You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Tenants need a national voice
The views of four million households in the social sector are not being heard. Associations should fund an independent pressure group, says Richard Peacock
It’s great to see a housing minister touring the country to speak with tenants. I’m very pleased that Soha is hosting an event and the noises from those which have taken place are very positive. I certainly don’t remember a housing minister taking time to talk to so many tenants on this scale, so I give credit to Alok Sharma for this action.
“The case for an independent, national voice for tenants has never been more self-evident.”
There’s also some noise about whether there should be a national voice for tenants. Many of you will recall the ill-fated National Tenants’ Voice, brought in by the previous regulator. After a promising start, recruiting around 50 tenants from across the country, the government cut off the funding and killed the organisation.
READ MORE
I would argue now that the case for an independent, national voice for tenants has never been more self-evident. Here’s why:
Tenants are a disparate group
Housing associations are disparate too, but we have a national voice in the shape of the National Housing Federation (NHF), which does a terrific job in representing our different views to government. Local authorities have the Local Government Association.
There are four million households living in social housing, so tenants are even more disparate than landlords. This suggests to me the need for a credible and respected avenue for tenants to express their views to government.
Landlords and tenants have similar interests, but they are not the same and we shouldn’t pretend they are. Landlords presuming they speak for tenants won’t cut it anymore.
There is no single route for tenants to influence national decisions that affect them
There are lots of examples of common interest or consumer groups: there are railway company specific passenger groups, of course, but did you know there’s also a Department for Transport sponsored department focused entirely on transport users? (I didn’t until Google research brought it up).
There’s the Confederation of British Industry and the TUC. Admittedly there’s no national consumer council anymore, but the market power of most customers means they have a power of their own.
That’s before you even factor in the many, many consumer-focused comparison websites, magazine and advertising.
By contrast, there is no one route for four million households of tenants to influence the major decisions about their homes, communities and well-being at a national level.
“I’m setting out my stall now: we should support an independent voice for tenants.”
Election turnout rates are low
I’ve written before about the problem of the democratic deficit that housing associations have to face. Given the dreadful turnout rate at elections for social tenants, I don’t think that local authorities should feel too confident about this either.
It would be a good investment
We’re now paying for a social housing regulator, as well as paying for NHF membership. How about 25p per property per year going to an independently held fund to give £1m for a strong tenant voice on national policy and regulation?
We’re looking at a rent settlement of up to Consumer Price Index plus 1% from 2020 – what better time to put some cash into supporting tenants to be heard at the highest level?
Tenants understand the issues
Tenants recognise the value of social housing – and the downsides too. But we should be grown-up enough to have a debate and be honest about any issues.
Tenants should be our best supporters and we should do what we can to enable their independent voices at the highest level, ie at government.
Those are some of the arguments for social landlords to support a national voice for tenants. I can’t think of one good argument against this.
Let’s have a debate. I’m setting out my stall now: we should support an independent voice for tenants. I look forward to hearing the views of others.
Richard Peacock, chief executive, Soha Housing
