|
The Tenant Services Authority (TSA) became the regulator for social housing in April 2010. They are there to ensure we provide the highest quality services and all tenants have a voice in how we make decisions which affect you.
The TSA has introduced a set of common standards we must meet. These standards have been developed by extensive consultation with tenants, councils, housing associations and other partners. The standards are designed to help improve the services that you as a tenant receive.
The standards are set out below:
|
National standard
|
Requirements |
|
Tenant involvement and empowerment |
- Customer service, choice and complaints
- Involvement and empowerment
- Understanding and responding to diverse needs of tenants
|
|
Home |
- Quality of accommodation
- Repairs and maintenance
|
|
Tenancy |
- Allocations
- Rents (not applicable to councils)
- Tenure
|
|
Neighbourhood and community |
- Neighbourhood management
- Local area co-operation
- Anti-social behaviour
|
|
Value for money |
|
|
Governance and financial viability (not
applicable to councils)
|
|
The TSA has set out a timetable for reporting our performance to tenants and this is why we have produced an annual report. This report sets out how we are currently meeting the standards, where we are not doing quite so well and what we intend to do about it.
We have also been asked to agree local offers. This means that we will talk to you about the service you need and agree with you how we are going to deliver it.
We are working very closely with the tenants Forum to meet these new requirements and plan to let you have more information over the coming months.
If you want a copy of the Annual Report click here. We don’t think it’s a good idea, or good use of our resources, to send out a copy to all our tenants so we plan instead to hand out a copy when we deal with a repair or come to visit you for other reasons. At least then you will know why this is so important to us. It also gives us the chance to answer any questions you might want to raise.
Take this opportunity to have your say about your housing service
We are asking all Tenants to tell us what they think about the Annual Report. This can be everything from the details about each of the services through to how it looks.
The Annual Report shows how well Babergh District Council is doing as a landlord and also where we need to improve. But most importantly, it gives you the chance to have your say on what we need to do in the future.
Read on to find out why it is important for you and how you can participate and make your voice heard.
How to have your say on local standards
We need you to talk to us and share your views and ideas so that we can work together to develop local standards that address your needs.
Local standards are a special set of locally agreed standards of service for residents. They are special because they are agreed by both the residents and the Council working together. They are designed to meet specific local priorities in an area. A local standard could be anything, for example:
- Our opening times
- Good neighbour agreements
- Priorities for spending on improvements to your home
It is important that everyone has the chance to get their voice heard so we are offering a variety of ways for people to do this such as:
- Focus groups (a group discussion with an officer of the council)
- Surveys (both online and paper versions)
- Local events
This is your chance to make a real difference to the services you receive by helping to set the service standards that matter to you.
If you want to be part of a focus group or get involved in other ways in the development of local standards over the coming months, fill in the feedback form (PDF) and a member of staff will contact you or ring us on the telephone number below and speak to our Principal Tenant Services Officer.
|