Applications to sit on the newly formed National Tenant Council reached over 1200 before closing. The nationwide campaign is being run by Hays Social Housing in association with Communities and Local Government (CLG), and an advisory tenant-majority project group. 26 tenants are being recruited to sit on the newly formed National Tenant Council, which will be an important part of the National Tenant Voice (NTV). For the past eight weeks, Hays Social Housing, together with the NTV project group, has actively engaged with social housing landlords and tenants organisations across the country, using social networking sites, poster and advertising campaigns and social housing newsletters to encourage tenants to apply for one of the coveted positions. Of those that have applied 78% are aged 45 years and over, 16% are 31 - 45 and 4% are aged 18 – 30. 57% of the total applications were male. Those that are in the chosen 26 will sit on the council with 24 members nominated by existing tenants' organisations, putting forward their views on the major issues that affect tenants. Matt Lewis, Business Director at Hays Social Housing, comments: “We are incredibly pleased with the high level of applications we have received from all over England. Interviews will now be given to 450 applicants, where we will assess how well they interact and present their views. 52 will then go through face-to-face interviews in November in order to find the final 26. Although the numbers of younger applicants are considerably lower, we are going to do our best to ensure that they have a voice as well.” Richard Crossley, responsible for coordinating the setting up of the NTV, says: "The response shows the appetite amongst tenants to be actively involved in the decisions that affect them. The National Tenant Council will be an important part of the National Tenant Voice structure. But as the NTV develops it will also seek to give every tenant an opportunity to input, in a variety of different ways."
For more information on Hays Social Housing please visit: www.hays.com/socialhousing