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Getting Involved

Information on how you can get involved in influencing the housing services (related to council housing and/or council leaseholders) in the East Riding.

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How can I influence housing services in the East Riding?

Housing influence is about giving you the opportunity to have a say and get involved in the housing services (in relation to council housing and leasehold properties) you receive in the East Riding, and to enable you to influence the housing policies and practices that affect you. We want you to get involved at a level you feel happy with, from just being on a mailing list to receive housing information to being on one of our resident panels.

Our Housing Influence Structure allows this to happen in the following ways:

Housing Influence Panel

The role of the Housing Influence Panel is to make a clear connection between the experiences of involved residents and the insight into resident experience obtained by the Council through other means. It is a key component that enables us to pick up and act upon what our residents are experiencing. It ensures that all residents can be of involved with us to help shape our services.

Housing Scrutiny Panel

We recognise the three key principles of resident scrutiny - independence, formality and resident involvement. The role of the Housing Scrutiny Panel is to scrutinise areas of our housing service and provide independent reports on them, this will contribute to improved business performance, quality, and overall standard of housing services.

Working arrangements will be set out in its terms of reference and will be reviewed on an annual basis by both the panel and the council to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

Housing Review Panel

The role of such ad-hoc review panels will be to review our housing services, documents and policies. Copies of amended documents will be forwarded to the Housing Influence Panel and Housing Services Management team.

Tenant Inspectors

Tenant Inspectors work in conjunction with our Housing Maintenance Team and undertake void inspections across the county. Each maintenance area has a tenant who coordinates the inspections and liaises with the area office. Training is provided and some Inspectors also undertake New Tenancy Visits. Volunteer inspectors can choose to do void inspections, new tenancy visits or both.

Tenant Representatives

Tenant representatives are individual tenants who want to get more involved and influence the housing service that their community receives by representing the tenants in their area. They represent council residents within their village or street(s) usually where there is no existing residents group.

A tenant representative will identify issues or concerns, or pass on those that are brought to their attention, and report them to Housing Services so that action can be taken to improve the level and standard of service provided. Residents can feedback their actions by sending out information flyers or creating their own newsletter.

To become a Tenant Representative you need to obtain a number of signatures of support from residents within your area (10 signatures or 50 per cent of the area that you wish to represent, whichever is the lesser).

This then gives you permission to represent that particular village or street. The Housing Influence Team can assist with this procedure. You may also qualify for a grant towards a computer.

Informal Residents Groups

Informal residents groups consist of a number of residents coming together on a regular basis. They meet with officers of the council, perhaps to discuss a particular issue or give an opinion on something that is affecting them where they live. The meetings are generally facilitated by the Housing Influence Team.

The group is usually happy to stay as they are and don’t want the additional commitment of forming a tenants or residents association (setting up a committee, agreeing a constitution and to be accountable to those they represent). If you are interested in setting up a group please contact the Housing Influence Team for assistance.

Tenant/Residents Associations

Resident/Tenant Associations are formal bodies that are independent from the council and operate through their own Residents/Tenants Association Constitution which sets out their agreed rules and regulations. There are over 40 residents associations across the East Riding, and if there isn’t a group in your area and you are interested in setting one up or getting more involved then please contact the Housing Influence Team.

Grants are available to formal Residents/Tenants Associations to help pay for meeting room hire, stationery and so forth. They are based on the number of council properties the Association represents in their area. Grants for computers are also available to formerly constituted Resident/Tenants Associations.

If you would like to find out more about getting involved please contact the Housing Influence Team by:

Email: housinginfluence@eastriding.gov.uk
or telephone: (01482) 396301.

Is there a Residents/Council Tenants Association in my area?

There are Residents/Tenants Associations on many of our estates, and in many of our towns and villages. The following list shows our current groups:

Residents Groups in the East Riding (pdf 415kb)

If you would like more information about joining a group or to find out when they are next meeting, please email your Area Housing Officer at:

housingservices@eastriding.gov.uk

or email the Housing Influence Team at:

housinginfluence@eastriding.gov.uk

or telephone (01482) 396301.

How do the different housing influence panels and groups fit into the structure of the council?

Our Strategy and Delivery Plan shows how our engagement measures ensure our residents are able to contribute and influence the housing services they receive.

Resident Involvement Strategy and Delivery Plan (pdf 436kb)

How can I influence the review of the council housing tenancy agreement?

We are in the process of reviewing the tenancy agreement for council housing. We are considering changing the tenancy conditions which apply to all council tenants with a secure tenancy, and we therefore would like to hear your views.

The tenancy agreement is the contract between each tenant and the council, and it sets out the roles and responsibilities of both tenant and landlord. The council’s tenancy agreement has not been reviewed for some time, and we therefore want to make sure it is up to date and reflects the current and future needs of our service. A revised tenancy agreement will also ensure the effective management of homes and tenancies across the East Riding.

Review of the tenancy agreement was begun by the Housing Review Panel during September and October 2022. The panel consists of council tenants and forms part of the council's new strategy for resident involvement. The panel's role is to review policies and documents relating to the delivery of housing-related services to tenants and leaseholders. The panel has made a number of recommendations, proposing that some of the current conditions will stay the same and some will be removed. Many have been rewritten to ensure they are easier to understand and there are some new conditions.

The following document shows the proposed amendments:

Proposed tenancy agreement amendments (pdf 331kb)

Once you have read through the proposals, we would like to hear your comments. We value your views and will consider your comments as part of the consultation process. Whilst consulting with tenants, consultation with council officers and stakeholders will also be taking place.

Online consultation

Our online survey is now live. Please complete our survey by following the link below:

Council Housing Tenancy Agreement Survey 2023 (external website)

The consultation will close on 24 March 2023.

This survey can be made available in other languages or formats if required, upon request by contacting us at:

Email: housinginfluence@eastriding.gov.uk

In writing:

The Housing Influence Team
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
County Hall
Cross Street
Beverley
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU17 9BA

Attend a drop-in clinic

You can also attend one of the drop-in clinics that we will be holding in February and March 2023, where you can discuss the tenancy agreement review with council officers. The following document details the date, time and location of the drop-ins:

Council housing tenancy agreement consultation drop in clinics 2023 (pdf 87kb)

After the consultation

Once the consultation closes, and any changes are made, the tenancy agreement will go to the council's Cabinet for approval. If approved, we will serve all tenants with a formal Notice of Variation, under Section 103 of the Housing Act 1985. This notice will tell you about the date when the changes come into effect. You will not need to sign a new tenancy agreement, but we will send you a copy of the new agreement for your records.

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