The Government intends to introduce an initiative called Tenant Cashback that gives tenants, with their landlords’ support, an opportunity to to be involved in the management of repairs and maintenance services and share in the savings made.
The DCLG has produced an Impact Assessment of their proposals and envisage that Tenant Cashback will:
- Offer opportunities for greater tenant involvement, influence and choice
- Provide opportunities for smaller local traders to take on repairs work if commissioned by tenants thereby boosting local economies
- Bring only minor health and safety issues
- At worst be cost neutral and at best will generate savings in repairs and maintenance.
- Reward tenants who look after their homes, by being able to retain savings generated by the scheme for their own benefit
The idea of increasing tenant involvement and choice and encouraging local employment is commendable. BUT the initiative begs a number of key questions and concerns not least of which are health and safety, quality of work carried out and value for money considerations if tenants carry out their own repairs. However, this is not the only way tenants can be involved, the Impact Assessment suggests. They could also take more of a role in determining contract packaging and commissioning work. Some organisations already work closely with their tenants in this regard.
The Impact Assessment suggests some areas of R&M where tenants may be able to get involved more directly and do the work themselves e.g. painting and decorating (internal and external walls, fencing, gates, etc), in carrying out smaller repairs and grounds maintenance. Unfortunately the Impact Assessment lists repairs that are usually classed as tenants’ responsibility anyway.
There are a number of pilots going on at the moment to trial different ways of implementing and running tenant cashback. The DCLG will look to the pilots to provide good practices and learning points that others can learn from. However, the pilots will probably only be in a position to provide meaningful findings early in the New Year/Spring 2012 and yet landlords will be required to offer opportunities for tenants to be involved in R&M services from April 2012, through planned revisions to the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard.
For more information, including slides from a webinar involving two of the pilot landlords Wolverhampton Homes and Home Group, follow the link below to Inside Housing’s website.
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk//6516652.article