Tenants Council's Terms of Reference

Purpose
Aims and objectives
Terms of Reference
Membership
Administration and support
Voting
Procedure
Pre-agenda meetings
Tenants Council Executive
Meeting procedures
Code of conduct
Exclusion of the public or press 

1. Purpose

 
The Tenants Council’s responsibility is to represent the views of Lambeth Council’s tenants and leaseholders. Within the Council’s framework of resident participation, the Tenants Council has an exclusive role to speak for the users of the Council’s landlord services at borough-wide level.

2. Aims and objectives

1. To be the recognised consultative body between the Area Housing Forums, Executive Director of Housing and the Council within the criteria laid out in the borough-wide Tenant Participation Compact.
2. To act as a consultative body on issues of borough-wide concern, making referrals to and receiving referrals from Area Housing Forums, to consider matters submitted by officers of the Council and responding to these as appropriate.
3. To nominate representatives to receive agenda papers, and attend meetings within and outside of the Council structure on behalf of Tenants Council.
4. To further opportunities for deliberation of issues, to help shape the work of Area Housing Forums and tenant organisations throughout the Borough and to provide continuity of contact between those receiving the housing service and the Council; the role of Tenants Council will be subject to continual development.
5. To encourage positive and effective tenant participation in the Borough by supporting the formation of new tenant and resident associations and assisting existing groups.
6. To work with the Council to ensure excellence in the delivery of its landlord services.

3. Terms of Reference

1. To monitor, question and investigate the policy and performance of the Council as a social housing provider and the services provided to its tenants, identifying any shortfalls in achievement; by calling for relevant persons and papers and undertaking in depth investigations; and to make appropriate recommendations to the relevant Scrutiny, Policy, or Executive Committee (via the Executive member for Housing or nominated Tenants Council member) or Council on matters relating to the discharge of the Housing and Regeneration functions of the Council, or which affect the Borough or its inhabitants in respect of the discharge of such functions.
2. Should Tenants Council deem it necessary, for the better performance and discharge of its scrutiny functions, it may require the attendance at any of its meetings of any member of the Executive, and relevant officers, who are thereby under an obligation to attend the meeting in question.
3. To consider all referrals received from Area Housing Forums, holding the responsible members and officers to account and ensuring that appropriate answers are supplied.
4. To receive consultation documents and copies of reports in respect of Housing, Regeneration, Planning and any other such material relating to the discharge by the authority of its social housing provision and regeneration functions that affect tenants of the Council or those in housing need, and to make any such recommendations as may be deemed necessary to the relevant Committee or Council (via the Executive Member for Housing or nominated Tenants Council member).
5. To comply with such protocols on the discharge of the Committee’s scrutiny functions as may be agreed by the Council.
6. To receive and consider reports of on Performance Reviews and make appropriate recommendations to committee (via the Executive Member for Housing) including any proposals for service improvements, new arrangements for service delivery and monitoring.
7. To develop its own work programme in relation to the provision and delivery of a housing service to the community of Lambeth.
8. To receive presentations from individuals or organisations within or outside of the Council structure to achieve better understanding of any issues that Tenants Council so requires.
9. To regularly review the borough-wide Tenant Participation Compact and in partnership with the Executive Director of Housing and Executive Member for Housing make appropriate recommendations as to the implementation, effectiveness and requirements of the compact being delivered.
10. To disseminate and respond to any consultative document or information as it may see fit in the furtherance of the aims and objectives.
11. To consider training needs of delegates and further the knowledge base of delegates by encouraging attendance at seminars and housing associated meetings, in addition to both in house and external training.

4. Membership

1. Each Area Housing Forum shall nominate voting delegates who must be members of a registered tenants’ and residents’ association, within Lambeth and the Area they represent. These delegates shall be elected for annual terms of office at the annual meetings of the Area Housing Forum.
2. TMO delegates shall be in proportion to the percentage of Council housing stock under TMO management. These delegates shall be elected at a meeting of the joint TMO Liaison Committee, each TMO having one (1) vote, the election having been notified to Chairs on an agenda circulated in advance. These delegates shall be subject to an annual re-election.
3. Only tenants or leaseholders of residential property owned by Lambeth Council and managed by an Area Housing Office or a Tenant Management Organisation shall be eligible to represent their Area or TMO on the Tenants Council. Freeholders shall be ineligible.
4. The party whips shall nominate members of the Council, reflecting the political composition of the Council.
5. Officers of the Council shall attend at the invitation of Tenants Council.
6. Leaseholders Council shall be invited to nominate representatives on an observer status basis, with speaking rights.
7. Both the Executive Member for Housing and the Executive Director of Housing (or nominated officer) shall be ex-officio members of Tenants Council.
8. Tenants Council shall have the power to co-opt persons, who shall have no voting rights, to the Tenants Council who, in their opinion, have a specialist interest, knowledge or expertise which would be of benefit to Tenants Council.
9. All delegates to Tenants Council will be required to complete a registration form which will include a declaration of interests and Code of Conduct along with contact details and their consent to their contact details being made available to other members of Tenants Council, Members and or officers.

5. Administration and support

The lead officer shall be appointed by the Executive Director of Housing and shall be responsible for developing and supporting Tenants Council in line with the borough-wide compact and in full consultation with the Chair. The Resident Participation Team in agreement with the Chair of Tenants Council shall service agendas, discussion papers, notice of meetings and minutes.

6. Voting

1. Each delegate nominated by the Area Housing Forum shall have one vote.
2. Each delegate from the TMO board members group (Liaison Committee?) shall have one vote.
3. Officers of the Council and Council Members shall have no voting rights and Council Members shall not be permitted to submit or table papers at meetings of Tenants Council.
4. Meetings of Tenants Council shall be open to the public, subject to the exclusion clause set out below, and members of the public shall be entitled to speak at the discretion of the chair.

7. Procedure

1. Venue for the meetings of Tenants Council shall be the Lambeth Town Hall or other central location with the agreement of the Chair.
2. There shall be a minimum of four (4) meetings per year, ideally aligned to meetings of Policy and Executive Committees as indicated in the Council Diary. The first meeting of the year shall be described as the Annual General Meeting.
3. Amongst the business of the Annual General Meeting shall be elections for the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair(s) of the Tenants Council and a report from the Chair or the Executive Group on the previous year’s work of the Tenants Council.
4. The time for meetings to commence shall be 7:00 p.m. and the duration shall not exceed three (3) hours but may be extended at the discretion of the Chair, having taken into account the views of those delegates present.
5. Extraordinary meetings may be called by the Chair or the Executive Director of Housing in consultation with the Chair at any time.
6. Twelve (12) voting delegates may by written request to the Chair, call for a special meeting of Tenants Council to be held for a purpose/s specified in that request. If the Chair fails to call such a meeting within 28 days of receipt of that request, the twelve (12) delegates may forthwith instruct the Executive Director of Housing to convene the requested meeting.
7. At least five (5) working days before all intended meetings notice shall be delivered to every nominated delegate listing the date, time, location and business to be conducted. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be given with the notice of the previous meeting. Such notice will be sent by officers of the Resident Participation Team to the address as given on the registration form submitted by each nominated delegate and any incidence of failure to receive such notice shall not invalidate the proceedings of the meeting.
8. The notice of meeting, agenda and minutes of all meetings shall be made available to the public upon request at Area Housing Offices.

8. Pre-agenda meetings

1. The compilation of the agenda and order of business shall be the responsibility of the Chair and the Executive Group in consultation with the Executive Director of Housing (or nominated substitute). There shall be an automatic right for referrals from Area Housing Forums to be included on the agenda of the next possible meeting of Tenants Council.
2. Officers of the Residents Participation Team will collate and put together agenda items submitted by Area Housing Forums and other items agreed with the Executive Group. Officers shall also initiate further work within the Housing Directorate and throughout the Council that is housing related at the request of Tenants Council and ensure that matters identified by the meeting are referred to Area Housing Forums or other sections of the Council as appropriate.
3. Delegates may submit agenda items at the discretion of the Chair who shall report to the next possible Tenants Council the reason for inclusion or refusal to accept the item for discussion. Having considered the matter Tenants Council may discuss or not the desired agenda item on a majority vote so to do.

9. Tenants Council Executive

1. 1The chair and vice chair(s) shall be elected annually for a period of one year at the annual general meeting and shall not be eligible to seek re-election after one year in office, for both respective positions, unless by the agreement of Tenants Council in exceptional circumstances.
2. The Executive will comprise the chair, the vice chair(s) and the immediate past chair to facilitate the management responsibilities.
3. The chair shall, if present, preside at every meeting of Tenants Council. In the absence of the chair one of the vice chairs shall, if present, preside. In the absence of any of the above, Tenants Council shall elect either a former chair from one of its number to preside at the meeting and in so doing shall decide all matters of order and relevancy, their decision in this respect shall be final.
4. 4. The immediate past chair shall be an ex-officio member of Tenants Council without voting rights.

10. Meeting procedures

1. Quorum, no business shall be transacted at any meeting of Tenants Council unless twelve (12) voting members are present.
2. Voting shall be by a show of hands, other than in exceptional circumstances when a secret ballot may be held at the request of the Chair, and the issue shall be determined by a simple majority of those present.
3. In the event of an equality of votes the person presiding shall have no second or casting vote and the proposal concerned shall be deemed lost.
4. Minutes of meetings: draft minutes shall be drawn up by officers from the Resident Participation Team and presented to the chair within ten (10) working days of a meeting.
5. The draft minutes shall be submitted to the next possible meeting for approval following which the person presiding shall sign and date them as a correct record of the business transacted.
6. Tenants Council shall be empowered to establish working parties to deal with specific matters, as it thinks fit. The membership of such working parties shall be decided by Tenants Council and may be open to non-delegates. Working parties may be set up to discuss a particular issue and will cease to exist when that task is complete. Any report or recommendations of the working party may be submitted to Tenants Council in either written or verbal format.
7. One member of the Executive shall be an ex-officio member of any such working party and shall decide on procedures to be followed at meetings of the working party.
8. All such working parties shall be responsible to Tenants Council and shall report back on all work undertaken at appropriate times or when requested to do so. It will be incumbent upon the chair of Tenants Council that delegates are informed of the business transacted by its appointed working parties.
9. Working parties may be wound up at any time before the completion of their determined task at the discretion of Tenants Council.
10. In exceptional circumstances, for the transaction of business, delegates may suspend, for that meeting only, Standing Orders to ensure Tenants Council is able to consider agenda items in the furtherance of the aims and objectives.

11. Code of conduct

1. To ensure that Tenants Council meetings are conducted in a spirit of equality and informality, in which minority groups and opinions can be heard, the following code of conduct should apply to Tenants Council meetings.
2. Tenants Council should include provision for the involvement of under represented sections of the community and it is therefore important that all of those participating are given the opportunity to express their views and are treated will equal courtesy.
3. All participants at Tenants Council have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a way that does not cause offence to others or limits in any way the ability of others to participate in the meeting.
4. This includes the use of abusive language, racist, sexist or other derogatory remarks or actions, behaviour that intimidates people who are speaking or wish to speak and preventing people from expressing their views through interrupting or talking while others are contributing to the debate and discussion.
5. Delegates should be particularly sensitive to the needs of those who may not be used to speaking in public or whose first language is not English.
6. Delegates who consider that this code of conduct has been broken should raise it with the Chair either at the time or immediately after the meeting.
7. The Chair with the advice of the relevant delegates and officers will judge whether the person has breached the code of conduct. If there has been a breach those present will have the discretion to suspend the person/s responsible from the meeting. If the matter is raised between meetings, the executive Group will decide appropriate action, including suspension, to be ratified at the next Tenants Council meeting. Future participation by the person(s) concerned will be dependant upon a commitment being given to Tenants Council that such behaviour will not be repeated.

12. Exclusion of the public or press

The public and/or press shall be excluded from a meeting of Tenants Council during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of proceedings, that, if members of the press or public were present during that item, confidential or sensitive information would be disclosed to them in breach of the obligation of confidence.