Scottish Housing Association talks to tenants about future Investments

Yesterday we published an article discussing how housing associations across the UK are planning on working with their tenants in order to improve quality of life, such as Coastline Housing in Cornwall who is making sure that their buildings are well ventilated in order to prevent health issues such as eczema and asthma. Now, River Clyde Homes in Scotland is planning on holding a meeting so that all their tenants can put forward their concerns about rent increases and what they would like to see money being invested in.

From Wednesday 30th of January to Saturday the 2nd of February, meetings will be held at the former Millets shop in the Oak Mall, Greenock, and will then move on to Port Glasgow to the 7½ John Wood Street Centre on Tuesday the 5th of February. Recently appointed chief executive at River Clyde Homes said: “River Clyde Homes has done a good job over the last five years in some challenging circumstances. Over half of our homes now meet the Scottish Quality Housing Standard and hundreds of impressive new homes have been built across Inverclyde despite the economic downturn.”

“However, much work remains to be done. We also know we can improve our services. The challenge for us now is to ensure that we provide our customers with the standard of services they want at a price they can afford. The rent consultation is the start of a process to get the views of our customers on progress at River Clyde Homes so far and what services and priorities for investment they would like to see in the future.”

Customers of River Clyde Homes will be able to fill out a feedback form which will address various aspects of the service, all of which will also be entered into a prize draw where residents can win one of two £50 Tesco vouchers. In the last five years River Clyde Homes have kept their rent prices stable, however with the introduction of the new welfare reforms this may change. Private rented sector landlords have already protected themselves from the expected increase in rent arrears by investing in landlord insurance, however social housing landlords are finding that having discussions with their tenants is also beneficial.