Tenant Compacts

From April 2000 every council was expected to have a signed formal agreement - Tenant Participation Contract, with its tenants - on how tenants are involved in local decisions relating to their homes. The governments stated aim in this is - to improve local services, increase local democracy, strengthen and sustain local communities, help tenants to decide how they wish to be involved in influencing and shaping decisions taken by their council on housing issues in a way which meets needs and priorities. The compacts are supposed to encourage local and innovative approaches to tenant participation, allowing for differing circumstances and starting points for tenants and councils across the country.

Compacts are supposed to be a tool to:
· help ensure councils become more efficient, transparent and accountable so that people know who exactly will be responsible for decisions and who will be actively involved in helping councils to reach those decisions;
· implement best value by enabling tenants to make an informed view on their housing services, be involved in planning them, improving them, monitoring and reporting on performance, and identifying and taking remedial action;
· help tenants to identify issues of concern and ways of improving their quality of life as part of a wider strategy to tackle poor neighbourhoods.

Compacts are supposed to ensure that:
· tenants have the support and information they need to participate effectively;
· tenants' groups meet reasonable criteria for formal recognition and are healthy, active organisations able to participate effectively;
· councils monitor and assess their performance on compacts on a consistent and regular basis.

Councils' performance in delivering what is agreed in compacts is scrutinised independently - along with performance across other aspects of housing. This scrutiny is carried out through the strengthened annual external audit arrangements under best value and also by the Housing Inspectorate that is to be established within the Audit Commission.

Links to government guides on tenant participation / compacts

• National Framework for Tenant Participation Compacts 2005
• Developing Good Practice in Tenant Participation 2006

Many of our members have reported that whilst their Tenant Compacts look great on paper, their council is poor in implementing its content. The LTF would like to hear more from tenants on this. Please contact us to let us know how well your Tenant Compact is working.