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Eighteen months ago Inside Housing laid down some markers against which the National Housing Federation’s Together with Tenants programme should be judged. As the NHF calls on all landlords to sign up to the charter, Martin Hilditch looks at how successful it has been
Eighteen months ago, the National Housing Federation (NHF) launched a consultation on a draft plan to transform the balance of power between tenants and housing associations.
At the time, I said that the Together with Tenants proposals had the potential to represent a massive step forward for the sector – but that its success would depend on a few key points. In particular, would it help create a partnership of equals where tenants had real control over outcomes?
This week, after months of consultation and work with ‘early adopters’ of the proposals, the NHF called for a sector-wide roll-out of Together with Tenants – asking all housing association in England to sign up. So, the key question is, does it deliver on the early potential?
There’s certainly one positive indicator: the number of organisations – 127 – who jumped on board from the start as early adopters. Seventy of these maintained regular engagement throughout (and the difference in figures was, at least in part, down to the capacity of the pilot). There are already interesting approaches being undertaken by a number of organisations, including the co-creation of services and the setting up of a regional tenant voice body in the North East.
This is an impressive base to build on and some of the learning is already filtering out into the sector via member networks, conferences and this publication.
It’s also great to see the programme acknowledge the importance of social landlords recognising the “skills residents bring in finding solutions” and the importance of collaboration. While the words “co-creation” don’t quite get a mention, they’re edging closer (and as mentioned there are some interesting sounding pilots being carried out by a few organisations).
What are the negatives? Well, of course, the success of any programme or initiative rests not on the super-keen early adopters but on reaching the landlords most reluctant to work with tenants in a meaningful way. And if and when more associations sign up, there needs to be clear and obvious ways of demonstrating it is not simply a tick-box exercise (the NHF’s plan would involve annual reporting on action taken and this is absolutely crucial).
Also, this is not – and does not claim to be – any kind of step towards a national tenant voice or tenant union. The government’s Social Housing White Paper is due imminently, and if that ignores the need for greater tenant influence nationally and regionally it will, whatever else it achieves, be a huge failure. The message from government can’t be: “greater scrutiny is vital – unless it might be directed at us”.
Finally, where does this leave council tenants? For the sake of argument, let’s say Together with Tenants achieves everything it sets out to do. If it does drive a much more collaborative and effective system, how will we make sure it doesn’t create a two-tier system and good practice is spread (the latter falls under the ‘nice problem to have’ category for now).
For now though, there is much to support when it comes to Together with Tenants. All landlords should sign up – but the crucial part is committing to an open dialogue and driving cultural change.
Martin Hilditch, editor, Inside Housing