Partners Anonymous Tip Off Line

At long last sees the launch of Partners ‘Anonymous Tip Off Line’ - 020 7288 8326.

This now gives residents the opportunity to report problems in confidence without fear of retaliation from others. The Residents Forum had been pressing for this for some time.

One can use this line to report issues such as:
Unauthorised occupation, illegal subletting, anti-social behaviour, harassment, noise, dogs, dumping of rubbish in gardens or any other issue that you would like to make the Housing management team aware of.

Feedback so far - it seems to be a big hit with Partners residents. Though some nervous people forget to leave the address they are calling about. The team hope these callers will call back.

So if you have something to complain about just pick up the phone!

Contacting Partners repairs team via Islington Council

Good news for Islington Partners' residents who want to contact the repairs team via the council main switch board - Contact Islington 0207527200

The press button option 3 now says Repairs HFI or Partners Repairs. The Partners option directs the caller straight through to the team. This now cuts out what was a completely unnecessary layer of bureaucracy

Residents are always saying they can't remember the repairs line telephone number. Can appreciate that problem myself.

Have been having a running debate with management about the problem. There is presumption that everybody can retain numbers in their head or have numbers to hand when they need them. Countless times residents have had to copy the number from my ID card when I've had to visit them.

The argument has always been that the Partners phone number is free so why would anybody want to go through the council. The arrogance of some officials p... me off at times. They don't appreciate that council residents often don't understand the difference between the various Housing management organisations, all they know is that they are council tenants. They forget that many residents especially the older generation like to use the free phones at the neighbourhood offices. It's a place to go to meet people. They are dismissive of the fact that all hands are not equal and even a freephone call from a mobile phone is not actually free. It costs money holding on going round in circles waiting for somebody to answer them.

Well, I just have to say thank you to the Contact Islington admin team who put the changes in place.

TSA regulations enpowering Tenants

Back to school at Trafford Hall.

Towards the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) regulations on Social Housing which comes into effect from April 2010, Partners Residents Forum member Chris Graham & myself attended the Resident - Led Regulation course at Trafford Hall, Chester. The following week we also attended the 3 day Tenants Inspection course 10 - 12 March.

It was organised at very short notice but because of the importance for Islington tenants we were encouraged to take advantage of the available places.

Quoting from the TSA website:
In the biggest shake up of social housing regulation in decades, the six standards, drawn up with tenants and landlords up and down the country, will come into effect from 1 April and cover how landlords need to deal with issues such as tenant involvement and empowerment, repairs and maintenance, rents, quality of accommodation, complaints and anti-social behaviour. In its new framework, the TSA’s six national standards which landlords will need to meet are:

• Tenant involvement and empowerment, including customer service, choice and complaints, and understanding and responding to diverse needs


• Home, including repairs and maintenance and quality of accommodation


• Tenancy, including allocations, rent and tenure


• Neighbourhood and community, including neighbourhood management, local area co-operation and anti-social behaviour


• Value for money
  
• Governance and financial viability.

What does it mean in reality. Teams of residents working independently but alongside management to scrutinise and inspect literally anything they feel needs addressing in their community. For so long residents have been told what has to happen by officialdom that documents and information are confidential.

Some local authorities and housing management organisations preempting the regulations have gone a long way in setting the wheels in motion. We had several representations and some of the course participants themselves demonstrated what they were doing in their areas. Was impressed with one group who confirmed that they now have 70 Tenant inspectors looking at voids, contracts, standard of works, output specifications, value for money and management issues.

One point that was clearly evident across the country is that Residents felt more comfortable in talking to other residents without officialdom listening to what they say. I was able to confirm this to be fact from my own experience of inspections and residents complaints.

A representative from the audit commission who is also a Tenant inspector in his own area explained how to operate so that Management do not 'cherry pick' which residents they visit.

The good news is that Chris and I were told the Partners residents forum is a good sounding board to start. A flash thought at the time, it would be wonderful if we could get 70 inspectors. What did surprise me is that some of the past suggestions made by forum members which were answered with the response they can't be done for one reason or another, are in fact all part of the new regulations. The old cliche comes to mind 'Put that in your pipe and smoke it'.

What did we gain from the training? It was so intensive but what we learned was invaluable. It is presumed that these courses will have to held locally because besides all the issues surrounding personal safety, signing confidentiality documents and identity cards residents will need to know what is expected of them.

Some groups have started off with looking at voids. The condition when a property is vacated. What can be recycled for use by other residents, the repairs works in progress, standard of workmanship and the final condition before a property is relet.

This has always been one of my gripes. To show high turn around performance ratings there is a tendency in Islington to invite residents to view a property before work is completed. The attitude is that desperate people will accept anything so they have to take it or leave it. This to my way of thinking is just wrong.