Tenant participation is about making tenants’ views and opinions an integral part of how Housing Services works.
There are number of ways we encourage Tenent Participation.
1. Tenant Networks
There are 6 tenant networks in Carmarthenshire, covering the Aman, Gwendraeth, Llanelli. Taf/Myrddin, Teifi and Tywi.
All tenants are invited to attend there area tenant network meetings which are held every quarter. They provide regular opportunities for you to discuss issues relating to our activities and services in your area with the area housing manager and area team staff.
Also, we use the tenant network to consult with you on any changes we plan to make on the way we work, and how we should spend certain budgets such as the environmental works programme. If you would like copies of any minutes or agendas of any previous meetings, please contact your area tenant participation officer.
2. Housing News
Housing News is the tenants’ newsletter which is sent to all our tenants on a quarterly basis. It contains information on a range of tenant related issues such on housing, local news stories, competitions, and much more.
If you are interested in contributing any information for the next edition of Housing News, or have any feedback on the latest edition, please contact your area tenant participation officer:
Aman and Gwendraeth – Janet Griffiths, 01269 598 311
Llanelli – Patricia Evans, 01554 742216
Tywi, Teifi and Taf/Myrddin – Maria Evans, 01267 228 933
3. Tenant involvement plan
The purpose of the tenant involvement plan is to make our customers even more satisfied with the services we provide. By developing this strategy, we have also met the requirements of the Welsh Assembly Government’s National Tenant Participation Strategy.
Tenant Involvement - Making Your Views Count.pdf (347 KB)
4. Tenant Inspectors
The tenant inspector project was established in 2005, funded by a TEG (Tenant empowerment grant) and the training was done by TPAS Cymru (Tenant Participation Advisory Service).
The main aims of the tenant inspectors are to:
• Improve the way Housing Services works.
• Encourage more tenants to be involved in tenant participation.
• Research tenants’ views in a different approach.
The tenant inspectors have conducted a variety of inspections including a study on the estate management, new tenancies, customer service centre and waste services. If you would a copy of any of these inspections, please contact Maria Evans, mentor of the group.
The tenant inspectors will be recruiting new inspectors this year, so if you are interested in joining, please contact Maria Evans. The tenant inspectors are not paid, they work on a voluntary basis but are paid travelling expenses at a current rate of 39p per mile.
Tenant Inspectors Toolkit.pdf (223 KB)
5. Tenant and resident associations
What are they?
Tenant and resident associations (TARAs) are tenants and residents who form a group to do a number of things, such as improving their local area, apply for a variety of different grants, to arrange trips for the community to attend, to campaign for or against something, and much more.
What support is available?
Carmarthenshire Council supports TARAs in a number of ways: there are 3 tenant participation officers who will help you set up a meeting to form a group, will assist in administrative support, training, advice, and also provide annual funding of £250 (£100 to groups within sheltered schemes).
Where are these groups?
There are currently 30 Tara’s in Carmarthenshire which cover a wide range geographically.