Tenants gain voice at the top

servicesTenants are to have a direct say in government policy for the first time through a sounding board headed by housing minister Lord Falconer.

Falconer plans to hold talks with a dozen tenants about three times a year, raising issues such as community safety and the quality of services.

The controversial question of council borrowing restrictions is almost certain to emerge, as the minister said he wanted the board to discuss stock options.

The Tenant Participation Advisory Service has been asked to recruit members and manage the sounding board. Falconer wants six council tenants, four from housing associations, one from an arm's-length management organisation and a Tenants' and Residents' Organisa-tions of England representative to start the ball rolling.

Each is expected to serve for two years.

After each meeting the DTLR would publish a report on its website.

Falconer told the DTLR housing conference in London this week: "I want tenants to be at the heart of the government's drive to improve the quality of housing across the country."

In a further move on tenant participation, the minister announced a shake up of tenant compacts to help resolve disputes between social landlords and tenants.

Research by TPAS has confirmed that in some cases compacts have failed to resolve disputes.

Falconer said: "We've been aware of some growing tensions in a small number of cases. These could be triggered by disputes over lack of proper consultation or withdrawal of funding or a breakdown in negotiations over the compact itself."

He admitted some tenant compacts had been "rushed through" to meet government deadlines in 2000 and had not been revised since.

New clauses and standard phrasings produced by the DTLR for use in compacts should strengthen their effectiveness, he said.

TPAS chief executive Phil Morgan said: "This is a big step forward in improving tenant and landlord relations. There will be new opportunities for conflicts to be resolved."

Falconer has also set out plans for thousands of prefabricated homes to ease the shortage of key worker accommodation.

Modular homes, similar to the Peabody Trust's Murray Grove scheme in east London, could be built on land owned by government departments, he said. And other public bodies could join councils in giving land as subsidy.

Murray Grove has scored highly on quality and low maintenance but its construction was around 5 per cent more expensive than traditional building.

Private builders have been wary of the non-traditional look of the housing and the need for bespoke modules on tight urban sites, and so far the idea has been slow to take off.