Housing associations should sign up to the ‘Together with Tenants’ charter to prove they care

After a long time on the list we were finally offered a one-bedroom flat, but the experience we had with that housing association wasn’t very good; poor communication, repairs not being completed, and we felt they just wanted our rent and they didn’t want to listen to their customers.

All that changed when I became pregnant and moved to a Rooftop property.

The team from the start were helpful, friendly and approachable. This is when I decided to get involved and give something back.

I found out about volunteering opportunities at Rooftop and joined the Residence Excellence Panel (REP). I have discovered there is so much more to housing than I ever thought.

Rooftop doesn’t just provide housing, but it helps with money matters, health and well-being, and supports its customers in their time of need.

I have become very passionate about social housing and what it involves. I’m now going to be part of Rooftop Academy, I’m involved in workshops with other housing associations on our ‘Customer Voice’, I’m helping to plan community days, and I’ve attended two Social Housing Green Paper consultations.

I recently applied for the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants advisory group, which aims to strengthen the relationship between tenants and associations.

After the awful Grenfell Tower tragedy, everyone knew something needed to change. The stigma of social housing needed to change, tenants needed to feel safe in their homes, they need to feel respected and they need support when something goes wrong.

“By having this commitment, it shows tenants they will be treated in the right way, and that they are not just a tenant but a person, and have the right to be treated like everyone else”

This is where the Together with Tenants charter comes in. Tenants need that commitment from housing associations, to provide safe, decent and affordable homes, and tenants need to know they will be taken seriously when they have concerns regarding their homes.

We want to know that our home is safe and to know that if something isn’t right, we can raise our concerns and have them taken seriously. By having this commitment, it shows tenants they will be treated in the right way, and that they are not just a tenant but a person, and have the right to be treated like everyone else. This stigma needs to change.

Housing associations which voluntarily sign the charter are showing their tenants they do care, they want to be better and they do the right thing.

However, I feel tenants need to show a commitment to their housing association by agreeing to and doing everything stated on their tenancy agreement. After all, commitment works both ways.

“We have a fixed term for five years, but I’m really glad that Rooftop is phasing this out. Tenants want security and don’t want to be worrying that after five years things are going to change”

By signing the charter, housing associations are showing a willingness to build up a good relationship and to build trust between associations and their tenants. We know we will be taken seriously and know that we will be listened to when we raise concerns.

Safe and decent homes are not the only thing that matters to tenants – lots of things matter, such as tenancy agreements. We have a fixed term for five years, but I’m really glad that Rooftop is phasing this out. Tenants want security and don’t want to be worrying that after five years things are going to change.

We want our home to be our forever home and other tenants feel the same, too.

Daisy Halford, tenant, Rooftop Housing Group