The National Communities Resource Centre has received over half a million pounds from the Department for Communities and Local Government to provide training to tenants of social housing wishing to sit on tenant panels.

The grant of £535,000 will enable the charity to provide residential training to at least 1,500 people to sit on tenant panels.

A key part of the Localism Bill is to provide tenants with more control through the creation of tenant panels which will deal with repairs, anti-social behaviour and estate management.

The department received 22 applications from organisations after the funding was announced in June. The grant derives from the £8m Tenant Empowerment Programme, announced last February.

Housing minister, Grant Shapps said: “Residents, including social housing tenants, want to make big positive differences to their communities – and I want to put the powers in their hands to be able to do so.”

Shapps also stressed that the recent riots in England had shown that communities that came together could have a real impact, and said that he wanted to put residents, “at the heart of proposing solutions”.

There will be eight courses available through NCRC on subjects such as influencing landlords sharing information and learning and there will be the opportunity to work towards accredited qualifications.

The charity was founded 20 years ago and already provides residential training courses at its Trafford House centre at a subsidised rate of £20 for social housing tenants.

Sally Wyatt, NCRC chief executive, said: “The funding will allow us to offer many more tenants the opportunity to get the training and support they need to tackle some of the problems that plague their communities and make a real difference at local level.”