Tenant Participation Compact - Core Standards

1. Introduction

The Tenant Participation Compact lays out how Rochdale Boroughwide Housing will work with tenants individually or collectively. Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s aim is to ensure that all tenants have the opportunity and choice to have a proper say in how their homes and neighbourhoods are managed and the quality of life improved.

The Tenant Participation Compact is the framework for the partnership between Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) tenants. Most of Rochdale Council’s housing management responsibilities are delegated to its ALMO, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

The Council retains control of most of the important policy decisions and consequently has responsibilities that are set out in the core standards. Many of the services that affect the quality of life on estates are also provided by the Council. Consequently the Council feels that it should remain a signatory to the compact.

The consultation carried out before changes to policy, for which the Council remains responsible, may often be carried out by RBH at the Council’s request.

These core standards are minimum standards that should:

• enable all tenants to receive the information that they want
• ensure communications are appropriate and clear
• ensure that all tenants, groups of tenants and tenants’ organisations are consulted appropriately
• enable all tenants to participate in decision making at the level of their choosing

The compact as a whole also comprises these core standards and:

1. Recognition criteria for tenant groups
2. Tenants & residents association funding agreement
3. Model tenants & residents association constitution
4. Code of Practice for recognised tenants & residents associations
5. The Tenant Participation Unit's Performance Indicators
6. Funding formula for recognised groups
7. One off tenant participation grant criteria
8. Tenant Training Strategy (1st draft)
9. RoFTRA funding agreement
10. RBH’s Customer Consultation Strategy
11. Code of Practice for Major Works
12. RBH's Equality & Diversity Policy
13. Tenants Compact Working Group terms of reference
14. RMBC’s Equality & Diversity Policy

The Boroughwide Tenant Participation Compact will also be supplemented through Estate Compacts and compacts for difficult to reach groups, eg the Black & Minority Ethnic Tenants’ Compact.

2. Consultation

RBH will consult tenants on:

• drawing up capital programmes;
• developing and implementing regeneration and improvement programmes;
• budgets and the delivery plan:
• allocation and lettings procedures;
• anti-social behaviour procedures;
• management of housing services;
• repairs, maintenance, rent collection, voids;
• housing benefits advice, and debt recovery procedures;
• leaseholder issues and charges;
• sheltered housing services;
• arrangements for monitoring and reviewing RBH’s performance, addressing shortcomings and remedial action;
• setting, monitoring and reviewing services, performance standards and targets for housing management and neighbourhood services;
• neighbourhood issues which affect tenants' homes or the management of the housing service;
• equality policies, including race equality policies and policies on racial harassment;
• customer care;
• tenancy support services;
• remodelling estates, conversions and demolitions
• environmental works;
• arrangements for providing information, for tenant consultation and involvement, including handling complaints and remedial action.
• bids for additional resources

Rochdale Council will consult tenants on:

Developing the council's housing policy and strategy, including identifying and appraising investment options, monitoring and review;

• Developing the council's housing policy and strategy, including identifying and appraising investment options, monitoring and review
• Budgets (ie the HRA), rent-setting and service charges;
• developing and implementing regeneration and improvement programmes;
• services funded from the General Fund that affect Council estates and tenant & resident participation:
• Council service and performance strategies; and arrangements for monitoring and reviewing council performance, addressing shortcomings and remedial action;
• arrangements for monitoring and reviewing RBH’s performance,
• warden services to sheltered housing;
• allocation policies;
• any changes to the tenancy agreement, eg introductory tenancies
• anti-social behaviour policies
• housing benefit services;
• use of housing land, eg usage of demolition sites, new build, etc:
• the Customer Service; (previously Information Service);
• major changes to the management of all or parts of the Council’s housing stock;
• Best Value Reviews of services that encompass council estates and services to estates.

3. Resources for tenant participation

RBH and the Council support for recognised tenants’ groups will include:

• annual grant,
• advice, including independent advice, community development support, support for local tenant networks;
• community bases;
• tailored training to meet the needs of tenants' representatives or tenants' groups, including possible joint training with council staff and members, where appropriate.

RBH will help tenants groups that are not recognised to work towards the recognition criteria:

RBH will provide tenants with full information on:

what resources, including staff time are available to implement its polices for tenant involvement;

• what resources, including staff time are available to implement its polkicies for tenant involvement;
• which RBH officers are responsible for delivering specific goals in the strategy;
• what resources are available to support training and capacity-building amongst tenants' representatives and tenants' groups, and to sustain established tenant participation structures; and
• anything else tenants ask for, so long as it is available and its disclosure does not breach confidentiality.

RBH will support the formation of tenants groups in all the areas that it manages.

4. Standards for meetings

Meetings with tenants will:

• be publicised effectively and in good time
• have clear objectives and a mandate;
• have a clear action plan to deal with matters arising or be minuted;
• have arrangements for reporting back the outcome, including feedback, to those who took part.
• be at venues which are convenient and accessible.
• be chaired in an open and democratic manner with suitable time for questions.

RBH will pay expenses for meetings, e.g. towards the cost of child care, transport (where appropriate).

5. Information & Publications

Information will be:

• accessible (ie in plain language and be available in large print, Braille, cassette, translation etc);
• expressed clearly, avoiding jargon and racist, sexist or other biased language;
• of good quality, timely and tailored to tenants' needs.

All tenants should, as appropriate, receive information on:

• housing strategies, polices and priorities;
• housing investment options and plans;
• arrangements and requirements for delegating housing management, including contracting out of services;
• arrangements for monitoring and reviewing performance and setting service standards and targets;
• housing management and other relevant local services;
• present and future capital works affecting tenants, their homes and their area;
• race equality and racial harassment policies;
• compacts themselves;
• support available to help them get involved.

Major RBH publications will be approved by the Tenants’ Editorial Group.

All tenants groups will receive appropriate information including:

• how tenants can get involved in housing management and decision-making;
• general information packs with useful contacts, etc.
• TPU’s newsletter;
• arrangements for developing and implementing best value, including monitoring and reviewing performance and setting service standards and targets;
• support available to help them get more tenants involved.

Information will be made available in RBH’s offices and on its website.

6. Standards for monitoring and measuring performance on compacts

Performance measures and targets for tenant participation will be set each year by the Tenants Compact Working Group.

RoFTRA, RBH, the Council and tenants will:

• assess the results of operating compacts against their original expectations at a meeting of the Tenants Compact Working Group;
• review policies, practice and performance at regular intervals;
• check that RBH consults with and involves tenants from all parts of the community effectively.

RBH will:

• set clear service standards and targets for tenant consultation and involvement in the service agreements; if service standards and targets are not met, investigate and find remedies;
• monitor and evaluate different approaches to tenant participation, looking particularly at the scope for changing their own approach to make sure this remains effective and efficient;
• monitor recognised tenant groups to make sure they continue to carry out their roles effectively;
• monitor equality of opportunity and levels of involvement by all groups, including ethnic minorities;
• assess performance against what other housing organisations are achieving.

7. The role of Rochdale Council

The Council recognises the valuable role tenant representatives play and the vital contribution they make towards a continually improving service. The Council will involve tenants in making decisions on housing matters and any other related matters by agreement. The Council will work positively with tenants, tenants associations, tenant management organisations, RoFTRA and RBH.

For any of its responsibilities, the Council may choose to use RBH as its agent.

8. The role of tenants and their organisations

Tenants orgainsations should positively promote the tenancy agreement and support RBH in taking any action necessary against those who do not - RBH will tackle breaches of the tenancy agreement. Tenants’ organisations are aware that anti-social behaviour is the number one concern for the majority of tenants.

Tenant organisations will work with the RBH, to identify and tackle issues of concern, including how services and facilities can be misused. Tenant organisations will tell RBH any concerns they have with RBH’s services before they take any independent action.

Tenant representatives will work according to an agreed code of conduct.

9. The role of RBH

RBH recognises the valuable role tenant representatives play and the vital contribution they make towards a continually improving service. RBH will involve tenants in making decisions on housing matters and any other matters by agreement. This involvement may be through formal or informal structures and processes, tailored to meet the needs of tenants and local circumstances.

RBH will make sure that all tenants are informed of the arrangements for tenant involvement. RBH will support and encourage the development of local tenants’ and residents’ organisations and RoFTRA.

RBH will ensure that tenants and their organisations are kept informed about action taken by RBH on anti-social behaviour.

RBH will make sure that there are other formal and informal ways of getting tenants involved. RBH will make sure that these structures represent all tenants and that all tenants have the chance to get involved. RBH will make sure that these structures include a responsibility for budgets if this is appropriate.

RBH will act to promote tenant participation amongst under represented groups.

RBH’s staff and its board members will work in accordance with their respective codes of practice. RBH will work positively with tenants, tenants associations, tenant management organisations, RoFTRA and the Council.

10. Equality & Diversity

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Rochdale Council are committed to providing information and services, equally and without discrimination, to meet the needs of all sections of the community ie Council tenants and their households, people living near properties managed by RBH, and people seeking access to or information on RBH’s services in the borough.

RBH and the Council will work with tenants’ groups to encourage all members of all communities to be involved in tenant participation.

11. Failure to comply with the core standards

If you feel that Rochdale Boroughwide Housing or Rochdale Council has not delivered on promises made in the core standards, please report this to Paul Beardmore, Head of Strategic Housing, Rochdale Council, Municipal Offices, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1LX.

12. Monitoring the Tenant Participation Compact

Overall performance of RBH and the Council against the core standards will be assessed annually by the Tenant Compact Working Group.

For more information about tenant Compacts you can visit the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website

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