The Scottish Housing Regulator today published the outcome of its thematic review of tenant and Gypsy/Traveller participation in social housing in Scotland.
The Regulator’s report gives the findings of a survey of social landlords and focus groups with tenants and Gypsy/Traveller tenants/residents about tenant & Gypsy/Traveller participation. This work was carried out by independent tenant representatives, Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Scotland on the Regulator’s behalf.
The landlords who responded to the survey said they use a range of tenant participation methods, and these are tailored to tenants needs. The tenants who took part in the forum also noted that landlords had introduced more flexible and informal ways to enable tenants and tenant groups to participate.
The Regulator’s report also states that both tenants and landlords note that building trust is key for successful tenant participation and some landlords acknowledged the challenges to participation that Gypsy/Travellers face. But Gypsy/Traveller focus group feedback suggested that these challenges were not always recognised or fully addressed. It also states that many of the landlords who responded were not aware of the level of success of their approach to Gypsy/Traveller participation.
Helen Shaw, Director of Regulation said:
“We strengthened the emphasis in our Regulatory Framework on social landlords listening to tenants and other service users. As tenants, residents and social landlords continue to face significant challenges, it’s more important than ever that landlords make it easy for tenants and residents to communicate with them and enable them to have a say in the decisions they make.
“Our thematic inquiry found that both the landlords and the tenants & residents who took part said landlords use a range of ways to reach out to tenants and service users including face to face and digital options to better meet needs. And, both groups noted that building trust is key to successful participation.
“But we also found that some landlords could do more to ensure they understand the needs of Gypsy/Travellers, the barriers they face, and to enable them to better assess how successful their tenant participation strategy is for Gypsy/Travellers.”
Read 'Tenant and Gypsy/Traveller participation in Scottish Social Housing: a thematic review'
Notes to editors
- The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) was established on 1 April 2011 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. Its objective is to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants and others who use local authority and RSL housing services. The Regulator operates independently of Scottish Ministers and is accountable directly to the Scottish Parliament. It assumed its full regulatory responsibilities on 1 April 2012. The Regulator consists of the Chair and seven Board members. More information about the Regulator can be found on its website at www.housingregulator.gov.scot
- SHR sets out how it regulates social landlords is set out in its published Regulatory framework – Regulation of Social Housing in Scotland.