Tenant Panels event summary

Last month around 100 of the region’s engaged residents returned to The Principal York for the Northern Housing Consortium and Tenant Advisor’s 9^th Annual Tenant Panel conference. The theme of the day was ‘influencing services and decision makers’ and with a General Election on the horizon, delegates used the day to produce their own ‘Resident’s Housing Manifesto’.

With the election now having taken place and the Conservatives in No.10 – attention will turn again to the long-awaited next stages of the Social Housing Green Paper and Action Plan. In the meantime, however, we are happy to give our Government a nudge in the right direction with our own review of what would make a difference to residents and communities.

 

A Housing Manifesto for Residents

This Manifesto was produced directly by social housing residents at the National Tenant Panels Conference 2019, York.

Government should work with Landlords to build on their duty to:

Undertake community development in partnership with residents;

Landlords should drive creative partnerships and initiatives with tenants – ensuring the important resource of local knowledge is drawn on to maximise both impact and trust.

These innovative ‘community panels’ would be made up of all residents (including owner occupiers) and facilitate not just scrutiny but facilitate communication with local institutions whether the emergency services or local government.

Engage residents in solutions for their own safety;

Again, resources for meaningful engagement and partnership should be established to talk effectively about safety with individual tenants – post-Grenfell, tenants should be asked about their perception of safety and “what would make them feel safe”. This would include developing  ‘see it, say it, report it’ culture amongst tenants for raising concerns backed up by a ‘listen, record, and do it’ culture for landlords themselves.

Provide support to vulnerable tenants;

Landlords should go out of their way to fully understand their customers and households, to establish what their vulnerable people want and what actually is needed – taking into account many factors such as physical & mental health, substance misuse, loneliness, domestic abuse, poverty, fuel, anti-social behaviour, protected characteristics.

Allocation policies should provide suitable accommodation for vulnerable people and all landlords should have business continuity plans and emergency plans that ensure vulnerable people remain housed.

Engage residents in how they invest for social purpose;

Tenant’s Charter’s should include involvement in investment choices and decisions on Social Purpose. To this end, well trained and supported engaged residents should work to develop plans with internal structures and teams such as a Community Investment Team.

Incorporate resident views into the Corporate Plan and strategic direction.

Resident’s should be involved from the inception of all plans and strategic direction and supported to learn, engage and participate fully. Engagement should be made through a string of communication channels and not just digitally – efforts should be made to capture the ‘forgotten tenant’.

• Gas safety Service-user’s Focus Groups involved for example in digital scheduling of services to improve efficiency
• Pilot projects on FD30 fire doors, ledges & handles.

 

3. A Duty on Landlords to Provide Support to Vulnerable Tenants

Residents would like to see their landlords:

• clearly defining “vulnerability” and vulnerability categories, taking account of many factors including physical & mental health, substance misuse, loneliness, domestic abuse, poverty, fuel, anti-social behaviour, protected characteristics, etc.;
• conducting profiling to fully understand their customers and households, to establish what their vulnerable people want and what actually is needed from their customers;
• staff and residents training to increase their awareness of vulnerability;
• ensure their allocation policies provide suitable accommodation for vulnerable people;
• have business continuity plans & emergency plans that cover vulnerable people;
• introduce Personal Evacuation Plans for vulnerable tenants in lower level flats;
• linked to Local Authorities introduce an emergency crisis team who are fully trained and resourced;
• identify key partners e.g. Statutory, 3rd Sector & volunteers. Part of their work will be to develop community cohesion, so people can help others with their self-care;
• feedback to customers “you said we did” to ensure they are providing and delivering on the correct priorities.

In general, isolation and vulnerability would be reduced by commitments to social care becoming a reality, reversing cuts to health & social care, removing bedroom tax as vulnerable people may need a “spare” room for carers and giving more support for carers.

 

4. A Duty on Landlords to Engage Residents in how they Invest for Social Purpose

Residents would like to see their landlords:

• have a Tenant’s Charter setting out fundamental rights including involvement in investment choices and decisions on Social Purpose shaped by directors and employees;
• train and support effective tenant board members;
• enable every tenant to be a shareholder with a the right to vote at the AGM;
• to develop plans, internal structures and teams such as a Community Investment Team or Social Enterprises like community bakeries, which will be subject to effective scrutiny and due diligence from tenant board members and groups. These will increase transparency and accountability to tenants on investment issues;
• create opportunities within organisation for management/board to listen to tenants;
• provide more face to face communication and regular updates e.g. on staff changes;
  • arrange funding for different events: o Community events i.e. coffee mornings, drop in events
  • Neighbourhood events inviting housing officer
  • Vulnerable tenants events
  • Health and Wellbeing Team Mental Health etc. either phone or Community Base

 

5. A Duty on Landlords to Incorporate Resident Views into the Corporate Plan and Strategic Direction

Residents would like to see their landlords:

• involve residents from inception (a duty to involve tenants in value for money) in all policies;
• supporting them to learn, engage and participate fully;
• to prioritise the work of the landlord;
• carry out customer profiling which is service specific to ensure communications channels work, both ways;
• improve communication, through human contact and not just digitally. Use of phone and face to face contact means you get so much more information from tenant (communication is more than just social media – one size does not fit all);
• involve all groups and voices. They will capture the forgotten tenant voice, to spend money fairly not just on those that shout loudest!;
• attract younger people while maybe accepting that they might not want to be involved in the same way;
• ensure outcomes are fed back;
• enable consistency across sector, agreed standards and enshrine for tenants & residents;
• set up Tenant Panel’s to scrutinise services so they report both to Board and the community;
• enable resident engagement in procurement;
• communicate landlord service testing with Partners and contractors;
• deliver this for all social tenants to ensure upkeep of houses, so they are fit for purpose, safe and repairs are done to agreed timescales;
• spend more money on ASB and communicate more effectively about it.