Maintenance support coordinator, Emily, had been employed as a cleaner for 12 years when one day her manager cared enough to ask her what she was passionate about.

This conversation started a chain of events with her manager organising office work experience for Emily which then helped her secure a role with Homes Tasmania.

Emily spent her first six months in the tenancy team.

“In tenancy I dealt with a lot of phone queries and often when tenants would ring, they would be very upset or angry.

“I realised they just wanted to be heard and I listened to them. By the end of the phone call they would say thank you and their tone was completely different. I feel like people just want to be heard.

“I always think of who I would like on the other end of the phone if it was me. I would want someone to listen and to feel heard and feel like things were going to be resolved,” Emily said.

Emily now works in property maintenance investigating complaints from former tenants about maintenance charges and working with the Homes Tasmania insurance officer to arrange extensive maintenance for properties that have had structural damage.

“I love it here. I love the vibe of tenancy and being able to communicate with tenants, but I get to use more of my skills in the portfolio maintenance team,” Emily said.

Emily loves research and writing so the paperwork-side of the role, completing an investigation and preparing a report and recommendations to support or amend disputed maintenance charges, is something she really enjoys.

In the property maintenance team, she can also use her people-centred skills, building relationships and caring for Homes Tasmania tenants.

“I have just got advice that one of the tenants I worked with will need to be relocated to another property. Her home has to undergo extensive works and she won’t be able to stay there while the work is completed.

“I’ve worked with her awhile now and have got to know her and listened to her concerns. I know she has anxiety so I thought it would be more helpful to have me explain it before a contractor contacted her, because we have a relationship. I wanted to give her the heads up,” Emily said.

This is one way Emily is demonstrating the Homes Tasmania values, to show trust and be trusted.

If you are unhappy with a decision Homes Tasmania has made about your tenancy you can make a complaint to your local area office for an investigation.

Your complaint can be about anything relating to Homes Tasmania’s policies including:

• decisions about your eligibility for social housing and housing transfers
• decisions about property damage
• disputes about rent and vacation charges
• neighbourhood disputes and nuisance behaviour.

https://www.homestasmania.com.au/Your-tenancy/makeacomplaint