Categorise cases and map the pathway to transfer
In backlog projects a number of years have passed since the property was allocated to beneficiaries. During that time life has happened; beneficiaries may have married, got divorced, died or sold their properties. This obviously has an impact on who the property should be transferred to.
The data gathered during the occupancy survey provides information on who the current perceived owners are and how they came to own the property. This information can be used to determine a pathway to transfer and to classify cases into those that can and must be actioned immediately and those where further processes are required.
The simplest cases are where all beneficiaries still regard themselves as owners and there is no competing claim on ownership from occupants in the property (where these are not the beneficiaries). These properties can be transferred immediately, and the housing authority should prioritise these cases; as with the passage of time additional complexities may arise.
In other cases, there may be some additional complexity that must be resolved prior to transfer.
The types of case categories are outlined below and described in more detail in the sections that follow.
A final category is where occupants regard themselves as renters or caretakers
The occupancy survey should anticipate all of these different process requirements by pre-collecting as many source documents, and as much information as possible to limit additional collection engagement steps.