FAQs

By getting involved you can help us to

• Keep on improving - we need your feedback to help us improve the services we provide
• Hear your voice- by getting involved and giving feedback in any way that suits your circumstances you are making sure your voice is being heard and listened to. 
• Make better decisions - we can make decisions in an informed way if we know what tenants/residents want.
• Increase accountability - by tenants/residents being involved we are more accountable to our customers.
• Achieve value for money. We make sure we are getting the most of our money using the income from our tenants in the best way. Understanding tenants’ needs is an important part of achieving value for money.

The scrutiny panel is an independent panel of Council Tenants that influence the policies and decisions made by the council and other organisations involved in delivering services to council tenants. The scrutiny panel gather evidence on issues affecting local people and makes recommendations for improvements based on their findings. We are looking for people who have the ability to obtain and weigh up evidence and make recommendations based on that evidence. Have good communication skills and a passion to make improvements. Full training and support will be given.

Lancaster City Council have a pot of money called the  Neighbourhood Community Projects Fund which groups can apply for, to provide community projects that would benefit communities and Council Tenants. We are looking for tenants to be part of this panel to assess the projects put forward by groups and distribute the funding pot in a fair and reasonable way.

The Tenants Voice  is a Tenant led group that plays a vital role in shaping services for all tenants. We currently have vacancies throughout the district for tenant representatives. If you have a passion for where you live and want to help make a difference why not get on board.  The group look at future plans and projects that will impact Council Tenants and communities with an opportunity to have your input into how this will look. We will provide full training and support to help you take part. You will be required to attend a meeting every two months for approximately 2 hours with other Council Tenant representatives, Housing Staff and Councillors. There are also steering group meetings for an hour every two weeks. Through attendance at this group you can be asked or put yourself forward to be included in other steering/focus groups.

Join your Housing Officer on a walk around your neighbourhood where you can tell them any ideas or concerns you have about your area. 

You can get involved in this if you: are a tenant or leaseholder with time to join in. These events take place twice a year to enable tenants to identify any issues that affect the quality of the environment where they live.

A Tenants and Resident Association (TARA) is a formal group of people who live in a neighbourhood or Estate and decide that they want to get together to deal with concerns that affect their local community. The group can include tenants, shared owners, leaseholders and homeowners. Groups of residents might start an TARA for the following reasons: • To campaign for something positive e.g. a better play area • To campaign against something or get services improved • To give your community a greater voice than you would have as an individual • To create a better sense of community in your area • To keep residents informed of what’s happening in your neighbourhood We can offer full training and support to get you started plus £500 start up fee.

Consultation events take place where there's a planned significant change to housing management for example, demolitions and redevelopments, closure of facilities, outsourcing of repairs or other services. Tenants who are to be affected by the proposed change are consulted. They are undertaken when the proposals are still at a formative stage, and adequate time given for tenants to consider the material and respond by a given deadline.

TPAS is the Tenants Participation and Advisory Service. As a Tpas member they will give you a voice in the sector and provide you with ongoing support and guidance to help you to be involved with your landlord or to lead activities in your community. Membership is free for tenants of Lancaster City Council. There are training opportunities and a digital community where you can post questions and share information with your peers across the country.