Co-Regulation Champions back TPAS in handing power to tenants

Published by SOHA for Soha Housing Ltd in Housing

A national group of social housing providers and their tenant scrutiny panels, known as the Co-Regulation Champions, will be at the heart of a £1.2m training programme designed to give a bigger voice to social housing tenants.

The training, co-ordinated by TPAS, will be funded by the Government Training and Support Fund as part of an initiative launched by Housing Minister, Mark Prisk, in 2012 to give residents the advice and skills they need to hold landlords to account.

Tenants themselves will have an opportunity to design the training programme using their experience. The programme will also include an exciting approach of tenant-to-tenant support and advice, one which the Co-Regulation Champions have pioneered over the last couple of years.

Carole Burchett, a member of Soha’s Tenant Scrutiny Group, said, “As tenants, we can see that holding Soha to account really makes a difference. We’ve been lucky enough to have the chance to share our experiences with tenants from across the country and I’m really pleased that this will step up a gear through our work with TPAS”.

Alison Hamnett, Director of Business Services at Salix Homes, home of the award-winning Customer Senate, said, “We have long been delivering and Championing tenant scrutiny so we are delighted to have this opportunity to share ours and our Customer Senate’s skills and experience with tenants across the country to ensure that social landlords are accountable.”

Michelle Reid, Chief Executive of TPAS said, “TPAS have worked alongside expert tenants for years and understand the real benefit that can be gained by tenants learning from and sharing with other tenants. We’re pleased to be working with the Co-Regulation Champions on this exciting new programme.”  

For further information about the Co-Regulation Champions, please visit www.coregchamps.co.uk or follow on twitter @CoregChampions.

Notes

1.    The Tenant Training and Support 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. The programme will be delivered with HouseMark, Make It Happen, and the Co-Regulation Champions.

2.    Ten Co-Regulation Champions were appointed by the national housing regulator in 2011 in association with TPAS. Of these, seven are taking part in the delivery of the programme. These are:

• Helena Partnerships
• New Charter
• Riverside
• Salix Homes
• Soha Housing
• Wherry Housing Association
• Wirral Partnership Homes
• Community Gateway

3.    Although very different, the Champions have signed up to a set of principles for successful co-regulation:

• A genuine belief and commitment to staff and residents working together
• Transparency and accountability
• A formal, constructive challenge from residents
• Building skills and confidence for residents
• Accountability to all residents
• A representative, resident-led voice
• A belief that what residents think is good for them is good for the landlord

4.    TPAS is a unique not-for-profit membership organisation of over 1900 tenant and residents groups and 230 landlords.

5.    For further information about the Tenant Empowerment training and support, please visit www.tpas.org.uk/tenantcentral or follow TPAS on twitter @tpasengland.

6.    Tenants or officers from the involved Co-Regulation Champions are available for comment through Catherine Little clittle@soha.co.uk