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What the Act
requires us to do
The Act places a duty on landlords to put in
place Tenant Participation Strategies which promote the interests of tenants.
Our Tenant Participation Strategy must show:
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How
we will obtain and take account of the views of tenants and tenants groups |
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How
we will let tenants and tenants groups know what we plan to consult them
about |
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How
we will give information to tenants and tenants groups about what we are
planning to do and how it is likely to affect them |
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What
resources will be needed to put the strategy into place and the resources we
will be making available to do this |
Landlords also have a duty to set up a
register of tenants groups. To qualify for registration tenants groups will have
to meet certain conditions set by Scottish Ministers. These will include having
a written constitution, having an elected committee and being open and
accessible to tenants. These conditions and the register itself will be
published and made publicly available.
The Act also places duties on landlords to
consult with individual tenants and registered tenant groups on issues affecting
them. The issues on which we have to consult include:
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Housing
management policies including repairs and maintenance |
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Standards
of service in relation to housing management, including repairs and
maintenance |
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Our
Tenant Participation Strategy |
How we will meet our responsibilities
We are setting up a Tenant Participation Task
Force to draw up our Tenant Participation Strategy. This will be made up of the
Co-operative’s tenants and will hold regular meetings over the next few months
looking at the requirements of the Act. In particular they will consider:
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What
tenants will be consulted on |
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How
we will go about consulting with tenants and taking account of their views |
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How
we will ensure there is equal opportunity for all tenants to participate |
As well as this the Task Force will look at
how we can develop a range of ways for tenants to become more involved in how
the Co-operative is run. It is our aim to offer tenants the opportunity to
participate at a level that suits them. Some of the ideas we are considering
include:
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Focus
Groups to look at particular projects, the first of which will be reviewing
our tenants' handbook |
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Tenant
Panel, a much larger group of people who we will ask to comment on things
like policies and standards of service. |
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Residents
Associations which we believe provide an ideal way for tenants to let the
Co-operative know their views. |
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Tenant
Volunteers to act as a point of contact between the Co-operative and tenants
in areas where the Co-operative has only a small number of properties. |
If you would like to know more about how you can get
more involved in the running of the Co-operative please contact Eleanor McEwan at
our Aberdeen Office.
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