Social housing residents offered training scheme

Social housing residents are to be offered a place on a watchdog-style training scheme intended to empower them to hold their landlords to account.

The scheme involves free advice on addressing damp and mould, webinars on how to complain about anti-social behaviour and advice on how to set up a residents panel.

The Four Million Homes programme is backed by £500,000 government funding, and will encourage tenants to take an active roles in how their homes are managed.

The training events are set to begin in May and will run over 24 months.

Sessions will include face-to-face accredited training in Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham and London and monthly webinars.

Minister for Social Housing Baroness Scott said: "Tenants deserve better and this training programme will help people up and down the country demand a high-quality service from their landlord.

"We are driving up standards in social housing through landmark legislation and making sure residents’ voices are heard with digital advertisement campaigns.

"The Four Million Homes programme is the latest part of our plan to drive a culture change right at the very heart of the social housing sector."

The training will be provided by the Confederation of Co-operative Housing (CCH) and Public Participation, Consultation and Research (PPCR) - organisations that help empower social housing residents.

CCH chief executive officer, Blase Lambert, said: "This programme is a catalyst for change in the social housing sector. It complements other government actions outlined in the Social Housing Regulation Bill and the Make Things Right campaign, leading to a better balance of power between landlords and residents.

"All social housing residents need to understand their rights, know how to raise issues with their landlords and hold them to account, and be able to shape and improve the services they receive and the homes they live in.  This training programme will do that."