Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Tenant & Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
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Democratic Services
Location: Phase II
Ext: 0692
DDI: 01895 250692
CMD No: 736
To: COUNCILLOR EDDIE LAVERY
CABINET MEMBER FOR RESIDENTS’ SERVICES
c.c. All Members of th e Residents’ Services Select
Committee
c.c. Rod Smith – Place Directorate
c.c. Perry Scott – Corporate Director of Place
Date: 10 March 2023
Non-Key Decision request Form D
TENANT AND LEASEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
Dear Cabinet Member
Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet
Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local
Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England)
Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply.
You should take a decision on or after Monday 20 March 2023 in order to meet
Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may
wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your
decision on the duplicate memo supplied, and return it to me when you have made your
decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published.
Ryan Dell
Democratic Services Officer
Title of Report: Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
Decision made:
Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report)
Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report)
Signed ……………………………………………………… Date…………………….
Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services
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TENANT AND LEASEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
Cabinet Member Councillor Eddie Lavery
Cabinet Portfolio Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services
Officer Contact Rod Smith – Place Directorate
Papers with report Appendix 1 – Draft Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
Appendix 2 - Draft Higher Risk and Complex Buildings Engagement
Strategy
Appendix 3 - Resident Engagement Strategy Action Plan 2023/24
to 2025/26
HEADLINES
Summary
Background to the development and proposed adoption of a Tenant
and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy to meet the expectations of
the Regulator of Social Housing.
Putting our
Residents First
Delivering on the
Council Strategy
2022-2026
This report supports our ambition for residents/ the Council of:
Live in good quality, affordable homes in connected communities
This report supports our commitments to residents of:
A Digital-Enabled, Modern, Well-Run Council
Housing Strategy
Financial Cost The costs associated with the delivery of the proposed Strategy are
contained within the existing HRA budgets.
Relevant Select
Committee
Residents’ Services Select Committee.
Relevant Ward All Wards.
RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services agrees to the adoption of the Tenant and
Leaseholder Engagement Strategy and the Higher Risk and Complex Buildings
Engagement Strategy.
Reasons for recommendation
A documented Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy provides the basis for seeking
views from the landlord service customer base and meet s the Regulator of Social Housing’s
expectations in connection with ‘having your voice heard by your landlord’. Under the Building
Safety Act 2022 the Council, in its capacity as building owner and manager, must bring forward a
residents’ engagement strategy in connection with its tower block portfolio [‘higher risk and
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complex buildings’] that promotes the participation of residents in the decision- making process
about building safety risks.
Alternative options considered/ risk management
As a Regulated Service and the owner and manager of 11 tower blocks the Council is required
to have a general engagement strategy in place and a separate strategy in place for its occupied
tower block portfolio.
Democratic compliance/ previous authority
Not applicable.
Select Committee comments
In June 2021, the Residents’ Services Select Committee approved as its first review the topic of
how to improve feedback from residents of social housing, in order to support the work of the
Council’s landlord function to help shape and update its approach to tenant and leaseholder
engagement under the terms of the new Charter for Social Housing Residents and support the
Council’s regeneration workstream in the years to come. Evidence and witness testimony was
obtained from Officers in September 2021 with a follow-up session with tenants and leaseholders
in October 2021.
Committee Members agreed the following recommendations to Cabinet, which were agreed:
1. Note the experiences and feedback from those tenants and leaseholders who attended the
witness sessions, together with those responding to surveys, and in light of the new Draft
Charter for Social Housing Residents, support the need to continuously improve the quality,
timeliness, and breadth of the Council's engagement with tenants and leaseholders.
2.
Agree that officers develop, for approval by the Cabinet Member, an Engagement Strategy and
associated 3-year Delivery Plan.
3. Request that officers work with the Corporate Communications team to raise awareness of the
engagement options available to tenants and leaseholders, including through the use of the
Council’s social media platforms, to maximise the opportunities for tenants and leaseholders to
provide feedback.
4. Agree that, in order to demonstrate a continued commitment to overview and scrutiny, the
Residents’ Services Select Committee receive a yearly report for the duration of the service’s
three-year delivery plan for engagement, which provides an update on the implementation of these
recommendations, further actions, and continued direction of travel, supported by the latest data
on tenant and leaseholder engagement and feedback.
In relation to the three-year delivery plan, Committee Members were keen to see:
• The engagement options to promote resident feedback and involvement at a pace and level which
suits residents, and that which supports service improvement and the resolution of matters which
are important to residents
• The opportunities for residents to engage via the use of digital tools as well as ‘in-person’ contact,
understanding that engagement should be non-exclusionary, and not be limited to only digital
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means but should instead provide a breadth of options to give a voice to all tenants and
leaseholders. In-person contact could include the reformation of regular Senate or Assembly
meetings, alongside special interest groups, or ‘Community Engagement Days’ held at estates or
public spaces, alongside partners and other Council services (such as the Community Safety
Team, Green Spaces and Anti-Social Behaviour and Environment Team), to ensure a coordinated
approach to engagement, resolution of neighbourhood issues, and collation of resident feedback
• A schedule of further consultation to be carried out, to obtain feedback from a large and diverse
subset of the Borough’s tenants and leaseholders, with a view to adding to or revising the strategy
in line with this feedback.
• In February 2023, the
Residents’ Services Select Committee reviewed the work which had
been undertaken in bringing forward the final draft Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement
Strategy, the Higher Risk and Complex Buildings Engagement Strategy and the associated
Action Plan. The Committee were pleased with the progress made, the consultation
undertaken and the content of the final draft strategies.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
1. The Council’s landlord service is entering a new period of Regulatory scrutiny as set out in
the ‘Charter for Social Housing Residents; Social Housing White Paper’ which was
published in November 2020. The government’s clear intention is to make effective use of
the Regulator of Social Housing to ensure that residents in social housing are safe, are
listened to, live in good quality homes, and have access to redress when things go wrong.
Ensuring that residents in social housing have a ‘voice’ and are listened to is seen as key.
The government, through the Regulator of Social Housing, has clear expectations
regarding a ‘step change in approach’ which will see engagement and involvement as a
‘golden thread’ running through services delivered by social housing providers. To align
itself with these expectations the Council has developed a ‘Tenant and Leaseholder
Engagement and Involvement Strategy’.
2. The Government recognises that the best landlords engage well with their residents and
listens to them with respect. This also makes good business sense. Having a clear focus
on what residents need from services, and using them to shape servi ces, drives efficient
and effective services. Government will expect the Regulator of Social Housing to require
landlords to seek out best practice and consider how they can continually improve the way
they engage with social housing residents. Although this does not include the Council’s
leaseholders, the Council have consistently included them in its emerging approaches to
engagement. In the context of its Landlord Service, leaseholders represent one quarter of
its customer base, and the Council recognise s the value to be drawn from good landlord
and tenant relationships.
3. The Government has also committed to deliver a new opportunities and empowerment
programme for social housing residents, to support more effective engagement between
landlords and residents, and to give residents tools to influence their landlords and hold
them to account.
4. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new obligations associated with the management
of ‘higher risk buildings’ including the requirement to prepare [and regul arly review] a
residents’ engagement strategy to set out how tower block residents can participate in the
making of building safety decisions. A building safety decision is one which is about the
management of building safety risks . This strategy must incl ude information about what
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will be provided to residents about decisions relating to the management of the building,
the aspects of those decisions which will be consulted upon, how views will be obtained
and taken into account and how methods for promoting participation will be measured and
kept under review. After preparing the residents’ engagement strategy for ‘higher risk
buildings’, the Council must provide each resident over the age of 16 with a copy.
5. Following a programme of consultation and engage ment over summer and autumn 2022
the strategies are now ready for formal consideration and potential adoption. The
strategies, once adopted, will be ‘owned’ by the Regulation and Engagement Team but
delivered by the landlord service as a whole. These documents are considered to be key
‘milestone’ strategies and will form the backbone of the ongoing work by the l andlord
service to align it to the Regulator’s expectations and to ensure that the voice of Council
tenants and leaseholders is captured and used to shape and develop services . The
strategies are not ‘set in stone’ but will form the basis of the Council’s approach moving
forward and will be expected to develop over time in partnership with tenants and
leaseholders.
6. The Social Housing Regulation Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. When
it receives Royal Assent it will enable the R egulator of Social Housing to start to make
changes to its Standards and implement the Regulatory approach in full. In summary
terms, new law will make important changes to the Regulators objectives, powers,
including standards setting powers, and work with other bodies. The new Standards will
underpin proactive Consumer Regulation. The new consumer standards will be outcome
focused. This means that the R egulator will focus on what landlords achieve but will not
prescribe how they should do it. Subject to the passage of the Bill, the Regulator will start
to consult on the new Standards by Summer 2023. In the interim the RSH has set out in
broad terms the anticipated scope of the proposed themes within the consumer standards.
This includes ‘engagement and accountability’. Put simply, landlords that listen to tenants
and take their views into account will deliver better outcomes for tenants. Landlords will
need to consider how best to engage with their tenants and to really understand their
feedback, so that tenants can influence decision making and meaningfully influence the
services they receive. What works well at one moment in time will not necessarily be
appropriate in the future or in every circumstance. The Regulator’s work will look at the
role of tenants in shaping the ongoing improvement of how their landlords engage with
them.
Financial Implications
This report recommends the adoption of the Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
and the Higher Risk and Complex Buildings Engagement Strategy for the HRA service.
The costs associated with the delivery of the proposed strategies are expected to be contained
within the existing HRA budgets.
However, the strategies are not ‘set in stone’ but will form the basis of the Council’s approach
moving forward and will be expected to develop over time in partnership with tenants and
leaseholders and be considered as part of future MTFF and budget setting processes.
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RESIDENT BENEFIT and CONSULTATION
The proposed adoption of a Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy and a Higher Risk
and Complex Buildings Engagement Strategy will have a direct impact on tenants and
leaseholders living in the Council’s managed housing portfolio. This will benefit the Council’s
tenants and leaseholders by clearly setting out to them the full spectrum of involvement and
engagement opportunities available to them which will improve transparency and help to shape
and improve the landlord services they receive.
Consultation carried out or required
Consultation was scheduled to run from July to September 2022 . However, this was extended
until October 2022 due to potential conflict with the Council’s consultation programme linked to
its wider engagement strategy. Tenants and leaseholders were contacted from databases held
by the Customer Engagement Team. Approximately 5000 residents were directly contacted. A
total of 344 responses were received during the consultation exercise. 69% were from t enants
and 30% from leaseholders. Leaseholders comprise approximately 24% of the customer base
within the landlord service.
Consultation was carried out in a variety of ways to ensure a wide range of residents and their
views were captured. This included:
• Face to face contact, both on estates and at planned events
• Telephone contact
• Email contact
• Via the Council website
• Advertising via social media, including Facebook and Twitter
• Posters displayed in libraries encouraging feedback
• Briefing colleagues across the landlord service
Alongside the specific questions asked about the strategies, residents were asked if there were
any additional related comments they would like to make. A summary of responses is set out
below:
• Over 98% of respondents agreed or partially agreed with the Council’s approach set out in
the draft engagement strategy.
• 100% of residents who live in tower blocks that responded agreed or partially agreed with
the draft higher risk and complex buildings engagement strategy. Of these residents, 97%
were aware of the importance of fire safety in their home.
• 10% of respondents who live in tower blocks were interested in receiving more information
on fire safety or attending one of the fire safety engagement sessions run in partnership
with London Fire Brigade, the Metropolitan Police and the Tenancy Management Team.
• 77% of respondents living in tower blocks are interested in getting involved in activities or
focus groups relating to their building.
The extracts below relate to feedback from residents on whether the Council had missed anything
out of the draft strategy that they would like included:
• More face-to-face contact or visits to estates so the Council is more visible.
• Concerns over residents who were unable to engage online and relied upon face to face
or telephone contact.
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• More detail on what types of engagement would actually take place and when.
• Information on who from the Council would be carrying out the engagement and how much
it would cost.
• Some residents felt the strategy was good but voiced a lack of faith in the C ouncil due to
previous poor experience.
The overall consultation response to the draft strategies was positive and supports the proposed
hierarchy of involvement.
CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance have reviewed this report and note that there are no direct financial
implications associated with the adoption of the strategies, however, any financial impacts that
arise from there adoption will be considered in future iterations of the Council’s budget strategy.
Legal
As stated in the report, section 105 of the Housing Act 1985 requires the C ouncil to maintain
consultation arrangements with its tenants and section 20 of the L andlord and Tenant Act 1985
requires consultation with leaseholders in respect of service charges and leasehold matters. In
addition, section 91 of the B uilding Safety Act 2022 requires the C ouncil to maintain a resident
engagement strategy for those residing in its high-rise buildings.
Legal Services confirm that by adopting the consultation arrangements set out in the appendices,
the Council will continue to meet its legal obligations under all legislation.
Property
N/A.
Comments from other relevant service areas
N/A.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
NIL.
TITLE OF ANY APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Draft Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
Appendix 2 - Draft Higher Risk and Complex Buildings Engagement Strategy
Appendix 3 - Resident Engagement Strategy Action Plan 2023/24 to 2025/26
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Appendix 1 – Draft Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
DRAFT Tenant and Leaseholder
Engagement Strategy
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Contents Page
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
The results we want to achieve……………………………………………………………… 3
Performance monitoring and evaluation……………………………………………………. 3
National Context………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Local Context………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Inclusive involvement…………………………………………………………………………. 5
Resources……………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Financial resources…………………………………………………………………………… 6
Staffing resources…………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Priorities……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Our new approach to resident engagement………………………………………………. 8
The six standards……………………………………………………………………………. 9-11
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Introduction
This draft tenant and leaseholder (resident) engagement strategy covers the period 2022 to 2025.
It has been developed in partnership with residents and staff and sets out a new approach to
resident engagement in the Borough. It ensures that there is a ‘ golden thread’ of engagement
and involvement running through the services we deliver to our residents and communities, from
our Councillors to our frontline staff.
This strategy underpins our commitment to use resident engagement to improve our services by
placing the ‘resident voice’ at the heart of what we do and enabling staff to ‘hear’ those voices by
working in partnership with residents to share power and influence change.
The results we want to achieve
Housing is important to people and their quality of life.
It’s essential that we understand residents’ views to help to shape and improve housing
conditions and services. We want to make sure that residents really:
• know the different ways they can become involved
• can take part and influence decisions
• have the support and resources they need to take part
• can help to improve and deliver quality services
Performance monitoring and evaluation
Progress will be measured by monitoring and evaluating:
• residents’ understanding of the ways they can take part and influence decisions
• the support and resources provided for residents to take part, and
• resident satisfaction with services provided by analysing survey results
The Residents’ Services Select Committee will receive an annual report for this three -year
strategy for engagement, which will provide an update on the implementation of these
recommendations, further actions, and continued direction of travel, supported by the latest data
on resident engagement and feedback.
National Context
Under section 105 of the Housing Act 1985, the Council has a legal obligation to consult with its
secure tenants on matters of housing management such as changes to the management,
maintenance, improvement or demolition of homes let by them, or changes in the provision of
amenities.
Under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 as amended, the Council also has a
legal obligation to consult with leaseholders regarding certain qualifying works and services
where the Council intends to pass on the cost of works and services to leaseholders under the
terms of their leases. These legal obligations should be seen as a statutory minimum.
The new Charter for Social Housing covers seven outcomes that social housing tenants should
expect from their landlords:
1. To be safe in your home. We will work with industry and landlords to ensure every
home is safe and secure.
2. To know how your landlord is performing, including on repairs, complaints and safety,
and how it spends its money, so you can hold it to account.
3. To have your complaints dealt with promptly and fairly, with access to a strong
Ombudsman who will give you swift and fair redress when needed.
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4. To be treated with respect, backed by a strong consumer regulator and improved
consumer standards for tenants.
5. To have your voice heard by your landlord, for example through regular meetings,
scrutiny panels or being on its Board. The Government will provide help, if you want it, to
give you the tools to ensure your landlord listens.
6. To have a good quality home and neighbourhood to live in, with your
landlord keeping your home in good repair.
7. To be supported to take your first step to ownership, so it is a ladder to other
opportunities, should your circumstances allow.
In addition, the Housing Ombudsman plays a vital role in providing support to residents when
things don’t go quite to plan. It resolves disputes involving the tenants and leaseholders of social
landlords (housing associations and local authorities) and their landlords. It is mandatory for all
local authorities and registered social housing providers to be members of the Ombudsman
Scheme. Residents and landlords can contact the Ombudsman at any time for support in helping
to resolve a dispute. Its service is funded through annual landlord subscription fees. Hillingdon
Council is a Member of the Ombudsman Scheme.
Local Context
LB Hillingdon Council currently has circa 10,100 homes classified as social housing, with a
further 3,200 long leaseholders making a total of 13,300 properties in management. These
numbers have remained steady in recent years as the Council has acquired or developed new
accommodation to offset 'Right to Buy' sales. Hillingdon is situated in west London and borders
Harrow, Ealing and Hounslow.
Inclusive Involvement
The equality Act 2020 provides Britain with a discrimination law which protects individuals from
unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. This means that the Council will aim
to engage with all of our residents, in an inclusive manner promoting fairness, respect and equality
for everyone. We will aim to break down barriers which have prevented people from engaging in
the past. Specifically, we will:
• Consider the needs of equalities groups, proactively involving under-represented groups
• Ensure any barriers to participation are taken into consideration
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• Treat people respectfully, fairly and equally across all areas of our business, and tackle
discrimination and harassment in all of our activities
• Inclusive involvement underpins the objectives within the strategy, and engaging with hard-
to-reach groups continues to be a priority within the service
Some groups of tenants and other residents are often under -represented in community
involvement, including:
• Young people
• Refugees and ethnic minority groups
• Gypsy and travellers
• People with accessibility needs
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
• Homeless service users
• The digitally excluded
We will build on our approach to involving under-represented groups in the next three years and
we are committed to removing barriers to participation. We will do this by:
• Providing transport for residents to attend events where it is requested
• Holding meetings in venues that are accessible, convenient and secure for everyone,
including people with mobility issues
• Establishing meeting times to take account of the needs and preferences of local
communities
• Providing training to give tenants, residents and service users the appropriate
knowledge, and provide specialist assistance as required. This training includes
awareness of equality issues
• Providing Council contact numbers charged at local rates
• Providing opportunities for all residents and age groups to get involved
• Ensuring all information is provided in accordance with our accessibility policy to ensure
that complex statistical information doesn’t lead to non-participation
• We can also provide documents in different formats. Interpreting facilities are available,
and hearing loops are available in Civic Centre meeting rooms
• Ensuring adequate funds are provided to develop the key issues agreed with tenants,
residents and all service users, and considering appropriate ways of enhancing
resources, including the provision of a Freepost address to eliminate postal expenditure.
Resources
The Council will provide direct and indirect funding to support resident engagement, ensuring a
value for money approach. This will include direct support from Council officers as well as financial
support for local resident groups and other engagement activities.
The Council will bring forward a model to support residents in identifying, prioritising and delivering
works and responses to meet the needs of communities. In addition, a learning and development
budget will be developed to provide training and personal development opportunities for residents
so that they can engage and influence effectively.
Via the approval and adoption of the Hillingdon Engagement Charter (HEC) we will aim to ensure
financial certainty for the funding of resident engagement over three-year timeframes
We have the following resources dedicated to involving our residents:
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Financial resources
In partnership with residents, the Service will aim to ensure that the level of resources available
meets the needs, aspirations and priorities of residents across all areas of engagement and
support the delivery of the Hillingdon Engagement Charter.
The Resident Engagement budget will be ring-fenced to fund activities such as:
• Consultation exercises, such as our STAR survey
• Information for residents, such as our annual report, Hillingdon People
• Independent advice and assistance from specialists
• Training and attendance at events, for both staff and tenants
• Administration
• Tenant expenses, such as transport to events
All eligible Tenants and Residents Associations (TRAs) can apply to the Resident Engagement
Team for an annual grant to support the development and running of their group.
They must provide information with the application, including current audited accounts, a
constitution, contact details and minutes of their most recent Annual General Meeting and
meetings.
The grant can be used to pay for day -to-day expenses such as postage, stationery, advertising,
and travel. Additional funding can be requested and will be considered by the Resident
Engagement Team.
Staffing resources
The Resident Engagement Team are dedicated to supporting and developing resident
engagement across the Council's housing portfolio. Their functions include:
• Co-ordinating resident engagement
• Working with other services to enhance involvement
• Providing specialist advice within the service and to residents
• Training and developing staff and residents
• Facilitating tenant and residents meetings
• Encouraging participation with under-represented groups
Aside from this dedicated resource, various parts of the service engage with our tenants and
leaseholders on a regular basis and consult on a number of topics in their specialist service
areas.
Priorities
Key priorities over the term of this new Engagement Strategy will be:
• the reformation of regular meetings,
• making it easier for all residents to become involved and ensuring that they are updated
on actions taken because of their feedback
• an increased focus on ways for residents to become involved locally, such as Community
Engagement Days held on estates or public spaces, alongside partners and other Council
services (such as the Community Safety Team, Green Spaces and Anti-Social Behaviour
and Environment Team), to ensure a coordinated approach to engagement, resolution of
neighbourhood issues, and collation of resident feedback
• bringing the benefits of the internet to all residents while continuing to provide traditional
methods of contact for those who are not online
• developing a model to support residents in identifying, prioritising and delivering works and
responses to meet the needs of communities
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• clarifying and developing the role of special interest groups
• developing and strengthening resident scr utiny of services through new service
improvement groups which could include, for example,
o Business Plan Implementation Group
o Repairs and maintenance Service
o Communication and Information
o Value for Money – Scrutiny Group
o Housing Support
o Income Collection
o Empty Property Management
o Estate Management
Representation on these groups allows tenants and leaseholders to impact on service delivery
in real time and gain an understanding of our policies and procedures.
Our new approach to resident engagement: Developing the Hillingdon Engagement
Charter (HEC)
Our new approach to engagement will put the ‘resident voice’ at the heart of our service planning,
improvement and delivery. We will share decision- making power with residents by creating the
Hillingdon E ngagement Charter (HEC) which sets out residents’ expectations for service
standards and our commitment to deliver these.
Our commitment in 2022 to 2025 includes a review of staff professional development and training
to ensure that a refreshed culture of hearing the customer voice is rolled out across the Council.
This will link to the outputs produced from the current government review of staff training and
qualifications within the housing sector and the professional standards launched in 2021 by the
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).
Using the model below, the Charter will focus our engagement activities on making an impact for
our residents and in our communities.
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The six standards that we will use to underpin our Charter are:
1. Planning: there is a clear purpose for the engagement, which is based on a shared
understanding of community needs and ambitions
• Planned engagement activities will be devised and agreed fully with active residents;
we will listen and act, not impose our views about what should happen
• Our engagement activities will be underpinned by our annual action plans which will
set out our annual priorities for the three years of this strategy. They will be founded
on the priorities of our residents in local communities, with a reference point to current
national regulatory priorities
• Planning timeframes will enable genuine participation and influence by residents to
occur at a pace that suits them
• Where meetings are planned, lead residents or Council staff will ensure venue
accessibility and arrangements are in place in advance and that all attendees are
informed beforehand
2. Working Together: we will work effectively together to achieve the aims of our
engagement activities
• The Charter will establish ground rules for staff and residents about our agreed
expectations of behaviour and attitudes when working together. These will be based
on fairness, respect and equality
Impact
We will assess the
impact of the
engagement and use
what has been learned
to improve our future
community
engagement
Methods
We will use methods of
engagement that are fit for
purpose
Communication
We will communicate clearly and
regularly with the people,
organisations and communities
affected by the engagement
Inclusion
We will identify and involve
the people and organisations
that are affected by the focus
of the engagement
Support
We will identify and
overcome any barriers to
participation
Planning
There is a clear purpose for the
engagement, which is based on a
shared understanding of community
needs and ambitions
Working Together
We will work effectively together to
achieve the aims of our engagment
activities
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• Staff professional development and training will ensure we have skilled, committed and
knowledgeable staff committed to working in partnership with tenants to achieve
successful outcomes from our engagement activities
• Training will be provided for residents and could cover methods of engagement,
influencing and negotiating skills, housing policies and regulatory requirements
• At the start of any engagement activities e.g. scrutiny of services, we will ensure that
clear objectives, outcomes and outputs are agreed with residents
• Staff will always commit to providing feedback to residents about what happened to the
views and opinions they expressed and how these have been incorporated into Council
documents or ways of working
3. Methods: we will use methods of engagement that are fit for purpose
• Methods will be resident-led with their preferences laying the foundations for our
approaches, but we will aim to be modern, agile and responsive to meet their needs
• We will incorporate methods such as:
o in person meetings with key staff
o residents’ associations
o estate walkabouts where they will have greatest impact
o digital participation e.g. social media, resident feedback
o estate or block surgeries
o estate or block champions
o environmental projects
• We will gather residents’ views using social media platforms such as Facebook and
Twitter
• We will provide translation and other accessibility services on request
4. Communication: we will communicate clearly and regularly with the people,
organisations and communities affected by the engagement
• Our written and verbal communication will be jargon-free
• Staff will take time to explain technical information so that residents have the time to
consider it and ask questions
• Our action plan will set out o ur intentions for periodic communication with residents
either across the Borough or by community or estate
• We will always provide contact details for lead officers involved in projects as well as
the resident engagement team
• Housing staff will work with staff in other Council services to ensure their commitment
to the standards of communication agreed with residents are adhered to, no matter
which Council service the resident is engaging with
5. Inclusion: we will identify and involve the people and organisations that are affected
by the focus of the engagement
• With specific projects such as estate improvements or regeneration we will establish
early communication with those residents affected. This will be prior to any definitive
plans being discussed amongst Council staff
Cabinet Member Report – 10 March 2022 Page 16
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• We commit to involving residents in estate and community issues from the project
initiation stage
6. Support: we will identify and overcome any barriers to participation
• As referenced on page 2, we will ensure our engagement activ ities adhere to the
principles of inclusive involvement, enabling all tenants and leaseholders to engage
with us in the method of their choice and according to their preferences
7. Impact Assessment
Using these six standards we will assess our Impact.
• We will assess the impact of the engagement and use what has been learned to
improve our future community engagement
On an annual basis we will complete an impact assessment of our resident engagement
activities, which will include:
• Survey results and their analysis
• Transactional survey feedback from residents
• Reviewing our Hillingdon Engagement Charter and its impact
• Reporting to the Residents’ Services Select Committee about how we have
implemented residents’ recommendations
This impact assessment will be included in the annual report to the Residents Services
Select Committee.
Cabinet Member Report – 10 March 2022 Page 17
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Appendix 2 - Draft Higher Risk and Complex Buildings Engagement
Strategy
DRAFT Higher Risk and Complex Buildings
Engagement Strategy
Note
This strategy document should be read in conjunction with our Tenant and Leaseholder
Engagement Strategy which details how we will engage with residents in the Borough using the
six standards of our Hillingdon Engagement Charter (HEC). These standards underpin our
Borough-wide approach to engagement and provide the foundation from which to build
engagement with residents in our tower blocks, also known as ‘higher risk and complex buildings’.
Cabinet Member Report – 10 March 2022 Page 18
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Preface
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduces a new regulatory system for the management of building
safety in "higher risk buildings", meaning buildings of 18 metres or more in height, or seven or
more storeys, containing at least two flats. The most significant of the new requirements on
landlords is t he creation of the new accountable person role, with the following specific
responsibilities:
• They will implement a single Residents’ Engagement Strategy for the whole building
(this will be agreed in cooperation with the other Accountable Persons)
• They will establish and operate a system for the investigation of residents’ complaints
• They will be responsible for applying for Registration and Certification for the whole
building, including bringing together a single safety case report
• They will be responsible for displaying information about the most recent building
assessment certificate, compliance notices and details of those responsible for
managing building safety for the building
• Where a special measures order has been made, they must ensure that no building
assessment certificate relating to the building is displayed in the building
• They will take the lead responsibility for coordinating the golden thread of safety
information for the building, keeping the golden thread updated and ensuring it is
accurate and accessible; and
• They will establish and operate a system for mandatory occurrence reporting.
Residents' engagement strategy
For the first time, it will be a statutory requirement for a resident engagement strategy to be
produced for each higher risk building. The key purpose of this strategy will be for residents
aged 16 and over (and non-resident owners) to be encouraged to participate in the making of
building safety decisions. The strategy will need to set out:
• what information will be provided to residents
• what decisions they will be consulted on
• how residents' views will be taken into account; and
• how the appropriateness of consultation undertaken will be measured
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Contents Page
Our Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 5
Understanding our residents ........................................................................................... 5-6
Information to be provided to residents …...................................................................... 6-8
Decisions that we will consult on ...................................................................................... 8
How residents' views will be heard …............................................................................... 8-9
How we will measure the appropriateness of our consultation ........................................ 9
Cabinet Member Report – 10 March 2022 Page 20
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Our Strategy
As required by the Building Safety Act, in Hillingdon we have nominated The Director of
Operational Assets as the Principal Accountable Person who will be supported by a second
Accountable Person, the Head of Housing Management. They are our lead officers for producing
this engagement strategy, in partnership with residents, to promote their participation in the
decision-making process about the building safety risks in their buildings. Every resident living in
high risk and complex buildings will be provided with an accessible copy of this strategy
document.
As required by the Building Safety Act, this strategy details:
• what information will be provided to residents
• what decisions they will be consulted on
• how residents' views will be taken into account; and
• how the appropriateness of consultation undertaken will be measured
Our strategy for engagement will ensure that residents understand the safety of their building
that is required from the golden thread of information set out in the building safety Act. The
golden thread is both:
• the information about a building that allows someone to understand a building and keep it
safe, and
• the information management to ensure the information is accurate, easily
understandable, can be accessed by those who need it and is up to date
We will also ensure we are meeting all requirements of the 2021 Fire Safety Act and keeping
abreast of all new government publications and consultations including the consultation on
emergency evacuations and information sharing between building owners and the fire and rescue
services.
Understanding our residents
The success of this strategy depends on how well we know our residents living within our high
rise and complex buildings. This means that we need to understand the needs of every household
living within these buildings in order to prepare appropriate evacuation procedures for them, but
in particular our disabled and vulnerable residents. We will do this as a commitment to good
practice, even if guidance from government does not require it.
Our approach should be founded not on the principle of us telling our residents that they are safe,
but rather about asking them if they feel safe. We should not say, “we are doing this, therefore
you are safe” we must ask residents the question “do you feel safe in your home and your
building?”
Our success also relies on us regularly repeating fire safety information and the methods we use
to do this. We must also build trust with our residents by co-creating our engagement strategies
with them and underpi nning these with the standards of the Hillingdon Engagement Charter
(HEC).
A key priority of our action and communication plan is to conduct surveys of our residents in our
high rise and complex buildings to understand the needs of their household. Residents will need
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reassurance that their data is secure and being used only for building safety purposes, although
it should also be used to update household tenancy records.
We will also work with other key stakeholders and trusted community partners in the Borough to
ensure we hear the voices of the residents in these properties and engage successfully with them.
Our aim is that over time, each high rise or complex building in the Borough, is represented either
by block champions or by residents’ associat ions. The deployment of digital engagement tools
will create new opportunities for engagement, particularly with younger tenants.
Information to be provided to residents
It is our intention that residents will have confidence in the safety of their building and will have a
greater say in how their buildings are being managed through the information that we provide to
them.
Our information will support our residents to understand how they can be involved in this
engagement strategy. It will also tel l them how they can request further information about the
safety measures in place for their building from the Principal Accountable Person, where
information is not already published on a dedicated section of the Council’s website. We will also
signpost our residents to additional information such as fire safety information available from the
Housing Ombudsman and how we are meeting the requirements of the Fire Safety Act 2021.
A report by the Social Sector (Building Safety) Engagement Best Practice Group in March 2021
found that
“Personalised letters had the most positive impact on residents’ knowledge, understanding and
recollection of fire safety measures in the home, regardless of their stated preference of
communication method”
Information that we provide to residents of high risk and complex buildings will inform them:
• about the safety of their building and we will comply with mandatory requirements to
provide this
• of our complaints procedures so that if we fail to comply, they can access the complaints
procedure easily; this demonstrates our commitment to transparency and openness.
Residents can hold their Accountable Persons to account as each Principal Accountable
Person will be required to operate a complaints system. Where complaints cannot be
resolved, they can be heard by the regulator.
• that there are new duties on residents requiring them to play a significant part in the safety
of their building. There are three clear obligations on residents:
o that they must not act in a way that creates a significant risk of a building safety risk
materialising
o they must not interfere with or damage a "relevant safety item" (which is defined as
anything forming common parts that is intended to improve building safety)
o to comply with an accountable person’s request for information that is reasonably
required to enable them to perform their duties
We will also inform residents that under the Building Safety Act, to ensure the safety of all
residents, our Accountable Persons have been given the power to ensure compliance with these
obligations.
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If a resident does not meet their obligations, the Accountable Person can issue a contravention
notice. An accountable person may also require access to a residents’ premises, strictly to fulfil
their duties relating to building safety or to determine whether a residents’ duty has been
contravened.
Our Accountable Persons will be proportionate in ensuring residents’ compliance with their duties.
However, if a resident does not agree with the Accountable Person’s use of a contravention notice
or request for access they can refuse to comply.
If the Accountable Person applies to the County Court, the resident will be able to set out their
position to an independent judge. They are also able to formally raise an issue concerning the
Accountable Person’s actions through the Accountable Person’s complaints process and
escalate it to the Building Safety Regulator.
In line with best practice, a personal letter will be sent to all properties within our high rise
and complex buildings containing all of the above information.
In addition, we will produce fire saf
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 20 March 2023 Page 1
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE
PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by
Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon:
Title of decision
TENANT AND LEASEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
Reference No. 736
Date of decision Monday 20 March 2023
Call-in expiry date Monday 27 March 2023
Relevant Select
Committee
Residents’ Services Select Committee
Relevant Wards All Wards
Decision made
Cabinet Members
making the decision
Councillor Eddie Lavery – Cabinet Member for Residents’
Services
Approved
That the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services agreed to
the adoption of the Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement
Strategy and the Higher Risk and Complex Buildings
Engagement Strategy.
Reason for decision A documented Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement Strategy
provides the basis for seeking views from the landlord service
customer base and meets the Regulator of Social Housing’s
expectations in connection with ‘having your voice heard by your
landlord’. Under the Building Safety Act 2022 the Council, in its
capacity as building owner and manager, must bring forward a
residents’ engagement strategy in connection with its tower
block portfolio [‘higher risk and complex buildings’] that
promotes the participation of residents in the decision- making
process about building safety risks.
Alternative options
considered and
rejected
As a Regulated Service and the owner and manager of 11 tower
blocks the Council is required to have a general engagement
strategy in place and a separate strategy in place for its
occupied tower block portfolio.
Classification Part I – Public
Link to associated
report
Here
Relevant Officer
contact & Directorate
Rod Smith – Place Directorate
Any interest declared
by the Cabinet
Member(s) /
dispensation granted
N/A
Executive Decision Notice – 20 March 2023 Page 2
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in
[Internal Use only]
When can this
decision be
implemented by
officers?
Officers can implement Cabinet Member decision in this notice
only from the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period which is:
5pm on Monday 27 March 2023
However, this is subject to the decision not being called in by
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee. Upon receipt of a
valid call-in request, Democratic Services will immediately advise
the relevant officer(s) and the decision must then be put on hold.
Councillor scrutiny
call-in of this
decision
Councillors on the relevant Select Committee shown in this
notice may request to call-in this decision. The request must be
before the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period above.
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sought from Democratic Services if required:
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Further information These decisions, where applicable, have been taken under The
Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and
Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.
This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive
decision, including links to the reports where applicable.
If you would like more information on this decision, please
contact Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email:
democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk.
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including Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers,
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