Manage your home

The core responsibilities of the board of directors are:

• To define and maintain the values and objectives of Johnnie Johnson Housing.
• To set the organisation’s strategic direction.
• To approve policies and plans to achieve the objectives.
• To approve the accounts and the annual budget and business plans.
• To ensure that there is adequate delegation and good internal controls.
• To ensure proper risk management.
• To make decisions on important financial matters, or on issues which carry major risk, or are matters of principle.
• To monitor the performance of the organisation and measure it against others.
• To appoint the chief executive and fix his/her contract terms.
• To ensure that the organisation acts within the law.
• To ensure that governance standards are maintained.
• To appoint and (if necessary) remove the chair of the board.

Johnnie Johnson Housing uses a Banding system to assess a person’s level of housing need. Your current housing circumstances will be assessed and you will be given the Band which reflects how urgently you need to move.

There are five Housing Need Bands and all applications received from people who want to move into a Johnnie Johnson rented property will be assessed and placed in one of the Bands. You can find out more about the Bands on our property website.

When allocating a property we will shortlist applicants, taking into account:

• Their housing need (i.e. their Band)
• Who will occupy the property fully (see ‘How we calculate bedroom need’)
• The effective date of their application (i.e. the date that their Band was awarded)
• Any other eligibility rules such as local connection, age limits etc.

For leasehold properties, a rent charge may apply to cover the remaining share of the property that Johnnie Johnson Housing owns. Some leasehold properties may include a service charge or annual charge that covers communal gardening and maintenance. In some cases, this charge will be collected on the re-sale of the property based on a percentage per year that you lived at the property.

The external repairs of leasehold properties are normally covered by Johnnie Johnson Housing, although, there are exceptions to this. The internal repairs are normally the responsibility of the homeowner.

The board meets approximately six times a year in formal session to receive reports from officers and make decisions on the future of the organisation.

Board members may also be involved in other aspects of our governance, and serve as members of the Audit and Risk Committee, Nominations and Remuneration, or our Johnnie Johnson Development Board. They may attend housing conferences and become involved with the voluntary members forum of the National Housing Federation. So apart from the actual board meetings, members may give considerable time to the organisation.

Anyone over the age of 16 can apply to rent one of our properties.

Applicants between the ages of 16 and 18 will, however, be required to provide a guarantor and we strongly recommend that they seek advice from social services and/or the local authority homeless services.

Applicants looking for our Independent Living properties must normally be 55 years of age. In the case of couples, one partner should have reached 55. In certain circumstances, however, we can consider applicants under the age of 55, e.g. someone who is registered disabled and is in receipt of a relevant disability benefit. Some of our schemes have specific restrictions on who can apply. You will be advised of any restrictions on application.

At Johnnie Johnson Housing we have a clear Equality and Diversity policy. We welcome applications from anyone regardless of age, gender, religious beliefs, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, physical characteristics or disability.