Housing minister Grant Shapps has unveiled a new £1.32m fund to help voluntary organisations support tenants in social housing schemes.
Applications are being sought from charities and other social institutions for the grant funding, which is being made available from the £8m Tenant Empowerment Programme.
The minister is inviting ideas for delivering a national programme that will encourage the creation of more tenant panels (groups of tenants who can challenge landlords, shape services and get involved in local decision-making) and help individual tenants engage with their landlords on a range of issues and services.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is hoping that such a programme will have benefits that include helping tenants learn the skills they need to engage and negotiate confidently with their landlords; forming tenant panels to come together to demand the best value-for-money services; and even empowering tenants to take control of local services themselves.
This move follows the government's Review of Social Housing Regulation, which identified the importance of developing local solutions to tackle tenants' problems.
Big Society in your backyard
As part of his announcement, Shapps highlighted the benefits to landlords of getting their tenants involved, from community involvement in scrutinising new repairs contracts or tenants working together with local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The minister said: “In the past 12 months we've seen the power of local people in action, from the 'broom army' clean-ups after the riots to the Olympic volunteers helping this country put on the greatest show on earth. I know that tenants in communities across the country have that same passion.
"This £1.3m programme will be a real springboard for local success, giving tenants real power, whether they choose to take local services over completely or merely challenge their landlords to do better.
"We're bringing communities together and giving them the knowledge, skills and confidence to build their own Big Society in their back yard. And by helping them to ensure their area's unique needs are being met I hope they will inspire more tenants across the country to lead change in their communities."
Community cashback scheme
The Tenant Empowerment Programme was announced in February 2011 to be “a springboard for social tenants to have the opportunities to play a bigger role in their local community”.
The Programme will include a new ‘community cashback’ scheme, which will allow groups of tenants who choose to take on the management of services, such as maintenance and repairs, to reinvest any savings they make from running these services themselves into their community.
Parties interested in applying for grant funding can do so by 8 October via the Department for Communities and Local Government’s website.
