Housing association regulators could soon mirror local authority inspectors and scrutinise how far tenants are allowed to participate in decision making, it emerged this week
The Housing Corporation is considering using regulatory visits to assess the performance of registered social landlords on tenant participation.

The move is one of a string of proposals due to be published next week as part of the corporation's strategy to bolster the power of RSL tenants.

Other ideas include changing regulation guidelines to allow tenant majorities on boards of ransfer associations, and encouraging transfers to resident controlled associations.

This would back recent government guidance on transfer, which says tenant-controlled whole stock transfer landlords should be allowed "in certain circumstances" (Housing Today, 9 September).

The corporation may also promote resident control of associations through increased funding.

Enhanced social housing grant for tenant controlled associations could be introduced with set criteria for more funding for schemes that involved residents.

The proposals are set out in a new consultation paper, Options for community housing, which was developed by an advisory group featuring representatives from co-operatives, tenants' groups, councils, the National Housing Federation and the government.

Another paper, Community training and enabling, proposes to set up a grant regime similar to one used by local authority tenants, providing innovation and good practice funding for tenants.

Consultation for both documents closes on 14 January 2000, and the corporation will publish its final policy in May.

Federation policy officer Philippa O'Neill described the documents as a "radical" step forward in tenant participation. "This is going to be a huge challenge for housing associations and their may be a large number of tenants interested," she said.

Corporation chairman Baroness Dean said improving tenant participation had long been a goal: "Too many neighbourhoods have suffered decline and too few tenants have had a real say in turning things round."

"Increasingly, our research has shown that involvement by local communities in regeneration initiatives is the key to lasting success. These proposals represent real progress on the road to empowering local people to take a lead in building up long term successful neighbourhoods."

Source

Housing Today