Information for Tenants

Hjaltland aims to provide opportunities for all our tenants to play an active role in the management of their homes and the delivery of services. At Hjaltland we believe that tenant involvement should be positive and active. Consulting and involving tenants and others in the services we provide, at a level they feel comfortable, is at the heart of what we do.

Whether you are a tenant, a sharing owner, an applicant or a member of the community there are a number of ways you can get involved with the work of Hjaltland Housing Association.

In promoting participation we:

• Will meet our statutory, regulatory and contractual duties to our tenants and other customers.
• Will comply with relevant Scottish Housing Regulator and Scottish Federation of Housing Association guidance as well as legislation and codes of practice.
• Will encourage involvement of all tenants regardless of age, gender, race, religion, marital status, political or sexual orientation or disability.
• Will monitor the effectiveness of our performance and provide feedback to tenants on an annual basis.

If you are interested in any of the opportunities listed, please contact a housing officer by calling 01595 694986, emailing mail@hjaltland.org or by dropping into our offices at 6 North Ness Business Park, Lerwick.

The Privacy Notice for Tenants & Housing Applicants can be found here on our website.

Formal tenant groups – a Registered Tenant Organisation

Although tenants have a number of opportunities to get involved in our consultations and decision making processes, including through our Tenant Focus Group, a group of tenants and residents (owners or tenants of other landlords) can consider the creation of a more formal tenant body, known as a Registered Tenant Organisation. Guidance on how to apply to become a Registered Tenant Organisation (RTO) can be found here on our website.

Tenant Focus Group

Our Tenant Focus Group is a group of tenants who work with the Association to help us with decisions about how we deliver our services to community throughout Shetland. The Group meet around 4-6 times per year, usually in Lerwick. Examples of the recent work undertaken by the Group are:

• Setting the standard of the annual Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Consultation and drafting of a Pet’s Policy
• Review our Aids and Adaptation’s Policy
• Establish our approach to consultation regarding changes being brought about by new Housing (Scotland) Act 2014
• Inspection of vacant homes and quality assurance checks of our re-let standards.

Training is provided to new members to build skills, knowledge and confidence to challenge the Association. The Group has direct contact with our staff and senior management to get a good understanding of the how and why behind the work that we do and to discuss how processes can be improved.

Tenant Led Estate Walkabouts

The Estate Walkabouts are a great way of getting involved with the Association at a community level. We aim to carry these out on an annual basis, but if you have any concerns you can contact the Association and request a visit from your housing officer at any time.

During the walkabout we would like to look at the communal areas including landscaped areas, bin stores, parking areas and anything else you may wish to raise.

We will provide feedback to tenants following the tour and jointly create an action plan to address what is raised. Where it is indicated that you would like to see changes to the service provided at your development all residents will be consulted before any changes are made, particular where a service charge may be required to cover any ongoing costs.

Register of Interested Tenants

Our Register of Interested Tenants ensures a voice for those who wish to be contacted when any relevant consultations are happening. The Register contains contact details of those tenants that would like to work with us on an ad-hoc basis or who are keen to be involved but unable to offer regular commitment or attend meetings. The Register is regularly used to carry out consultation with tenants over a whole range of housing issues.

General Membership

General Members are those people who have purchased a £1 share in the Association. Anyone over 18 can apply to join (or over 16 if you are one of our tenants).

General Members can vote at our Annual General Meetings and can have a say in who sits on our Management Committee.

General Members can join our Management Committee by election at the AGM or by invitation from the existing Committee Members.

Management Committee Members are responsible for deciding how the Association is to be run, agreeing strategic aims and objectives and for ensuring the business is financially viable and meeting the required Regulatory Standards.

The Management Committee is not responsible for the day to day running of the Association; this responsibility is delegated by the Committee to the Senior Management Team.

See our page Becoming a Member here to apply for General Membership.

Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey

An important way to get involved and have your say is by completing the Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey. Satisfaction Survey is been produced in conjunction with our Tenant Focus Group and provides us with really important information which helps to review and improve our services as well as collecting information to provide to the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) about our performance. It takes around 10 minutes to complete!

Other Informal Ways of Getting Involved

• take part in telephone, postal or email surveys
• join Facebook to keep up to date with our activities
• discuss issues in person at our offices and in your own home
• make comments and feedback through the website/ social media
• use our complaints, comments and suggestions feedback procedure
• attend consultation events or public meetings when advertised
• set up an informal local group
• take part in sheltered housing service quality audits with the Care Inspectorate
• shape your care and support service through your person centred plan