Housing Monthly Diary Archive

Tenant Involvement

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February 1998
Corporation Participation Policy Published

The Housing Corporation published its latest tenant participation policy - Tenant Participation: The Next Five Years - at the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) conference in Manchester. Introducing the policy document, the Right Honourable the Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde told the audience that the policy proposals contained in the consultation document aim to update and build on the Corporation's first tenant participation strategy, which was introduced in 1992.

Baroness Dean also highlighted 3 new directions contained in the document, which the Corporation want to develop with housing associations and their tenants:

• The first of these new directions is to look at how housing association tenants can become more involved in the setting of service standards. The Government's Best Value proposals for local authorities, which the Housing Corporation intends to adapt for housing associations, place increasing importance on getting the consumer of services involved. Whilst many housing associations have made great strides to become more customer-driven, the sector needs to go further and bring in those associations which have not made the progress they need to. The sector as a whole should also develop ways of bringing tenants into the process of assessing the services they receive from their landlords.

• Secondly, there is the issue of associations' accountability to a range of stakeholders, such as local authorities, funders and tenants, as well as to the Corporation itself.

• Thirdly, the consultation document considers the Corporation's own process of consulting with tenants, which is regarded as an important aspect of its own accountability, as well as helping to feed tenants' views into its policies and procedures.

Copies of the consultation document are available from Sue Cook, Regulation Division at the Housing Corporation, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0BN (Tel. 0171 393 2000).

Comments on the consultation document were due to be submitted to the Housing Corporation by 30 April 1998.

February 1998
Tenants to Sit on Housing Committee

Birmingham MDC took the decision to give non-voting seats on its Housing Committee to five tenants. Tenant representatives were to be nominated on an annual basis by the Council’s Housing Liaison Board. Whilst they would not have voting rights, they would enjoy all other rights, including full participation in debates.

June 1998
News in Brief

• Penny Cooper was appointed as the Tenant Participation Advisory Service’s first Chief Executive. For the previous three years she had been in Russia, acting as a housing consultant for Coopers and Lybrand.

• Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong announced a new tenant participation compact, which sets minimum standards to be implemented by April 2000. Councils are expected to develop their own proposals for tenant involvement, but within the Government’s framework for Best Value. Making the announcement at the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference, the Minister stated a preference for a voluntary response from social landlords, but hinted that, if necessary, she would not hesitate to introduce legislation aimed at enforcing change.

• The Tenants’ and Residents’ Organisations of England (TAROE) launched its draft charter of tenants’ rights at the Chartered Institute of Housing Conference. The six-point document - A Tenants’ Charter for Best Value in Housing - was aimed at ensuring that tenants’ collective voice on service delivery issues was heard by local authorities and housing associations.

For further information: Tel. 01484 223466.

• A Government commissioned study found that Welsh councils had made significant progress towards effective tenant participation over the past 20 years, but that more could still be accomplished.

Count Us In: TPAS in Wales, 2nd Floor, Transport House, 1 Cathedral Road, CF1 9SD: Free.

• The National Training Centre in Chester, which provides training events for tenants’ organisations, received a DETR grant of £127,000.

• The Scottish Tenants’ Organisation received a grant of £30,000 to support the cost of employing a full time Development Officer.

• The Glasgow Tenants’ Resource Centre was forced to close after withdrawal of funding. The Centre was set up a year earlier to replace the Glasgow Council of Tenants’ Associations.

July 1998
Wales Set to Get Its First TMO

The specialist consultancy Tenants First announced its intention to serve a Right to Manage Notice on Bridgend Council, for the 4,000 homes on its Bryntirion and Cefn Glas Estate. The move followed a unanimous vote of tenants to opt out of control of the local authority under Right to Manage provisions contained in legislation that had been in place since 1986.

The Notice was the first of its kind to be served in Wales, which reflected the limited publicity from the Welsh Office and the low priority afforded it as an area of expenditure. In comparison, there are 120 management organisations in England.

Once the Right to Manage Notice had been served, the Welsh Office was to fund the appointment of a training organisation. It was up to the tenants to select an agency to represent their interests but the Welsh Office and the Council would have a majority on the panel and hold a power of veto.

October 1998
News in Brief

• Tenants’ groups in Scotland agreed to put up candidates in next May’s Scottish Parliament elections. Candidates were to be sought to represent the Scottish Tenants' Organisation Party (STOP), which is campaigning for:

the end of Right to Buy and stock transfers;

secure tenancies for private tenants;

the write-off of all housing capital debt;

increased investment in housing, and recognition of the links between bad housing and poor health, unemployment, etc.

• A new Government consultation paper proposed a statutory duty for local authorities in Scotland to consult tenants. It also promised resources to promote tenant involvement.

Partners in Participation: Scottish Office (free).

• Liverpool CC’s first tenant management organisation was launched, with an agreement signed with the Rock Estate Management Board.

December 1998
Tenant Participation Compact - Update

The Government confirmed that the launch of the Tenant Participation Compact was unlikely to take place before the end of January 1999, which left a very limited consultation period before implementation in April 1999.

To overcome some of the problems caused by the delay, the Government decided to finance a nationwide roadshow, aimed at maximising tenant feedback on the proposals. It was hoped that the planned seven road-shows would reach as many tenants and tenants' organisations as possible, representing a pro-active approach not previously explored by central Government.

A Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions briefing paper on the Compact advised that councils should consider neighbourhood Compacts to run alongside a borough-wide Compact. It also highlighted the needs for councils to set aside a budget to implement Compacts and for a national benchmark for successful tenant participation to be established.

January 1999
Tenant Participation Compacts Launched

Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong launched a consultation paper detailing the Government's proposals for new Tenant Participation Compacts between councils and tenants, which are aimed at ensuring that tenants have a central role in the planning, management and delivery of housing services.

Under the proposals, local housing authorities will have to negotiate council-wide and neighbourhood level agreements with their tenants and have them ready to implement by April 2000. These Compacts will set out clearly how tenants will be involved collectively in shaping local decisions on housing issues. Councils will also have to provide training and support for tenants, so that they can fully take up their role.

Tenant Participation Compacts are locally negotiated agreements between a local authority landlord and his tenants, setting out how tenants will be involved collectively in taking local decisions on housing issues which affect them. Such local agreements must be based upon core standards published in the National Framework for Tenant Participation Compacts, which form part of the consultation paper.

The paper proposes that Compacts will be negotiated at both council-wide and local neighbourhood levels.

The prime objective of Compacts is to empower tenants, so that they can actively contribute to decisions which shape their homes. Whilst many councils are already very active with tenant participation initiatives, arrangements across the country vary between and within authorities.

The National Framework sets, for the first time, national core standards for tenant participation aimed at offering equal opportunities for involvement to all council tenants, to bring the performance of councils up to that of the best. These national core standards are those which the Government believes are fundamental to building sustainable and real tenant involvement. However, both councils and tenants will be encouraged to add further criteria and initiatives to the National Framework, in developing Compacts that meet local needs and priorities.

Key issues raised in the consultation paper include:

• Compacts should ensure that local services are efficient and responsive and that decisions reflect local needs and priorities.

• The development and implementation of the Compact must be a partnership between a council and its tenants, with the commitment to joint working being publicly stated by all those involved.

• Tenants need to be involved at an early stage in decision-making, with participation being budgeted for and supported, for example - through training and provision of facilities and advice.

• Councils should set aside a budget specifically to implement Compacts.

• Arrangements for communicating with tenants and feedback should be designed to meet tenants' needs, so that they can make a full input to decision-making and can see how their views have influenced final decisions.

• Tenants' groups will be empowered to take part in decision-making by meeting standards for formal recognition.

• A council and its tenants should together draw up systems to enable progress on implementing the Compact to be measured and a national benchmark for successful tenant participation will be established.

• The range of housing services to which Compacts will apply will be specified.

• Tenants should decide how they should be involved and there will be a need to review, monitor and, where necessary, change existing policies and systems for tenant involvement to meet the Compact's requirements.

• Councils and tenants will develop internal systems to deal with complaints and disputes on the operation of the Compact.

Tenant Participation Compacts - available free from the DETR: Tel. 0171 890 3333.

February 1999
Tenant Participation An Essential Factor

New research carried out nationwide on behalf of the Tenants' and Residents' Association of England (TAROE) and the London Housing Unit (LHU) shows that tenant participation reduces vandalism, combats anti-social behaviour, increases the efficiency of services such as ground maintenance and leads to money for improvements being spent more appropriately. The research was carried out through six detailed case studies of councils and their relationships with tenants.

The findings emphasise that tenant participation requires additional funding if it is to succeed. Tenants need training to participate fully in decision-making and councils need to fund community development officers to support them.

The report found little evidence of major savings for the Housing Revenue Account generated by tenant participation, suggesting limited scope for self-funding of initiatives.

A free copy of the briefing is available - What Works: The Tenants' Compact and Successful Participation: Tel. 0171 428 4926.

February 1999
News in Brief

• Twelve Liverpool MDC tenants’ organisations put forward proposals to form a company to take over the ownership of their 7,000 homes. The group, led by Liverpool Association of Tenant Management Organisations, argued that the proposals would ensure that tenants keep control of their homes and that this was a viable option to stock transfer.

• Tenants on Manchester MDC's Heatherway Estate put forward proposals to the DETR for the Right to Manage their own homes. The tenants were opposed to the Council's proposals that their estate should join the 1,300-home Racecourse Estate in a single transfer to a housing association.

April 1999
Consultation Techniques Examined

New research from the London Housing Unit suggests that innovative consultation techniques could transform the relationship between councils and residents.

The report examines the techniques and their potential - particularly for council housing. Ten are examined in depth, including: citizens' juries, citizens' panels, focus groups and new technology. Case studies highlight the methods councils have used already to consult residents, their successes and drawbacks. The report examines which consultation techniques are best suited to particular objectives of housing managers in local authorities and gives detailed information on how to build successful participation.

The Active Community: Innovative Consultation and Participation Methods for Housing is available from LHU Publications: London Housing Unit, Bedford House, 125-133 Camden High Street, London NW1 7JR: £14.95.

Information Note

A free briefing - The Active Community - based on the full research report is also available.

May 1999
Recent Studies and Reports

• A new study for the Housing Corporation by the Office for Public Management, which examines the advantages and disadvantages of various models of tenant-led housing, concludes that it is difficult to decide whether, in general, the benefits justify the costs.

The report recognises some of the benefits that resident control introduces but it also highlights the increased cost per dwelling. It also makes reference to other research, that concludes that resident control start-up costs are not recouped in later years.

 

Models of Resident Controlled Housing. Office for Public Management. Tel: 0171 837 9600.

• A new study from the London Housing Unit raises awareness of some possible pitfalls associated with new trends in consultation. It suggests that some forms of consultation, such as Citizens' Juries and focus groups, could raise unrealistic expectations, or alienate minority groups that are not included in the process. In examining negative results, it calls for attention to the methods used, to ensure that they suit the desired objectives.

• The Active Community: Innovative Consultation and Participation Methods for Housing: £14.95. London Housing Unit, Bedford House, 125-133 Camden High Street, London NW1 7JR.

June 1999
Funding to Introduce Compacts

Housing Minister, Hilary Armstrong, announced a £12 million cash boost, to be used over the next two years to help councils introduce Tenant Participation Compacts. The announcement came as part of the Minister's speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing's conference at Harrogate, in which she launched the first national framework for tenant participation. The underlying message of her speech was the importance of involving tenants at the heart of decisions affecting their homes and communities, with genuine tenant empowerment as a key part of the Government's drive for Best Value in all local authority services.

The objective of the national framework is to ensure that all councils actively involve tenants at all levels of housing management. The framework is designed as a flexible tool to help councils and tenants agree local compacts - written agreements which reflect local needs. Compacts should allow tenants to choose how they want to be involved and at a level with which they are happy. The framework has been shaped by the responses to a consultation paper - with the aim of enabling councils and tenants to develop compacts which reflect local circumstances and meet local needs.

By April 2000, tenants and councils will be expected to have agreed the final outcomes they expect from compacts, plus a clear and measurable action plan - matched by resources to achieve them.

June 1999
Tenant Compacts and Participation

What Works: the Tenants' Compact and Successful Participation - a report carried out nationwide on behalf of the Tenants and Residents Association of England (TAROE) and the London Housing Unit (LHU) shows that tenants and housing departments lead the way in implementing the consultation needed under Best Value and that other council departments can learn from the structures and techniques that many housing departments use to consult their tenants.

The report, which was launched just before the Government announces its Tenants' Compact (see above), also recommends that councils are very careful when implementing new democratic structures, such as cabinets, so that they preserve and promote tenant involvement. The research shows that tenant participation can reduce vandalism, combat anti-social behaviour, increase the efficiency of services and lead to money for improvements being spent more appropriately. However, the findings also emphasise that tenant participation requires additional funding if it is to succeed.

The report argues for additional rights for tenants through legislation, to combat the problem of reluctance in some areas by politicians to listen to tenants' groups. It calls for the Housing Best Value inspectorate to include a higher proportion of tenants who can comment from their experience, to ensure that inspection teams fully understand the needs and concerns of people using local services.

The report costs £6 and it can be ordered on the LHU fax line: 0171 267 9334, or by writing to its Publications Department - the London Housing Unit, Bedford House, 125-133 Camden High Street, London NW1 7JR.

June 1999
Local Participation Initiatives

• Tenants from nine London-based housing associations attended a conference, with a programme for highlighting differences in service provision and examining ways of introducing tenant-initiated benchmarking of housing services. Input from tenants had already led to improvements in repair services and similar success was hoped for from current work on arrears and debt counselling.

The associations involved were Asra Greater London, Community, Harding, Octavia Hill, St Pancras, Thames, Threshold, Wandle and West Hampstead.

• The deprived Birmingham area of Sparkbrook was piloting the neighbourhood supremo concept, which involves the appointment of a neighbourhood manager who brings together service providers from health, housing, the police and social services - with active participation of local residents. Some 2,600 homes in the area are affected and the pilot is a partnership venture involving Birmingham City Council, Friendship Housing and Care, Focus Housing Group and PCA Consultancy. Funding has been provided by the Housing Corporation.

• Tenants' representatives of Sheffield City Council met to discuss re-establishing a City-wide tenant compact, to replace the existing tenants' federation which has low membership and is being slowly wound up. There is a long-established voluntary 10 pence per week levy on tenants and this is seen as a source of finance for any new structure.

July 1999
NIHE Tenant Satisfaction Survey

A tenant survey carried out by an independent research company reveals high levels of satisfaction with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's maintenance, repairs and local District Office services. The survey also reveals that more than three-quarters of the Executive's tenants receive Housing Benefit.

Key findings from the 1998/99 survey of tenants include:

• Over 80% of tenants who had telephoned or visited the Executive's District Offices or had a home visit, were satisfied with the service received.

• Over 80% of tenants who had external maintenance works or major planned improvement work carried out on their home were satisfied with the work.

• Nearly two-thirds of tenants who have required repairs to be carried out were satisfied with the repairs service.

• Only 6% of tenants made a complaint to the District Office about a decision or about the performance of any aspect of the work of the Executive in the past year.

• Nearly 70% of tenants were proud of the area in which they lived, with some 94% saying that they felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood in the day but at night only 69% felt safe.

• More than three-quarters of tenants received Housing Benefit, whilst almost two-thirds of households had an annual gross income of £7,300 or less.

July 1999
Recent Reports & Publications

• The Chartered Institute of Housing launched a new report - Accounting for the Uncountable: Tenant Participation in Housing Modernisation - which is based on research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and which addresses the main considerations for organisations wanting to involve tenants in housing modernisation. The report is priced at £13.95 plus £1.50 p&p and is available from CIH - Tel: 012476 851764.

• The Government published a new good practice guide - Developing Good Practice in Tenant Participation - aimed at encouraging and improving tenant participation throughout the country. In particular, it encourages partnership between local councils and tenants as they work together to get ready for the introduction of Tenant Participation Compacts. The report is a free DETR publication and copies are available from David Walters - Tel: 0171 890 3257.

• The Tenant Participation Manifesto 2000, which resulted from a major conference on the subject at the end of last year, is available from North British HA (Steve Gayle - Tel: 01937 586850) or South Yorkshire HA (Kate Newbolt - Tel: 0114 2900295), priced £10. The publication makes a number of recommendations, including Government grants for tenants’ groups - to enable them to be more influential over projects - and direct access for tenants to officials at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and at the Housing Corporation.

• A new report aims to assist local authorities in adopting new approaches to consultation in meeting Best Value requirements to consult, involve and empower residents and service users. It draws together recent literature on new and innovative consultation methods with findings from research in 1998 carried out by the London Housing Unit (LHU). Specific techniques are examined, including citizen’s juries, focus groups, user groups, consensus conferencing, satisfaction survey research and local referendum. The report - The Active Community: Innovative Consultation and Participation Methods for Housing (£14.95) - is available from the London Housing Unit, Bedford House, 125-133 Camden High Street, London NW1 7JR, or via LHU’s Fax order line - 0171 267 9334.

September 1999
News in Brief

• Bolton Council became the first local authority to sign a tenant compact with its tenants. The Bolton Affiliation of Tenants' and Residents' Associations agreed the principles set out in the compact, which include such initiatives as the setting up of a team to tackle anti-social behaviour.

• Tenants on Liverpool CC's Childwall Valley Estate voted in favour of the setting up of an estate management board.

• The Northern Ireland Housing Executive announced a review of its community involvement framework, to look at how tenants can be given more involvement in the management of their estates. The Executive also published its revised Tenants' Charter, which sets out the service standards that its 130,000 tenants can expect to receive.

October 1999
Corporation Publishes Consultation Papers

The Housing Corporation published two consultation papers, aimed at increasing the opportunities for tenants and residents to have their say in housing:

• Options for Community Housing; and

• Community Training and Enabling.

Both papers build on the Tenant Participation strategy published in November 1998 in the document - Making Consumers Count: Tenant Participation - The Next Five Years.

Options for Community Housing sets out proposals that have been developed by an advisory group, which includes representatives from co-ops, tenants' groups, councils, the National Housing Federation and the DETR. The proposals also reflect the result of a study by the Office for Public Management on the options for resident-controlled housing.

The Corporation believe that resident control can make an invaluable contribution to the development of social housing and lead to more sustainable communities in areas of regeneration. It argues that, whichever model suits local circumstances - be it tenant management organisations, co-ops or community-based associations - increased resident involvement (or control) can lead to better housing management.

The Corporation requested views on the most effective approaches and mechanisms to promote a wide range of resident-controlled models by 14th January 2000. Proposals included:

• Changing registration guidelines to allow tenant majorities on boards of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) receiving transfers of council housing and encouraging transfers to resident-controlled housing associations.

• Encouraging councils to include options for resident control in their strategies and examining options for funding resident control within existing RSL stock.

• Using regulatory visits to assess the performance of RSLs on tenant participation.

• Reviewing the grant rate model, exploring the introduction of enhanced Social Housing Grant (SHG) for resident-controlled associations and developing criteria for giving more SHG to schemes that involve residents.

The above proposals were complemented by the Corporation's proposals in Community Training and Enabling. In this, the Corporation proposed to set up a grant regime similar to that currently applying to local authority tenants. This regime will provide Innovation and Good Practice grants to enable tenants and residents to examine the range of options which may be open to them. Over the next six months, the Corporation piloted such grants by supporting Tenant Management Organisations within existing RSLs in areas of low demand.

November 1999
First Right to Manage Project in Wales

Peter Law, Assembly Secretary for the Environment and Local Government, launched the first Right to Manage project in Wales at the Bryntirion Estate in Bridgend, which comprises 560 dwellings.

The Right to Manage is part of the Citizens' Charter, which came into effect on 1st April 1994, enabling local authority tenants in a defined area to form a Tenant Management Organisation (TMO). In doing so, they can assume responsibility for delivering certain services, such as property repairs, public area cleaning, gardening, rent collection and tenancy management.

The Right to Manage Notice was presented to Bridgend County Borough Council by the Bryntirion Tenants' and Residents' Association in July 1998. This was the first RTM Notice to be served on a local authority in Wales. It was formally accepted in September 1998 and the Tenant Advisory Participation Service Cymru was appointed as approved agent for the feasibility study in April 1999.

November 1999
New Reports & Guides

• A new report came from the Audit Commission, which aims to help local authorities to get the best from their consultation exercises and to get good value from the resources they invest in them. The report identifies a number of areas where local authorities can improve: The quality of individual consultation exercises is patchy. Although many authorities think that they should use the results of consultation to inform decisions about services, many fail to do so in practice. Some authorities use consultation techniques that allow unrepresentative but articulate groups to dominate. Few authorities evaluate their work or plan consultation programmes jointly with partners. This and That!: Effective Community Consultation, Price £15, Audit Commission Publications, Tel: 0800 502 030.

• A new report was published by Banks of the Wear Housing Association, which provides a method for measuring tenants' potential for involvement in decision-making. The report concludes that available resources can be better directed if assessments are carried out on the level to which tenants wish to get involved. The Association was inviting other associations to join it in a second-phase initiative. Planned Approaches to Tenant Involvement, £10, Banks of the Wear, Tel: 0191 567 9856.

• The DETR produced a guide covering a range of issues concerned with tenant participation compacts. A Guide to Tenant Participation Compacts, free, DETR Literature, Tel: 0870 122 6236.

March 2000
New Tenant Empowerment Grants

Details of two new grant packages designed to encourage council tenants to participate in the management of their homes were announced by Housing Minister, Nick Raynsford. Both schemes are part of a £6 million Tenant Empowerment Grant programme:

• As well as helping tenants gain the skills and knowledge needed to influence and raise the quality of life on their estates, the Capacity Building programme also provides funding to start small community projects.

• The Innovation into Action (IIA) programme supports projects that develop innovative ways of involving tenants and can be used as examples of best practice.

These two new elements of the tenant empowerment grant programme aim to give tenants a broad package of opportunities, to enable them to have more of a direct say in how their homes are run.

The Housing Minister also launched a booklet with details of all the initiatives under the Tenant Empowerment Grant programme. This includes funding for Options Studies, which enable tenants to assess problems on their estate with an independent adviser and draw up an action plan for lasting change.

Tenant Empowerment Grants are paid mainly to independent organisations. They provide tenants with independent advice and information about tenant involvement matters. They also help tenants develop skills and knowledge in order to carry out local community projects.

The Tenant Empowerment Grants booklet is available from DETR Free Literature, PO Box No 236, Wetherby L23 7NB.

April 2000
News in Brief

• The initial results from research commissioned by the Housing Corporation showed that 73% of RSLs have a formal tenant participation strategy in place. Of those RSLs who do not have a strategy, 79% are planning to develop one. The research was based on 322 completed questionnaires, representing a response rate of 79%. The project, which is due for completion by July 2000, will be used to inform the forthcoming review of the Corporation's Performance Standards.

• An additional £500,000 to boost tenant participation in Wales was announced by Assembly Secretary for Local Government, Peter Law. The funding will assist 22 local authorities and 31 RSLs in introducing tenant participation compacts. The Welsh Office's proposals were outlined in its consultation document - Tenant Participation Compacts, which set a deadline of 1st April 2001 for agreed action plans for compacts to be implemented. Further detailed guidance is soon to be published by the National Assembly.

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