The idea works by allowing tenants to take over the titles to their properties, thus becoming their own landlord and answering only to the other tenants and the Housing Corporation. This means tenants will not be subject to any council cuts, they would have their own office and management, they would be able to prioritise the development of their estate and be in charge of their own staff, and also be in charge of repairs and setting rents within the government’s guidelines.
In many areas, most council properties are situated within well-defined estates, so cooperative action teams could be established within a grid of streets.
The idea makes sense in housing cooperatives like mine because tenants already deal with the day-to-day running and maintenance of the housing stock, and there are staff who operate within strict policies laid down by the tenants who appoint the management committee at a general meeting. The result of this is that things such as the central heating and old kitchen units have been upgraded and there are internal and external cyclical maintenance programmes.
All the schemes are carried out within a 30-year business plan and they are budgeted for under the regime of current rent plus 0.5% plus £2, which also pays office costs. In terms of staff we employ a manager, a maintenance officer, a tenant liaison officer and a part-time finance officer, as well as a general office worker who wants to learn about housing. Their salaries come out of the rent on local authority pay scales.
Having a CAT could provide a viable alternative for the social housing sector, especially as tenants have a wealth of experience and know the problems within their own estates. By allowing tenants to take over the development of the estate, housing departments can avoid them falling into decay.
Source
Housing Today
Postscript
Julian Jellie, secretary of Brockley Tenants Cooperative in Lewisham, south London, spoke to Mahua Chatterjee
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