenancy support as part of their role. In this section of the website, you will be able to meet each of them and learn more about the wide variety of support we offer to enable you to afford and manage your tenancy.

 

Michael

I’m Michael, one of the Income Officers at Prima Group. I joined the Income & Support Team in 2020 after working as part of the Customer Experience Team since 2018. Prior to working at Prima Group, I was employed in the Private Rented Sector where I gained experience in lettings, rent collection and property management.  These roles have given me a good understanding of housing practice and customer service. 

  • My job as an Income Officer involves me working with customers to ensure they can pay their rent and sustain their tenancy with us. This includes providing help and support for people who are in crisis or who may be struggling with their finances by making reasonable agreements, exploring grant options, and making referrals to external agencies on the customer’s behalf. 

    Recently, I helped a tenant who had fallen into rent arrears due to an illness change in her income. We discussed her circumstances and were able to set an affordable repayment plan for the arrears. I assisted the customer with her other debts which resulted in a Utility Debt of £855 being written off & a £500 discretionary award from Liverpool Council being paid onto her rent account.   A referral was also made to an agency specialising in energy debts and affordability to assist the customer with her gas and electric payments. This really helped the customer in sustaining her tenancy and relieve some of the financial burdens she was facing.  

    Another tenant I worked with recently was in rent arrears due to having a low income and a shortfall in her Universal Credit due to bedroom tax.   The customer engaged with an external agency to help her with finances and debt problems. At the same time, I assisted her with utility debt and a DHP application to cover the bedroom tax for 6 months.  Within 5 months the arrears balance was cleared, and the customer was able to move to a smaller property with Prima Group where she fully occupied the property and had no bedroom tax to pay.

Sue
 

Sue

My name is Sue. I have worked on the Income & Support Team for Prima Group for over two years. As an Income Officer, I work alongside Housing Officers and the Tenancy Sustainment Officer to help tenants sustain their tenancies. My patch covers the Wirral and a few properties in Liverpool.

  • Prior to working for Prima Group, I worked at Citizens Advice for over 20 years, so I have knowledge and experience of debt, housing and benefits. This experience has helped me to support our tenants in maximising their income and ensuring they are claiming all the relevant benefits, encouraging people to seek debt and budgeting advice where needed and signposting or referring to specialist advice and support agencies.

    Recently, I identified that a tenant claiming Employment & Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payments had not claimed a Severe Disability Premium that they were entitled. As a result of my help, the tenant recieved a large backdated payment of £9000 and an increase in the ongoing weekly benefit amount. This helped to pay the shortfall in housing benefits - a result of ‘bedroom tax’.

    I have also assisted several tenants affected by bedroom tax by applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment to cover the amount or challenging decisions where the bedroom tax should not apply.

    If you are struggling because your income has changed or your household bills have increased, I encourage you to contact the team for help as early as possible. We can help you avoid the worry of losing your home.

 

Lekisha

I’m Lekisha, and I’m currently the Income Officer for parts of Leasowe. I have worked in Income for 14 years and have seen the challenges social housing tenants have experienced in the last decade due to the Welfare Reform. This experience has helped me gain knowledge of help and support available for people experiencing hardship and given me the tools to maximise income and sustain tenancies.

  • The purpose of my role is to support tenants who are experiencing difficulty in paying their rent and provide support to help them sustain their tenancies. I help tenants check that they are claiming everything they are entitled to through benefits and grants so they can manage their rent payments.

    I recently supported a customer experiencing hardship, increasing their monthly income by £450 per month. This was a fairly new tenant struggling to manage their rent and household bills causing arrears to build up. I sent a referral to Raise, a free benefit and debt specialist. They assisted with a claim for PIP, which was awarded, and a backdate of £2985 was paid. The customer was then able to use some of this money to clear the arrears on their rent and other bills and now has a sustainable budget in place.

    I have worked for Prima for over two years now. My aim is to have strong relationships with all tenants so that everyone knows they can come to me for help and advice if they are struggling financially.

 

Sarah

Hi! I’m Sarah. I have worked for Prima Group since March 2022. I am passionate about supporting people, helping and enabling them to improve their circumstances.

  • As an Income Officer, I work hard to ensure that I am approachable and available for my tenants. My role as an Income Officer is wide-ranging and varied. I enjoy talking to my tenants and looking for ways to ensure they receive the help (both financially and practically) that they may be entitled to. This can involve applying for grants and discretionary housing payments on their behalf. I am in regular contact with other agencies, such as RAISE, DWP and Energy Projects Plus, referring my tenants to their services when appropriate.

    My previous role was as a Work Coach in a job centre, supporting people into work and ensuring benefits were received accurately and on time. I have brought my knowledge and experience of Universal Credit to my role at Prima Group.

 

Jenny

My name is Jenny. I’m a Tenancy Sustainment Officer who has worked in Housing for over 10 years. I started off as a Housing officer and realised that support and advice were often key to helping people manage their homes.  Especially with things like rent arrears, finances and how to run a tenancy and manage bills.

  • I work alongside the Housing Officers and Income Officers to help provide support in cases where there are complex needs identified. I take on these cases myself to provide ongoing support. If we can’t provide the help someone needs ourselves, we will signpost and refer to partner agencies, but we always stay involved to ensure that tenants receive the help they need.

    Prima Group is committed to keeping people in their homes but we know there are still tenants out there who don’t know what help we can provide. Our goal is to ensure all tenants are able to access support and guidance before they hit a crisis point.