Welcome to the Tenant Participation page.
Here you will find information on what tenants are doing at Angus, how we are responding to what you have to say, and how you can get involved, along with practical information about the services we offer to tenants. We have recently appointed John McDonald as our new Communities Officer.
As well as developing Tenant Participation and involvement in the work of Angus, John will be working to improve the way we communicate with you.
Therefore John will be the new face in charge of co-ordinating the production of the Associations Newsletter “Straight Talking” with our aim is to get your views or angle on things.
We want to move away from a Newsletter that is written entirely by articles submitted by Staff. If, therefore, you have any ideas for future articles or features or if you simply want to put your views about something, please contact Communities Officer, John McDonald by phone, e-mail, letter or fill out the online form.
John has already assisted the tenants and residents of the Cliffburn Area in achieving major improvements for their community (see story on the left).
What is Tenant Participation?
Basically it means that all tenants of local authorities and housing associations have a statutory right to be consulted on various issues and be able to influence decisions being made about their homes and the services that are provided by their landlord. A more simple term that Angus Housing Association would prefer to use is “give us your views”
What is Angus Housing Associations view?
We believe that tenants are at the “heart of our business” and we want to encourage our tenants to grasp every opportunity available to them to have their say and influence decisions about our homes and our communities.
What is a Tenant Participation Strategy?
An act passed by the Scottish executive in 2001 said that landlords should have a strategy (written document) in place which outlined how it was going to involve tenants in decision making. This strategy was to be in plain English and was to be prepared in consultation with tenants. Angus Housing Association has a Tenant Participation Strategy and we are conscious of the need to involve more of our tenants in the consultation process.
 Download a copy of the Tenant Participation Strategy (208kb)
How can you get involved?
There are different ways of “giving your views”. These can involve becoming part of a tenant forum which is a group of tenants coming together to discuss issues raised by themselves or the housing association. These will be regular and be on a quarterly basis. A venue will be agreed with tenants, free childcare will be arranged and travelling expenses paid for. If you require transport to the venue then we will do our very best to organise this for you.
If you do not really want to be part of a group but would still like to give your views on a range of issues or just one particular issue you can join our “tenant’s views register.” This way, as an individual, you can be given details in advance of a particular issue either by letter, phone or visit from our communities officer (whatever way you feel most comfortable with) and you can then give your opinion after consideration. If there is something perhaps that you do not understand help will be available.
- As part of an organised group
You can form a tenant group that will represent the tenants in your area. There is evidence even from here in Angus that a small group of people can make a huge difference to their area. Apart from representing fellow tenants on issues of housing, the environment etc. There could be benefits to all the residents in the area if there are issues that need addressing. However, to be effective you will need to be organised and our communities officer can help you to do this. If you can become a Registered Tenant Organisation (RTO) with us we can offer support in a variety of ways to you. We have criteria for registration which is pretty straightforward. Please download the Strategy for further details. Our communities officer would be only too pleased to discuss this with you.
Do you want to get involved or find out more?
Please give John a ring on 01241 879537, e-mail, or fill out the online form.
What happens if nobody wants to get involved?
We really want tenant participation to work but we cannot do it alone we need tenants to get involved. Please, if you feel you can contribute even in a small way please get involved and “give us your views.”
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