Tenants: get involved

On this page:

Welcome
Latest news
Ways to get involved
Further information

Welcome

Welcome! If you're a tenant or leaseholder of Bristol City Council why not get involved and have your say on how we deliver our services to you?

We're committed to ensuring you have the opportunity to participate in shaping and improving Landlord Services, at a level that is meaningful to you. The term 'tenant' is used throughout these pages and includes both tenants and leaseholders. Read on to find out how you can be involved.

Latest news

We are currently running a recruitment drive for tenants to join both our Housing Scrutiny Panel and Service Inspection Team. We are using the slogan, 'Taking a closer look' (pdf, 196 KB) (opens new window). If you would like to find out more about either group contact the Tenant Participation team for a chat and an information pack. The closing date for expression of interest is Friday 10 May 2013.

For all the latest tenant participation news please see Council housing: latest news and Tenant Participations News Winter 12/13 (pdf, 5.7 MB) (opens new window).

Ways to get involved

For all of the ways you can get involved please see our get involved! factsheet (pdf, 108 KB) (opens new window).

Join our involvement register

We have a list of tenants and leaseholders whose views we seek on a regular basis. We then use any feedback to shape and improve the services you receive. All information is held in confidence and is only used by the Tenant Participation Team. Contact us for more information.

The Housing Management Board

The Housing Management Board works towards improving the way council housing is managed in Bristol. Meetings take place every six weeks at the Bristol City Hall (formerly the Council House) and are open for anyone to attend.

The Housing Scrutiny Panel

The Housing Scrutiny Panel is a group of tenants who take an in depth look at the various services provided by Landlord Services in running and maintainng its homes and services.

The Service Inspection Team

The Service Inspection Team are a group of tenants who work closely with the Housing Scrutiny Panel and undertake the hands-on research into the council's services. Their work can include mystery shopping, surveys and inspections as well reality checks, data analysis and report writing.

Join a service user group

If you are interested in becoming involved in how our services are run and managed you can join a service user group for council tenants. Each of our services has a Service User Group.

Join or set up a tenants' association

A Tenants' Association is a group of tenants and sometimes also residents, of a particular area that have come together to discuss housing and other local issues. There are a number of Tenants' Associations throughout Bristol. See our tenants and residents associations in Bristol (pdf, 106 KB) (opens new window) to find out if there is an association in your area. Contact us if you want to get in touch with them.

Setting up a tenants' association

If you would like to set up a tenants' association please see the following guides produced by inSTEP:

The Tenant Participation Advisory Service website (TPAS) also has a useful range of guides that explains what you will need to do. Tenants' Associations that meet our criteria for recognition (pdf, 81 KB) (opens new window) can apply for funding from the council, which is money they can use to pay for meeting venues, stationery, postage and other expenses.

Take part in a caretaking site inspection

If you receive a caretaking service you are very welcome to attend a site inspection. These are where a Site Coordinator along with any tenants walk around a site. This is to check that various things such as staircases, laundries and lifts meet our cleaning standards. Full training is available. For further information please contact Caretaking Services.

Take part in a neighbourhood walkabout

We aim to ensure that where you live is safe and clean. To help us to do this we carry out neighbourhood walkabouts. These involve Housing Advisors walking around the areas that they are responsible for, with tenants, identifying and tackling a range of issues such as graffiti and poorly maintained areas. If you have time you would be very welcome to join us for a walkabout. See Council tenants: neighbourhood walkabouts for more information.

Other ways to get involved

You might not want to get involved in a group, attend regular meetings or read lots of documents, but you still might want your voice heard. Maybe you would like to:

Take part in focus groups. These are small groups of people who might be invited to discuss a particular topic. They usually last for about two hours.
Join the Supported Housing Forum where tenants living in our Suppoterd Housing for Older People and 50+ schemes who pay the support charge can meet and discuss a range of both support and landlord issues relevant to them living in council accommodation as well as issues affecting them as 'older' people.
Join the Leaseholder Forum if you are a leaseholder of Bristol City Council.
Fill in a postal questionnaire a couple of times a year. We provide the pre-paid envelope.
Help us to organise our large events, such as our annual Tenant Conference and Awards Ceremony.
Help us to deliver training sessions.
Help us to develop our Toolkits on how to involve different groups of people.
Attend your local Neighbourhood Forum. There is a Forum for each electoral ward of the city, where your local councillors, residents and community groups can discuss and act on local issues. To find out more about your local Neighbourhood Forum, see the Neighbourhood Partnerships website.

We are always looking for more tenants to come and join us whether you want to be involved in one of our groups above or in a less formal way then do contact us and we can discuss with you what you would like to do.

Further information

The following organisations websites provide a range a useful guides and information about tenant participation and ways you can get involved.