Practical Housing Units (PHU) are accredited through the AQA Unit Award Scheme and are unit accredited so a service user can achieve one or any number units from across the range of programmes.

They focus on the basic skills, knowledge and understanding underpinning a person’s ability to sustain a tenancy and develop a healthy lifestyle. For many people who have been homeless, been in prison or lived a life in care, getting a place to live – and keeping it – can be a big problem.

The ten modules are highly practical, straightforward and applicable to a wide range of abilities, situations and locations:

Resettlement Issues
This unit aims to explore the issues that face a service user when considering the process of resettlement and or settlement. From this exploration a development plan is formed and the appropriate units to address their needs are identified.

Budgeting and Debt Management.
This unit develops the skills of budgeting and requires the service user to plan and keep to budget for a negotiated period of time.

Finding Accommodation
This unit explores the process of finding suitable accommodation and develops the skills, knowledge and understanding required to secure the placement.

Maintaining a Healthy Diet
This unit focuses on cooking, storing and preparing food as well as the minimum components of a healthy diet.

Developing Community Knowledge
This unit is designed to enable service users to identify what services are available within the community to meet their needs.

Planning for Education, Training and Employment.
This unit requires the service user to design and follow an action plan to engage with agencies and services that support education, training and employment.

Maintaining a Tenancy/with Support
This unit explores the nature of maintaining a tenancy, rights and responsibilities and in the community the service user will maintain the landlord requirements and standards over a monitored period.

Managing Utility Accounts
In this unit the service user explores how to set up and manage accounts. The service user is also required to budget for the payments.

Managing the receipt of Social Benefits
This unit is about process, procedure, rights and responsibilities.

Safety and Risk management in the home
For this unit the service user must assess, plan and maintain safety for a monitored period. They will also explore aspects that focus on their own behaviour.

For more information visit the PHU Forum or contact your regional representative:
Southwest England - Arran O’Rourke on  arran.o'rourke@amberweb.org or 07825410570.
Rest of the UK - Katie Fairfax-Ross on  or 07825410480.


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