Tenant voice

Someone in the housing world recently asked TAROE [Tenants and Residents Organisations of England] “Why was TAROE and the National Tenants Organisations needed?”

A national voice for tenants has never been so needed.

For the first time since World War 2 the government are directing private landlords (housing associations) to fix the rent. This is the rent control and the nationalisation of our homes by another name.

Two government policies stand out on how Whitehall sees our social housing homes.

The first is the so called 1% rent reduction per year for four years. The impact of this on tenants rents is very small (1%) yet the it is forcing landlords to rethink business plans and one London consultant recently called for tenant services to be cut to the bone carrying out only minimum repairs.

What good is that for tenants?

What good is it when landlords make staff redundant?

My second concern is the reintroduction of ‘means testing’ for tenants with the ‘Pay to Stay’ rent policy.

What good is that for tenants or landlords?

This rent fitting wages was a 1930’s policy.

Since TAROE’s inception we have represented on average 100 tenants a year with the many problems they face with their landlords, we have also held conferences and seminars which have allowed on up to 500 tenants and residents a year to attend.

This representation and the events have always been free because many tenants and resident organisations are not funded by their landlords and if they had to pay they would be unable to attend.

TAROE has also managed to have seats at the important tables because of the commitment of its none-paid volunteers who freely give of their time and energy to represent the views of Tenants and Residents who cannot commit because of life issues.

“That said the fact is that TAROE, which has been living on reserves built up during better financial times, has come to a stage in its existence where it has to make some really hard decisions”

That said the fact is that TAROE, which has been living on reserves built up during better financial times, has come to a stage in its existence where it has to make some really hard decisions.

One may ask how this has come about. TAROE has a membership made up from tenant and resident organisations from all over England.

Many of these organisations have limited financial resources but a huge desire to be associated with a national organisation which they can depend on when they need it.

No one else supplies such services but it is unsustainable because unlike the trade bodies for landlords in our sector there is no real reliable income allowing tenants and residents to have an independent and honest view bringing a real life perspective to life in the rented sector.

If TAROE were properly funded, as landlord trade bodies are, maybe these perverse decisions may not have been made, who knows.

Maybe the National Housing Federation and the Local Government Association would have tenants and residents standing shoulder to shoulder with them when dealing with government and government officials. Maybe that could still happen before it is too late?

Michael Gelling, chair T. A. R. O. E., tenant and tenant activist