The TSA has published the new regulatory framework that social housing providers have to meet from April 2010. At its heart are six standards, and against each of these the TSA has described the outcomes landlords should meet and the specific expectations of them.
EastendHomes will produce an annual report in October which will set out the local offers that we have decided. Under Co-regulation we have the legal right to be involved and EastendHomes are legally obliged to make this happen.
The most important of these standards refers to opportunities for increasing involvement and empowerment.
- Tenant Involvement and Empowerment is a cross cutting standard
- It will give a wide range of opportunities to be involved in housing, including strategic priorities, housing related policies & delivery of housing
- We will have the right to agree local offers
- We will have the right to be involved in the scrutiny of EastendHomes and their performance against TSA standards & Local Offers
- EastendHomes will need to set out how they are going to offer us “capacity building”. How can a tenant be involved without the necessary training?
We have a right enshrined in law to be involved in decision making.
Co-regulation means less top-down regulation and more power for tenants to hold their landlords to account in delivery against local priorities. But to make this system work effectively requires significant cultural change. It won’t happen overnight.
Peter Marsh – Chief Executive TSA
Very true Peter…..
This is a time of major change for all housing providers with the new regulatory standards putting tenants at its centre. There is a tight deadline for housing providers to produce their “how we will deliver National Standards, Tenant Scrutiny and Local Offers” document. They will need to do this in an open, honest and realistic way, ensuring that they protect what they do well (using existing success) and use this as the basis for delivering excellent services with and for their tenants.
Mark Soundie
Director
MSA Housing Consultants
Enabling Housing Excellence
……to be contiued.