Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
Feedback from the initial consultation sessions on
the Scottish Social Housing Charter
August-November 2010
1. Background
Between August and November 2010, twelve consultation events
were held across Scotland bringing together tenants, tenant
representatives, landlord staff, councillors, board members of
registered social landlords and others to start thinking about the first
Scottish Social Housing Charter and to discuss with each other the
outcomes they want to see in the first Charter.
The Charter will be used by the Scottish Housing Regulator as the
framework to assess, monitor and report on the performance of all
local authority and housing association landlords in Scotland. It will
not replace the range of legal duties which landlords already have to
meet but will refocus activities on tenant priorities and delivering
good and improving services and standards.
Over 650 stakeholders attended the events which were held in
Aberdeen, Ayr, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow,
Haddington, Inverness, Lochgilphead, Paisley and Wishaw.
The events were hosted jointly by the Scottish Government, the
Scottish Housing Regulator and landlords. Our thanks go to the
landlords and to the local tenant representatives for their help in
organising such successful events.
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
In addition to the twelve main events, the Tenant Participation
Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Tenants Information Service (TIS)
held a number of focus groups on our behalf with hard to reach
groups, including young people, tenants in supported housing,
tenants in remote rural and island communities and homeless
people. The Glasgow Homelessness Network is currently conducting
a fieldwork survey and has included a number of Charter related
questions in its questionnaire.
Staff from the Tenant Priorities Team have had further opportunities
to talk about the Charter at local events arranged by tenants and
landlords and this has enabled us to bring it to the attention of
hundreds more tenants.
2. General Feedback from the Events
The events and the Charter proposals were generally welcomed by
all, although a few landlords and tenants questioned the need for a
Charter when there are already performance standards available
(drawn up by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the former
Communities Scotland).
Most accepted, however, that this is an opportunity to take a fresh
look at regulation and involve tenants in setting the desired outcomes
for the future. While some landlords may have had reservations
about this exercise, it has been strongly supported by tenants.
Tenants generally welcomed the “blank sheet of paper” approach
and the opportunity to help shape the policy at the very start of the
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
process. Some found it daunting initially but there were lively
discussions in the workshops with lots of ideas being generated.
Short summaries of each of the events can be found on the Housing
Charter website at: http://housingcharter.scotland.gov.uk/resources
3. What should a good landlord be doing?
So what did delegates at the events tell us about what a good
landlord should be doing? Here are just a few of the key messages
you gave us.
Good two-way communications and tenant participation opportunities
are hugely important. You’d like to see landlords offer a menu of
flexible tenant participation options to enable all tenants to contribute
their views and become involved at a level which suits their particular
circumstances. This should include opportunities to help shape how
the services are delivered and to monitor landlords’ performance.
While some landlords are already good at this, there is a need for
improvement in other areas. Many tenants are also asking for better
feedback on the issues they raise with landlords.
You would like to see more partnership working with other landlords
and agencies and between council departments. You said that the
various organisations and residents should be working together to
resolve local problems and to help build good, safe, secure
communities.
You would also like to see a repairs service which includes an
appointments system, delivers good quality workmanship, achieves a
first time fix where possible, has good communication throughout the
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
process, has proper monitoring of contracted services, gives value
for money and leaves the customer satisfied. You said that the
repairs service should meet standards and deliver to timescales that
have been agreed with tenants.
Concerns were also raised about Housing Revenue Account
resources being used for General Fund purposes and tenants have
asked for more transparency of accounting so that they can see how
their rent money is being spent.
4. Outcomes for the Charter
People found the concept of “outcomes” or results quite difficult to
focus on and there was much debate on what an outcome could be
and what measures could be used to assess each outcome.
Stakeholder suggestions for topics for outcomes included:
Housing Quality - good quality, well maintained homes which will
meet the SHQS by 2015 and continue to do so beyond that date
Tenant participation - a range of participation options ranging from
tenant surveys to planning and monitoring the delivery of services
Customer
service
- friendly,
knowledgeable
staff
who
are
accessible, who treat customers with respect and who listen and give
feedback
Communication - good two-way communication arrangements;
written material should be set out in a way that is easy to read and in
plain English
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
Repairs and maintenance - a customer focused service delivering
to standards agreed with residents
Environment - clean, tidy, attractive, safe estates
Allocations - a fair, easy to understand allocations policy which
reflects the needs of the community; homes must be in a clean and
tidy condition at the point of allocation
Homelessness - decent quality temporary accommodation for
homeless people and effective tenancy support for those who need it
Tenancy support - support provided to new and vulnerable tenants
to help them sustain their tenancies and become valued members of
their local community
Antisocial behaviour - swift effective action taken to address antisocial behaviour, working with other agencies as appropriate
Transparency in business and information (e.g. on the Housing
Revenue Account)
Value for money - honest and accurate performance reporting
Housing management - clear information on tenancy obligations
and enforcement of tenancy agreements
5. Joining the debate:
We want to encourage people to join the debate while the Charter is
being developed. You can get involved in the following ways:
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback

By logging on to the dedicated Housing Charter website at:
http://housingcharter.scotland.gov.uk. The website is a source
of up to date information about the Charter and visitors can
submit ideas and comments online. The site has received over
2,800 unique visitors since its launch in September 2010 and
we are keen to encourage more people to take part in this
online conversation.

By sending us your ideas and comments via our dedicated
Housing
Charter
email
address:
housingcharter@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Or by sending us your ideas and comments by post to:
The Tenant Priorities Team
Social Housing Division
The Scottish Government
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ
If you give us approval, we will publish your comments on the
website on your behalf.
6. What happens next?
A short discussion paper will be published early in 2011. This will
summarise what stakeholders have been telling us and it will set out
the Scottish Government’s thoughts on the way forward.
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Scottish Social Housing Charter Feedback
There will of course be further opportunities to help influence the
shape of the Charter and, when the discussion paper is published in
the New Year, we shall be asking you for your views again before we
prepare the first draft Charter for formal consultation later in the
summer.
We are again encouraging everyone to raise the profile of the
Charter at local level and for landlords and tenants to work together
to discuss what should be in the Charter and think about what it will
mean for them.
The Tenant Priorities Team
November 2010
Contact
Ian Spence Telephone: 0131 244 5568, or
Laura Gilbert Telephone: 0131 244 5587
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