Sunday, February 07, 2010

Tower Hamlets Housing Forum: Residents set the Standard

Tower Hamlet’s Council free newspaper “East End Life” published this report and photo on last month’s Borough Housing Forum meeting. Look at the photo and play “Spot the...” gobby housing officer boring his table; the retired top UNISON steward and now Island Homes residents rep; the former GMB steward and aspiring Labour Party Councillor candidate as well as being a founder member of a brand new TUC recognised trade union called (I believe) “The General Workers Union”. Finally, a former Bow & Poplar Area Housing manager and all round nice guy. (double click picture to bring up detail)

East End Life 1 Feb: Residents set the Standard “Taking action against anti-social behaviour, improving repairs and providing value for money are the top three priorities residents want social landlords to deal with.

More than 70 residents from 15 social landlords across the borough met at York Hall last month to talk about what services mattered the most to them.

The event was organised by the Tower Hamlets Housing Forum (THHF).

The biggest issues for residents on the day were how their landlords deal with anti-social behaviour, improving the repairs and maintenance service, and ensuring value for money for tenants and leaseholders, particularly around service charges.

Housing associations and the arms-length management organisation (ALMO) Tower Hamlets Homes want to develop service standards that will apply across all social landlords in Tower Hamlets. They will be working with residents to draw up minimum standards for these three areas.

They want residents to be involved in monitoring whether they are keeping to these standards and also to be able to compare the performance of their own landlord against others.

Pam Cole, who is a resident with Island Homes, said: “I found the day enjoyable because it was properly facilitated so that everyone had a chance to have their say. However, the success of the event will depend on what comes out of this and I hope that we get genuine improvements in services that involve residents at every stage.”

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