Unity appointment committed to tenant wellbeing

Temo Elbakidze has joined Unity Homes and Enterprise as Housing Services Manager.

He will have lead responsibility for delivering an outstanding customer experience for tenants living in more than 1,300 properties owned and managed by the BME housing association in Leeds and Kirklees.

Mr Elbakidze, who will report to Interim Director of Operations David Higgins, was previously Area Operations Manager at Horizon Care and Education, having held senior management roles at Leeds Housing Concern and Great Places Housing Group.

A Leeds Beckett University housing graduate, he also has a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Temo Elbakidze said:

“I am excited to be at Unity which is strongly committed to supporting BME communities and puts the wellbeing of tenants at the top of its priority list.

“Individuals and families in multi-cultural neighbourhoods are currently experiencing challenging times, including dealing with the spiralling cost of living crisis.

“Supported by my team, I look forward to leading from the front in providing first class customer-focussed services which cater for every tenant need.”

Cedric Boston, Unity Homes and Enterprise Chief Executive, said:

“Temo brings more than two decades of housing sector experience to the role and is passionate in his commitment to equality, fairness and improving people’s lives.

“He is also a skilled communicator who can get his message across to colleagues at every level of the organisation.

“His energy, knowledge and ability to devise solutions to complex problems will be invaluable to Unity, our tenants and the communities we serve.”

Unity was established in 1987 to meet the urgent housing needs of BME people in Leeds.

In 2000 the association established its not-for-profit subsidiary company, Unity Enterprise, to support local entrepreneurial activity.

Unity Employment Services was set-up in 2011 to support Unity tenants and their surrounding communities in accessing employment and training opportunities.