New regulations relating to the process for developing tenant management organisations came into effect on 1 October 2008. The new regulations included setting up an ‘Approved Assessor Service’ (AAS) to check the management abilities of tenant groups using the right to manage option. This means that an independent approved assessor now checks the management abilities of new tenant management organisations. Previously this was done by the organisation that had been providing training and advice to the group.
Under the new rules, the tenants’ group should approach the AAS to have an approved assessor appointed as soon as their right-to-manage notice has been accepted by their landlord.
About the AAS
The AAS is currently funded by the Tenant Empowerment Programme (TEP).
The service will allocate an approved assessor to the tenant group. The approved assessor must independently assess the management abilities of the tenants’ group before the group can put its management offer to tenants in a ballot.
The AAS assessment is done in three stages.
Stage 1 review (after the right-to-manage notice has been accepted by the landlord)
This review will assess the group’s training and development plan to make sure that the group are likely to become fully able to manage their housing within 15 months.
Stage 2 review (about six months into the training and development programme)
This review is designed to check on the group’s progress and to tell them if there are areas which need more attention before the stage 3 final assessment.
Stage 3 final assessment (ideally between 12 to 15 months after the right-to-manage notice is accepted by the landlord, or later if the landlord and the tenancy management organisation agree on an extension).
This is the formal review which will assess whether the group are able to manage their housing. If the approved assessor says the group are able to manage their housing, the group can put their offer to manage to tenants in a ballot. If the group needs to do more work, they will be able to have another stage 3 review.
Who are the approved assessors?
The approved assessors have all been appointed individually by the Secretary of State. The assessors are contracted by us but managed by the service. They are experienced professionals with a background in tenant management, training or inspection.
What is the common assessment model (CAM)?
The common assessment model is a spreadsheet that helps tenants’ groups to meet the assessment requirements. It sets out the key competencies which tenants’ groups need to meet for the initial stage 1 assessment and for the final stage 3 assessment. You can find full details in the ‘library’ section of NFTMO’s website: www.nftmo.com.
All tenants’ groups going through the right–to-manage process should use the common assessment model to check their progress.
Roles and responsibilities
1 Our TEP team
The TEP team are responsible for contracting the Approved Assessor Service and monitoring the service by holding regular meetings. They are also responsible for recruiting and contracting the approved assessors, who are then managed by the Approved Assessor Service. Please contact the Approved Assessor Service direct if you have any complaints about the service. If you’re not satisfied with the response to your complaint, please contact the TEP team on tenantempowerment@tsa.gsx.gov.uk.
2 The Approved Assessor Service (AAS)
The AAS allocates assessors to groups and processes applications and assessment reports. They are happy to deal with queries from groups, landlords or lead advisors about any aspect of the service. You can contact the AAS at aaservice@gtuk.com.
3 The approved assessor
The AAS appoints an approved assessor to an individual tenants’ group to review their progress. Where possible, the same assessor will work with the group from stage 1 to stage 3. When a review is needed at stage 1 or stage 3, the tenants’ group makes a formal application for a review to the AAS. The AAS will check the application is complete and will then pass it to the approved assessor. The assessor will then contact the tenant management organisation (TMO), the lead advisor and the local authority to arrange the assessment. For the stage 2 visits, the approved assessor will contact the TMO group, lead advisor and local authority directly to make any arrangements that are needed (the TMO does not need to make an application for this stage).
4 The lead advisor
The lead advisor must have a thorough understanding of the work of the Approved Assessor Service and how they carry out assessments. The lead advisor must make sure that the tenants’ group are well prepared for the assessments. In particular, they must make sure that the tenants’ group have produced a robust training and development plan which will allow them to show they have the abilities they need by the end of the process. The lead advisor also needs to work with the group to make sure that the evidence needed under the common assessment model is collected, organised and evaluated, as this will be an important part of the evidence which the approved assessors will use in their reviews.
5 The tenants’ group
The tenants’ group need to fully understand the role of the Approved Assessor Service and the basis on which their progress will be assessed. Groups should keep the common assessment model in mind and make sure that they are gathering the evidence they need to show that they have the abilities set out in the model. The latest version of the common assessment model is available on the NFTMO website at www.nftmo.com.
6 The landlord
The Approved Assessor Service holds discussions with the landlord in all three reviews. It is essential that the landlord also has a good understanding of the common assessment model and the assessment framework. The landlord also needs to have a good understanding of the work of the tenants’ group and their development and training.
More information
- The AAS provides a members-only website which has a range of documents to help groups, landlords and lead advisors through the assessment process. This website is only available to funded projects. You can contact the AAS for your access codes by e-mailing aaservice@gtuk.com.
- The latest version of the common assessment model is available at www.nftmo.com (go to the ‘Resources’ page then click on ‘Tenant Management Knowledge Map’).