Housing Lawyers Draft Bill To Empower Tenants

Housing specialists have been working on a private members bill that empowers tenants to force their landlords to fix hazards that pose a serious threat to their health and safety. The homes (fitness for human habitation and liability for housing standards) bill 2017-19 will have its second reading in the House of Commons in January. The bill has been sponsored by Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on legal aid. Under the bill, tenants will be able to take action against their landlord to fix a 'category one' hazard in their building, not just in their flat. Read more on the Law Society Gazette website.

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote tenant management.

Brandon Lewis:We have allocated funding of £1million in 2015/16 (through the Tenant Empowerment Programme) to support social housing tenants' involvement in their local Communities. This includes support to those who wish to manage delivery of services to their homes and estates by taking up their Statutory Right To Manage.

Government Commits £250,000 to Boost Tenant Engagement

The government has announced £250,000 to help get social housing tenants involved in the management of their homes. Stephen Williams, communities minister, announced the investment which will see tenants offered training opportunities to get involved in the management of neighbourhoods. Mr Williams announced a further £250,000 to the Tenant Participation Advisory Service and Trafford Hall, extending the successful training provided under the tenant empowerment programme - providing more than 1,500 new training opportunities for social housing tenants, looking to get involved in the running of their neighbourhoods into 2015 to 2016. Read more on the GovUK website.

Council Housing – House of Lords Written Answer

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action are they taking to support council tenants who want to form housing cooperatives. 

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Council tenants have the Right to Manage, which enables them to set up a Tenant Management Organisation (a management co-operative) to manage the homes in their area, with a management allowance from the Council. The Tenant Empowerment Programme, £2 million in 2014/15 and £1 million in 2015/16, supports social housing tenants to engage in, manage and/or take control of their housing services. This includes training, support and funding to enable tenant groups to take up their Right to Manage. There are currently over 200 Tenant Management Organisations across England, managing around 80,000 homes. [Edit]

TPAS Appointed To "Hand Power Back To Tenants"

TPAS has been appointed to deliver the national ‘Tenant Empowerment Programme’ designed to give social tenants support to engage confidently with their landlords.  Housing Minister, Mark Prisk, launched the £1.2m Tenant Training and Support Programme to give residents the advice and training they may need to hold their landlords to account, whether on their own, by setting up a tenant panel, or by taking over the management and maintenance of their homes and neighbourhoods themselves.  The Programme will be led by TPAS in partnership with the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations, Tenants and Residents Organisations of England, and the Confederation of Cooperative Housing. Read more on the TPAS website.

Shapps: £1.3m to Hand Power Back to Tenants

The Housing Minister has unveiled a new fund of £1.3m to help give more power to communities over their social homes. Grant Shapps hopes the scheme will help bring the passion of the Olympic volunteers to local communities by giving housing association and council tenants a voice to lead change in their area.  Mr Shapps said the Tenant Empowerment Programme would offer a "springboard for success" to communities across the country who want to see their local needs reflected in the services they receive. This could be by helping tenants learn the skills they need to engage and negotiate confidently with their landlords; forming tenant panels to come together to demand the best value-for-money services; or even to take control of local services themselves if they feel that they could deliver more for less.  The Minister also highlighted the benefits to landlords of getting their tenants involved, from community involvement in scrutinising new repairs contracts or tenants working together with local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour.  Read more on the CLG website.