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Come along to our Tenants' Event in Aberdeen!

Saturday 11 September 2010
Beechwood Suite, Hilton Treetops Hotel
161 Springfield Road
Aberdeen. AB15 7AQ

On Saturday 11^th September we are inviting tenants to join us for a Tenants’ Event. Staff and Board members from Margaret Blackwood Housing Association will be there, along with representatives from SMART (money advice in Aberdeen), The DPHS (Disabled Persons Housing Service) and CFINE (Community Food Initiatives North East)

The day starts with coffee and pastries at 10am and then there will be a main session on MBHA Services followed by lunch and the chance to get involved in some smaller group sessions in the afternoon. We hope to hold sessions on the following:

• The Scottish Social Housing Charter - improving standards and helping tenants to scrutinize the performance of their landlord;
• Taking greater control the management of your development - how you can have more of a say in how we manage your homes;
• Design – your chance to give us feedback on what it is like living in a MBHA house. What design improvements would you make?
• Our care services - how can we improve and provide greater flexibility in these services.

The hotel is fully wheelchair accessible and there are plenty of car parking places. For groups of tenants wishing to travel from a distance, let us know and we will organise transport for you. 

If you think that you would like to attend please call Lynne Marshall or Ainan Groat, Tenant Participation Officers, on 0131 317 0106 or email TPO@mbha.org.uk.

Equality and Diversity - What do you think?

Your experience and views are very important to us so that we can shape our services in the future.  We need to make sure that our services are open to everybody and yet take account of people’s different needs.  Our new Equality and Diversity Policy explains how we will do this and we would like very much to hear your views on this and share your experiences with us.

Please take a little time to consider the Equality and Diversity Policy Summary and a short Equality and Diversity Policy Questionnaire and let us know what you think.  If you would like to complete the questionnaire over the phone then please contact Ainan Groat or Lynne Marshall, Tenant Participation Officers on 0131 317 0106 and one of us will phone you back.  If you would like to discuss anything further, then please let us know on 0131 317 0106 or TPO@mbha.org.uk.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Tenant Satisfaction Survey

Please keep a lookout for your Tenant Satisfaction Questionnaire. They are being sent to all MBHA tenants at the end of April.

The consultants Research Resource are carrying out this work for us. Everyone will have 3 weeks to complete and return the form and those who need help will be offered the appropriate assistance.

We really want to hear your views, so if at all possible please take the time to look through the form, complete what you can and get it posted back to us – a freepost envelope will be provided.

Consultation Event - Social Housing and the Right to Buy

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation for a new Draft Housing (Scotland) Bill. If the bill becomes law, it would end the Right to Buy for new social housing tenants in Scotland. It would also make changes to the rules and standards housing providers must follow. This may not sound like the most exciting read, but if you live in social housing it could really impact on your rights. You can download an introduction to the proposed changes to the Bill here.

The deadline for written submissions to the parliament ended on 4 March 2010

What Happens Next?

Scottish Social Housing Charter

Part 3 of the Bill introduces a new Scottish Social Housing Charter to set out the key outcomes that councils and Registered Social Landlords should be aiming to achieve for their tenants, for homeless people and service users. This Charter will provide a framework for the Scottish Housing Regulator to assess and report on social landlord’s performance.

Consultation on the Charter

The Bill requires Scottish Ministers to consult tenants, social landlords, the Scottish Housing Regulator and other stakeholders (including tenants) before setting the Charter outcomes and this must be approved by Parliament before it becomes legally binding on all social landlords. The Government is proposing a four stage consultation process:

• Stage 1: Initial stakeholder discussions, Autumn 2010
• Stage 2: Discussion paper, published Early 2011
• Stage 3: 2nd stage stakeholder discussions, Spring 2011
• Stage 4: Formal consultation on draft charter, late summer/autumn 2011

The charter will then be effective from April 2012.

We will be in touch with tenants to make sure you get a chance to put your views forward. For more information contact the Scottish Government or the Tenants' Information Service.

On Rent Arrears

We need rents to be paid in full and on time as they are our main source of income.  However, we understand that people can face financial difficulties at times.   For this reason, we have made some changes to our Rent Arrears Policy to emphasise that we will provide support and help to tenants to try and prevent them falling behind with their rent.  

Do you agree with our focus on preventing rent arrears or debt by giving access to money advice and help with housing benefit?

Have you found our services useful for finding out where to get help about money or debt advice?  Here is the Revised Rent Arrears Policy and a brief Rent Arrears Questionnaire if you would like to let us know your views on the issue. Please send your questionnaires to:

FREEPOST
Margaret Blackwood Housing Association
Craigievar House
77 Craigmount Brae
EDINBURGH
EH12 0PG

 

What’s Your Point of View On Anti-Social Behaviour?

We are changing the way we deal with complaints about anti-social behaviour and problems with neighbours and we want to know what you think.  Most people get on well with their neighbours and feel safe in their homes but what happens when something goes wrong?  Our new policy says that when you report a problem to us, we will distinguish between complaints about anti-social behaviour and complaints about neighbour nuisance.  Examples of anti-social behaviour may be:

• When someone has suffered violence, threats or harassment
• Where there has been deliberate damage to property
• When a crime may have been committed, e.g. drug dealing

Examples of neighbour nuisance may be:

• When neighbours cannot agree about noise, pets, car parking, etc. 
• The behaviour of visitors or children around the property
• Where the condition of someone’s home is causing concern

Do you agree with this way of dealing with your complaints and concerns?

We are also introducing new timescales for getting in touch with you when you have complained. For anti-social behaviour complaints, we will contact you within one working day by telephone, letter, home visit or office interview. For neighbour nuisance complaints, we will investigate and contact you within five working days.

Do you agree with these timescales?

Here is the Summary of MBHA's ASB Policy, the full Anti-social Behaviour Draft Policy, an Anti-social Behaviour Questionnaire and a draft Tenant Advice Leaflet. Please send your questionnaires to:

FREEPOST
Margaret Blackwood Housing Association
Craigievar House
77 Craigmount Brae
EDINBURGH
EH12 0PG

If you have any further questions, please contact Ainan Groat or Lynne Marshall, Tenant Participation Officers, on:

Telephone: 0131 317 0106
Email: TPO@mbha.org.uk