Door to door consultation with tenants over housing transfer
An intensive consultation exercise is under way with 80 members of The Highland Council’s Housing Service embarking on a month-long exercise to advise 14,500 council house tenants of a ballot to be held in October which will ask them to vote on transferring their homes to the not-for-profit organisation, Highland Housing Association.
The consultation and communication with tenants will take place throughout the Highlands until 14 July. Visits will take place between 9.00am – 8.00pm, Monday to Saturday. No visits will take place on a Sunday.
Tenants have already received a letter advising them about the purpose of the visits, asking for their cooperation and giving contact details of staff.
The costs of the exercise will be met from the Community Ownership Grant which is paid by the Scottish Executive.
All information produced by the Council in respect of the housing transfer proposals is required to be impartial and measured in accordance with the guidelines issued by Communities Scotland. In addition the information will contain details of how tenants can contact the Independent Tenant Advisor, TPAS, on their Freephone number 0800 269 645, should they have any doubt about the impartiality of the information given by council staff.
Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chairman of the Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee, said: “Given the geography of the Highlands, which extends to 10,000 sq miles, this is a major exercise. However, the Council believes the effort is worthwhile to secure a strong response to the secret postal ballot, which will take place in October.”
At the door, Council staff will:
If tenants are not at home, a note with an information leaflet will be left asking tenants to make contact if they would like to discuss the proposals with a housing officer and/or a further home visit to be made.
The feedback will be used by Highland Housing Association to finalise their Business Plan proposals which will feature in the Stage 1 Formal Offer document to tenants.
Highland Housing Association is now developing its Business Plan to reflect priorities highlighted following consultation with tenants.
The Association’s priorities are to keep rents affordable and provide quicker and better quality repairs; better heating and lower fuel bills, new kitchens, bathrooms and other home improvements.
Mr Kinghorn said: “I'm delighted that we are able to announce the start of this major exercise to visit tenants throughout the Highlands. There's no doubt that this will help to explain the facts about transfer and to notify people on what they can expect from Highland Housing Association. I hope that tenants will use the opportunity to find out more and to continue to give us their views.”
One of the first tenants visited was Jennifer MacLeod of Firhill, Alness. She said: "I am pleased the Council has decided to visit all tenants personally to explain the transfer proposals as this is a very important issue for tenants and we need to fully understand how it will affect us."
Note: The Highland Council is proposing to transfer its housing to the Highland Housing Association. The transfer will only take place if the majority of tenants voting in the ballot support the move.
By transferring housing to HHA, the UK Government will pay off the Council’s entire housing debt of £160 million. 41p in every pound is currently being spent on paying off debt. The Association will not have the same debt as the Council it will therefore have more money and will be able to pay for improvements to homes that the Council could not afford. It will also be able to improve services while also guaranteeing to keep rents affordable.
The transfer proposals also include an injection of £50 million over the next five years which will permit the provision of 1,000 rented and low cost homes across the Highlands.