Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Board Members sitting on a Housing Association -whom are they answerable too

Posted in: Need to Know | Ask the Experts

04/01/2011 11:23 am

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

04/01/2011 11:58 am

Our not these Chair and Board Members suppose to be serving the public through their local housing association

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

04/01/2011 12:02 pm

What Code of Conduct do these Chair and Board Members have to adhere too!

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philipjohn001

philipjohn001

Posts: 30

04/01/2011 2:04 pm

a) Their shareholders

b) Company law says they have to serve the iterests of the Company (or Charity)

c) Their own Code of Conduct

any more questions?

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

04/01/2011 2:15 pm

How do you get a list of the Shareholders

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philipjohn001

philipjohn001

Posts: 30

04/01/2011 2:25 pm

Write to Companies House or visit their website - http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/index.shtml

The service does cost

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Blondie

Blondie

Posts: 4

04/01/2011 3:14 pm

You need to check what their legal status is - they may not be registered as a company and therefore may not have to register their details at companies house (e.g. I&P bodies are regulated by the FSA).

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

04/01/2011 3:45 pm

Blondie - we could find anything at Company's House.

We cannot get a list of Shareholder out of them we understand that if the Shareholder our responsible for the Management and Chair and Board Members of the Association and we/I believe failing the Tenants due to many issues to many to go into here without showing my hand. 

They have to be a Mutual Society to be covered by the FSA so I was told on the phone this day

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

04/01/2011 3:49 pm

Our is Registry has a  Friendly Societies with charitable rules

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Sancho

Sancho

Posts: 199

05/01/2011 10:05 am

Junior,

Your landlord is registered with Companies House.  Go to the companies house website, click on webcheck and enter their name.  You will find the information there.  That will also link you to the FSA, where you can again access basic information by entering their name.  You will have to pay if you want more information. 

My understanding, though, is that a mutual society doesn't have any shareholders as such.

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Only One

Only One

Posts: 7

05/01/2011 2:53 pm

I'm assuming you are referring to Board members rather than shareholders, in which case the easiest way to obtain the information is to look at the last issued accounts and/or annual report - they will be listed in these two documents, however should you need to contact them then I suggest you write to them at your RSLs head office, as this will be contacting them in thier official capacity.

Should you have issues with governance then these need taking up with the TSA or HCA depending what the issues are, however you will need to have taken the matter up with the RSL prior to contacting either of them.

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

05/01/2011 6:21 pm

Only One know we written to the Chair and Board Members via the propriate challenges the Company Secretary but will not answer us.  So we presume either Company Secretary is not on passing the correspondence or the Board and Managemnent sticking together to protect each other from the failings of the Organsation has a whole.

We was promised a meeting and have irgnore our requests both TSA and Housing Ombudsman aware of what we classing has failings by the Organsation.  Because we wasn't allowed into the last two AGM we have not be able to get to the Shareholder to raise our concerns.

So we not trying to get a list of Shareholders we not asking for contact details  or addresses we only ask for names.

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philipjohn001

philipjohn001

Posts: 30

05/01/2011 9:11 pm

So, both the TSA and the Housing Obudsman are aware of your concerns?

Both would have had a look at the concerns and then made a decision as to whther there was anything for them to worry about - if they choose not to do anything then you're basically stuck, because there's no one else to whom you can go.

If LAWS are being broken the Auditor would have picked it up in the final accounts, and if they had any concerns they are duty bound by law to report them in the Management Letter which is published alongside the final accounts.

No concerns equals no problems.

YOU may not like the way something is being done but that doesn't mean that's illegal or even bad governance, it just means that you don't like it.

The only way to change somethig like that is from the inside, by being elected as a Board Member, or through the HA's normal resident involvement route, but as has been said before if you can't get a number of other residents to agree with you, AND back your arguement then you're a lone voice with a grudge and that's all.

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Junior

Junior

Posts: 649

05/01/2011 10:39 pm

No the Housing  Ombudsman and the TSA just had the case over the Christmas period we awaiting findings along with Local Authority and no I am not alone far from being alone.  I just come on here to see what others think and whether the information I get help us more, better.  We are a group which I call  may be slightly naive but we not stupid.  We know others in our Borough having the same problems with Housing Association and think I can give people i.e. tenants the courage to come forward.  We also right to other organsation and MP's and such like. 

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