Members of Neighbourhood Watch Schemes can use their existing organisation to form a Tenants Association

Members of Tenants Associations can use their existing organisation to form a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.

Both associations have their merits – NHW Schemes can ask Stevenage Borough Council to erect NHW signs in their area.  Other benefits are listed elsewhere on this site.

The merits of forming a Tenants Association are contained in the following document, which has been reproduced from Stevenage Borough Council’s Working Together Leaflet.

Working Together

Having a Say in the

Services You Receive

Tenant Participation Co-ordinator

Maureen Herdman

Telephone 01438 242183

mailto:maureen.herdman@stevenage.gov.uk

Stevenage Borough Council believes that tenants have the right to be fully involved in decisions concerning their homes and estates and base their encouragement and support for Tenant Participation on these principles. We believe that Tenant Participation can benefit both tenants and the council - resulting in improved services and a better tenant/landlord relationship.

We want to enable you to have a real say in how your housing and estate are run. Remember - an organised group can have a stronger voice than one individual, which can mean more notice will be taken of what you are saying.

We can give you all the assistance you need to get involved. We can either help you in setting up and becoming a successful Tenants Group or give you the opportunity to get involved on an individual basis.

Contact the Tenant Participation Co-ordinator for an informal chat or further information

Phone 01438 242183

Tenant Participation

- what can it do for me?

Getting involved means you:

• Have a real say in the housing services you receive, such as, repairs, estate improvements and service quality
• Help us make decisions that affect the services you receive
• Work together with other tenants and residents to campaign about issues that affect you
• Work together with other organisations who have an interest in your area, to bring about improvements or change
• Can develop skills that you could use in the workplace

How can I get involved?

You can join or develop a:

1. A Tenants’ Association (TA) -  a group of people, who are tenants, from a defined housing area. This would normally consist of tenants of just one landlord.
2. A Tenants’ and Residents Association (TARA) - a group where residents in a defined housing area are asked to join. This means that council tenants, housing association tenants, private renting tenants, leaseholders and owner- occupiers can all work together on issues affecting their housing and community.Or you can:
3. Get involved on an individual basis - perhaps by working with officers on a special project such as a review of the complaints service, or discussions on planned maintenance priorities.

What Can the
Tenant Participation
Co-ordinator Do
For You?

Assist by:

• Organising meeting places
• Providing start up grants
• Providing grants to cover running costs of a group
• Helping with photocopying
• Helping with typing
• Helping with postal costs
• Helping set agendas for meetings
• Giving information on setting up committees
• Helping with the production of newsletters and posters
• Providing training
• Giving ideas for fund-raising
• Giving ideas on how to campaign for change
• Finding out who to approach for grant information
• And anything else you may wish to ask us for!

An Active Tenants and Residents Association can succeed in having a real say in housing issues: For example in:

How Your Rent Money is Spent - on day to day repairs and void properties and caretaking services

How Housing Policies Develop - how homes are allocated and how rent collection is maximised

Customer Care - how we deal with our customers and complaints

The future housing strategy - how the housing service develops

The arrangements for monitoring and reviewing performance - how we live upto the promises we make -  Best Value

Getting Involved is:

Good for the community
Good for the kids
Good for Communication
Good for you – and good for us
Working Together – Works