Opinion: My wish list for the way ahead

I have a special interest in the work of the Housing Corporation since it was my job, as a member of the then government, to steer through the House of Commons the 1974 Housing Act, which added substantially to the corporation's role and gave it access to a lot more money on behalf of housing associations. So I hope you won't think it intrusive if I send you this wish list for priorities in your new and exceptionally important job.

Please pressurise associations to behave much more accountably to tenants and applicants than some of them do now. Even at their most inefficient, council housing departments are totally answerable via councillors, whereas the policies and actions (or lack thereof) of registered social landlords can be a law unto themselves. Let's have real democracy in the housing association movement.

Design is also an issue. With the Conservatives' near-destruction of local authorities' housebuilding role, RSLs are now the main source of bespoke public sector housing. The deputy prime minister announced at the Labour conference last week that RSLs will be responsible for 1600 new affordable homes on government land across six counties in the South-east.

Some RSL properties can be attractively designed, but I know of others that are hideous. Not long ago I opened a project in my constituency that could have been rejected as too forbidding by prison designers. Some local authorities used to make the user-friendliness of homes a low priority – those (thankfully now demolished) forts in Manchester, for example – RSLs should not make the same mistake.

But although RSLs now have the main responsibility as a general provider of public sector rented dwellings, they should never forget that their principal duty used to be to provide specialised accommodation for vulnerable people, such as the elderly and the disabled. Local authorities can be quite heavy-handed in responding to people with such needs, only too often giving them an ultimatum: "get out of the house you have lived in for years and go into already adapted accommodation that might not suit you and may be far away from your friends and carers, or else we'll do nothing for you." Such attitudes make understanding and responsive RSLs even more precious. Please make sure the associations remember that they are there to be the friends of such tenants, not dictators.

Councils can be quite heavy-handed in responding to vulnerable people. Please make sure housing associations remember that they are there to be the friends of such tenants, not dictators

Please also ensure that housing associations are more careful in their selection of tenants. Projects can be badly harmed by "tenants from hell", and sometimes RSLs can be laggardly in removing people who should never have been put there in the first place. The new Antisocial Behaviour Act will confer tough powers on RSLs, as well as local authorities, to deal with such tenants. The associations should be active, in cooperation with the police, in using these powers.

People applying for tenancies may have only a vague idea of how associations operate – for example, people who do not understand bureaucratic systems. There should be much more coordination and pooling of waiting lists (subject, of course, to the Data Protection Act), so that associations can act cohesively in providing the best service.

And please make sure that the RSLs themselves are always good neighbours. This government has given housing associations wider social responsibilities than ever before: they are involved in neighbourhood renewal and warden schemes, in reclaiming delinquent young people for society, and even in commercial schemes such as the provision of private nurseries. They can be regarded as friends and allies, but can arouse hostility if they place their own aspirations ahead of those they are created to serve.

Last but not least, always remember that you are spending taxpayers' money. Make sure it is spent productively, sensibly and economically.