Press release

New resident-led approach heralds step change in performance and empowerment

Date: Tuesday 9 March 2010       Ref: TSA 10/10

A report published today (9 March 2010) commissioned by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) and written by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), takes a detailed look at the use of a new approach to tenant involvement and performance management, which gives tenants the power to challenge their housing organisation and drive up performance. 

The report claims that this new approach, entitled resident-led self-regulation, has the potential to change social housing for the better and give real power to a group of customers who have little consumer choice. It could also cut down on the need for external intervention.

It draws on existing practice to help tenants, staff and governors in the social housing sector to develop and make effective use of resident-led scrutiny, and suggests ideas to inform the way the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) carries out regulation.

Resident-led self-regulation is already allowing tenants of a number of pioneer housing organisations to call their landlords to account and have a lead role in improving front-line services, scrutinising performance and ensuring that the organisation is well governed. 

The report, Resident-led self-regulation: Enhancing in-house scrutiny and performance, was funded by the TSA through its Tenant Excellence Fund and is the culmination of three years of work by CIH on a model that will help organisations to involve residents in the running of their business and to influence decisions.

Phil Morgan, Executive Director of Tenant Services at the TSA, said: “This is important and timely work on tenant scrutiny.  Our new empowerment and involvement standard stresses the importance of how tenants can effectively scrutinise and help shape the services of their landlord and this report gives lots of practical examples for providers and tenants to learn from."

Abigail Davies, CIH Head of Policy, co-authored the report.  She said: “The early adopters of resident-led self-regulation have done some great work and have paved the way for others to follow. If it becomes widespread in the housing sector it will bring clear benefits to tenants, housing providers and the regulator. This approach can improve services, and it also has the potential to link with the new regulatory framework to assure the quality of landlord performance and to reduce external intervention.”

Six housing organisations profiled in the report have implemented the model in different ways.  Aldwyck Housing Group has a long history of tenant involvement and in 2008 established a Customer Scrutiny Panel with 15 tenant members who meet the board over several hours twice a year to question them on performance.  The Chairman of the Scrutiny Panel, John Miles, said: “I can’t think of any other organisation where the board can be questioned by its customers for four hours.”  This questioning raised concerns over voids and the process was re-examined, improved and the time a property was left empty was cut dramatically and huge savings were made.

Salix Homes has recruited a 13-strong Customer Senate which will hold Salix to account for its behaviour and performance.  The Senate scrutinises the topics it thinks will be of greatest value to the organisation.  Its first review was of Salix Direct, a customer contact centre, which highlighted the issue of “avoidable contact” where customers were calling several times rather than their query being resolved on first contact.  The review is expected to improve the customer experience and eventually cut costs.  Alison Hill from Salix said: We have never really had customers look at processes and procedures before…it is so valuable to have a different set of eyes looking at how we do things from a customer’s point of view. The benefit to us all is continuous improvement.”

*ENDS*

News release issued on behalf of the CIH by Jill Dwyer, CIH Press Office, Octavia House, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JP. Telephone: 02476 851780 or 07786 716961. Email: press@cih.org.  Alternatively contact the TSA Press Office on 020 7393 2094/2118/2115 or by email pressoffice@tsa.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. Resident-led self-regulation: Enhancing in-house scrutiny and performance by Abigail Davies and Mark Lupton is published by the Chartered Institute of Housing on 9 March 2010. It can be downloaded from 9 March free from www.cih.org/policy and a hard copy will be sent to all housing providers in England.

2. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. We have a diverse and growing membership of over 22,000 – both in the public and private sectors – living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. Our members work for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, Government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector. Many tenants and residents are also members. We exist to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities. Further information is available at: www.cih.org

3. The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) is the independent regulator for social housing in England. Its formal name is The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords. It was set up on 1 December 2008 and currently regulates almost 1,700 housing associations. Its new regulatory powers come into force on 1 April 2010, when it will regulate other providers of social housing, such as 250 co-operatives, 187 local authority landlords and 69 arm’s-length management organisations who manage homes on behalf of 65 local authorities in England.

4. The TSA works with social housing landlords and tenants to improve the standard of services for more than eight million people in over four million homes. New standards for landlords will come into effect from 1 April 2010.

5. The Chartered Institute of Housing and Inside Housing magazine’s House Proud campaign is making the case for housing.  More details are at www.insidehousing.co.uk/houseproud