Following on from its recent release, Jacqueline Norwood, Executive Director, TPAS Scotland, takes a closer look at the findings of a new report into how social landlords are supporting their tenants to engage and participate in their work.
Last year, TPAS Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Government, carried out research to establish the baseline of support that’s available for social housing tenants to engage with and participate in their landlord's work. A joint report, from the Scottish Government and TPAS Scotland, has now been published, and it gives recommendations that aim to help strengthen the support social landlords currently provide for their tenants.
To carry out the research, we held discussion groups, including with tenants, tenant scrutiny panel members, Reginal Network members (now Tenants Together Scotland), tenant participation officers and housing managers and directors. We also looked at a sample of housing associations, co-operatives and local authorities’ websites to gauge how easy it is to find information on how a landlord supports tenants to participate and engage. To gather further information, we also sent a survey to TPAS Scotland members.
Key findings
Discussion group with housing staff
Social housing staff were asked what support they offer to encourage and facilitate tenant engagement and participation. Their answers included face-to-face meetings; scrutiny panels; grants; estate walkabouts; tenants being part of the governing body; mystery shopping; training expenses; digital support; consortium of tenants, residents and social landlords, e.g., North East Tenants, Residents and Landlords Together (NETRALT); surveys; roadshows; Facebook group; accessible communication; working groups; participatory budgets; tenant participation budgets; dedicated tenant participation team; annual tenancy visits; tenant participation strategy; digital lending library; incentives; and induction for registered tenants' organisation (RTO) members.
NETRALT, which is a nationally recognised collective of tenants, residents, registered social landlords and local authorities in North East Scotland, was shared as a best practice example. NETRALT has proven to be an effective way to combine resources across landlords and tenants’ groups to provide more support for tenants, including joint training sessions and sharing of good practice.
Roadshows were highlighted as a particularly useful method of sharing information and supporting tenants to participate in consultations as they help to reach a greater number of tenants across a larger geographic area.
Tenant participation officers were asked to rank their top methods of support, in terms of importance, based on the answers highlighted by all housing staff. Their order was as follows:
The housing staff group said that support provided to facilitate tenant participation and engagement can also help tenants in other aspects of their lives, for example, increasing knowledge and skills through training, attending events or speaking at conferences as well as building confidence by taking part in group discussions.
Discussion group with tenants
The tenant group members shared how their social landlords support them to participate and engage in their work. They highlighted the following methods: training; vouchers/monetary incentives to take part; monthly meetings; scrutiny group officers; estate walkabouts; budget for RTO; Teams meetings; expenses; paperwork with information; tenant participation officer; ‘Stepping up to Scrutiny’ training; attendance at conferences; scrutiny group; TPAS Scotland participation certificate; and support for new members.
No tenant had access to all of the methods listed above. All tenants agreed that payment of expenses, incurred as a result of participating, was essential, and, if not in place, could be a barrier to participation. Hospitality, such as a Christmas lunch, was, primarily, viewed as a token of appreciation for tenants’ contribution.
Discussion group with scrutiny panel members
Scrutiny panel members ranked their top five essential methods of support for tenant participation and engagement. Their results were as follows:
This discussion group regarded training as critical to tenants being able to effectively participate. They also included attendance at conferences as training, as the group felt this is invaluable for networking, sharing views and increasing their knowledge.
Having a tenant participation strategy is essential, but participants highlighted how important it is that this is a living document, regularly reviewed, monitored and reported on to ensure it’s fit for purpose.
The group also said that having a positive relationship with specialist tenant participation staff is critically important.
Social landlord survey results
The survey was completed by 25 social landlords, including local authorities and housing associations that manage a range of different types of housing, from general needs to ambulant disabled.
The social landlords said they had different groups undertaking scrutiny activities, including tenants’ panels and a register of tenant volunteers for specific areas of scrutiny.
Landlords were asked about the support they give to tenants to participate, and the most common method of support was payment of expenses, followed by attendance at conferences and then training. The least common form of support was formal mentoring.
The need for more digital support was a common theme highlighted by housing staff in both the focus groups and survey. However, this is at odds with the tenants’ preferences as many said they are keen to see more face-to-face meetings, despite acknowledging that digital tools can enhance access for many tenants, provided they have devices, connectivity and, where necessary, support to connect and participate.
Albyn Housing Association shared a good practice example. It has supplied several tenants with electronic devices to enable them to engage with the organisation online. Doing this has also helped the housing association to recruit extra volunteers.
Sixty-four per cent of landlords said they offer specific support for ‘hard-to-reach’ tenants. A good practice example from Fife Council saw its tenant participation officers supporting tenants on a Gypsy/Traveller site to form a group in a structure that suits their needs, rather than a traditional tenants and residents’ association.
Thirty-two per cent of landlords surveyed had succession plans in place for scrutiny panels and for governing bodies. However, 40% had no plans in place. Succession planning is an important form of support for groups as it reassures members that a group can continue when tenants move on or in the event an office bearer stands down. One example of succession planning is that tenants, actively involved in participation groups, can be given training on how to be a successful chair, meaning that the relevant skills are there when needed.
Recommendations
One of the key messages from both the tenants and staff who took part in our research was that positive relationships and trust are critical to good participation. Tenants also told us that they must feel – and see – that their contribution is meaningful, valued and can result in change.
Tenant participation strategies are seen to be of value; however, they should be visible and available to all tenants via a social landlord’s website as well as print copies which are available from the landlord's office or RTOs.
It is evident that tenants gain many benefits from participating with their landlord, including accessing training, learning and the opportunity to work in partnership with, and learn from, other people. These skills can often have a positive impact on other areas of tenants’ lives, including employment and education and helping them to play a greater role in their community and wider society.
The following recommendations will help to strengthen social landlords’ support for helping tenants to engage and participate in their work:
TPAS Scotland can support social landlords with this work. If you would like to discuss how we can help your organisation, please contact enquiries@tpasscotland.org.uk
The full report can be access on the Scottish Government’s website. This report is one of two recent reports into different aspects of tenant participation and engagement released by the Scottish Government and TPAS Scotland. The first, Accessible Information to Tenants, can also be accessed on the government’s website.
