Tenant Participation

• What is Tenant Participation?
• Bridge Housing Tenant Participation Policy
• How you can get involved
• Annual Tenant Survey
• Tenant Advisory Group
• Feedback
• Suggestion Box
• Tenant Network

Tenant Participation

Tenant Participation enables Bridge Housing tenants to contribute to decisions about their housing and covers a wide range of activities, from seeking feedback in Tenant Surveys to providing input on policy changes. In short, tenant participation is about tenants getting involved in their housing and communities. Social events and activities can also be a valuable way of supporting tenant participation by providing opportunities for tenants to socialise and share ideas and experiences.

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Bridge Housing Tenant Participation Policy

The Bridge Housing Tenant Participation Policy is currently under review but will be released soon. Please check back here later to download a copy.

How you can get involved

• Completing the annual Tenants Survey
• Tenant Advisory Group
• Focus Groups
• Block meetings
• Becoming a member of Bridge Housing Limited and voting at the Annual General Meeting

This list in not exhaustive and if you have other ideas about how you can get involved, or think there should be other ways to get involved on this list, please tell us! You can complete a feedback form, email us at reception@bridgehousing.org.au, speak to your housing manager or telephone Sarah at the office on 9699 6055.

Annual Tenant Survey

Bridge Housing carries out an annual Tenant Survey which is sent to all tenants. The Tenant Survey provides us with valuable feedback on all aspects of the housing services we provide. The Survey is crucial in helping us to measure satisfaction levels among tenants across all areas of our work. The 2009 Survey demonstrates continuing high standards in service delivery and customer service.

The most recent 2009 Tenant Survey report will be available soon. Please check back here later to download a copy.

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Tenant Advisory Group

A Tenant Advisory Group (or TAG) provides a forum for Bridge Housing to consult with tenants on key issues and seek feedback on proposed changes which could affect them. In the recent 2009 Tenants Survey over a third of tenants indicated they wanted to get involved in the Tenant participation programme. Meetings and forums were identified as popular methods for getting involved. Bridge Housing has grown very quickly over the past few years and this growth is likely to continue. To ensure we remain responsive to tenants needs and continue to deliver a first class housing service we want to ensure those in receipt of our services are involved in the planning and development processes of the organisation.

What do I as a tenant get out of joining the TAG?

• Develop a sense of ownership and shared responsibility
• A better, more responsive service meeting tenants needs
• Opportunity to develop new skills and confidence
• The chance to meet others and get involved in community activities
• Tenants can share information and experiences as community housing tenants

What can Bridge Housing gain from having a TAG?

• Allows resources to be targeted more effectively
• Increased accountability among key stakeholders
• Increases awareness among tenants of organisational and financial limitations
• Improved housing services and increased satisfaction levels
• Get to know what tenants need and want from the organisation
• Meet regulatory requirements

Next Meeting

The next Tenant Advisory Group meeting will be held on Tuesday 4th August at 10.30am at Platform 10, 1 Lawson Sq, Redfern (opposite Redfern Station and above our new office). All Bridge Housing tenants are invited – please come along to share your ideas. Please call Sarah on 9699 6055 to RVSP so we know how many people to cater for. Once they have been decided, dates for future meetings will be published here.

Feedback

If you have any feedback or ideas about Tenant Participation at Bridge Housing or would like more information, please get in touch and let us know. There are a number of ways you can get involved as mentioned above, but you can also share ideas and information and find out more by telephoning Sarah on 9699 6055 ext. 217. You can also email us by clicking on the feedback button on the top right of the website.

Suggestion Box

There is a suggestion box in our reception area where you can leave comments, share ideas and give us feedback. Pens and paper are provided in the waiting room for tenants use and tenants can leave an anonymous message or, if they would like a reply can leave their name and telephone number or address.

Tenant Network

The Tenant Network was formed in 2005 to try and provide more opportunities for people to get involved in their housing and promote effective participation in the community housing sector. The network has just held its first AGM and is trying to encourage each Community Housing Association in NSW elect a representative and deputy to the group (Bridge Housing will be holding elections for these roles at the next TAG meeting on 4th August 2009 – see above for more details). Membership of the Tenant Network is open to all Community Housing tenants – if you would like to join, please call the Sarah at the office for a membership form. You can also download a form and get more information from the Tenant Network's website at www.communityhousing.org.au/tenantnetwork. Please call Adam West at the NSW federation of Housing Federation Associations on 9281 7144 ext 211 or on email at adamwest@communityhousing.org.au for further information about the tenant network.

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