NO RIVERSIDE DEMOCRACY AND NO RIGHTS

`A major fraud on tenants and leaseholders across all of  social housing`

Jimmy Devlin, Chairman of North West Tenants` and Residents`Assembly congratulates Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation, and  Carlisle city councillors in a message to the Federation.  He says that the councillors` challenges to Riverside  and those of the Federation are  demolishing the controlled "scrutiny" which was imposed on housing organisations, giving them control over opposition from  any  tenants and leaseholders.  In other words, Riverside dictatorship and supression of democratic rights.

This is Jimmy`s message to the Federation:


"Around 2010. the government decided that  social housing regulation would change in parallel with the local government  changes involving  Localism etc   

 "Instead of regulation involving the Audit Commission monitoring standards (services to tenants) the HCA (Homes and Communities Agency)  was established  and that's when they changed to "co-regulation"  which I said was really no regulation as the HCA was only interested in viability rather than quality of standards to tenants (services)  .

"Since then, housing associations have been given almost total free reign to control everything (service charges and delivery etc)  on condition that they plough their surpluses (as they are usually not for profit so make surpluses instead)  into developing new homes ........now they call them affordable homes .....despite the unaffordability being obvious to most people.

"Scrutiny is totally controlled by the landlord`s staff ...I know dozens of activists who initially believed the ministerial hype about tenant-led scrutiny . Most have since woken up to the reality and withdrawn their consent by withdrawing  from the totally landlord controlled "participation/Involvement"  . Me included.

"Unless tenants seize real power ...nothing will ever change ...and this is unlikely  when most politicians (MPs and councillors) don't understand the sector.....or housing in general. 

 "Even so, so- called professionals working in the housing sector are very poorly informed . A good example is the public gaffe by Riverside boss Dean Butterworth in didplaying a lack of knowledge of what exactly is the  BRE (Building Research Establishment) which he recently employed.


"High salaries to acquire a better level of staff .....same old excuse ...with no real scrutiny they are getting away with murder (literally when tenants are affected by preventable fires, collapses, gas explosions etc)

 "Exposing the shortcomings, incompetence and corruption  is , I believe, the best (and only?) way to highlight what amounts to a major fraud on tenants and leaseholders across social housing ."

Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information  about the Federtion is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.