Member Spotlight
It’s our members that make Tpas such a great organisation to be part of and what better way to show this than with our member spotlight feature.
Each month we will invite one of our members to share their engagement achievements, tips and ambitions, allowing you to keep bang up to date with what others are up to across the sector.
Member Spotlight - Hull City Council 
We asked Sally Smith from Hull City Council to share what they are up to.
If you’d like to contact Sally about any of the below, click here
Give us a little known fact about your organisation.
Hull’s Independent Tenants’ Forum was founded in 2004, to make a difference and help shape the council’s Housing Service. The Forum is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and is stronger than ever. Our aim is to maximise tenant involvement with a range of opportunities available to enable participation in the delivery of the housing service.
Tell us about a time that engagement has made a difference to your services or communities?
We have 117 Local Area Champions, who report issues in their areas, and they also carry out litter picking. In 2023 - 2024 the volunteers collected 2,252 bags of rubbish and 269 bags of recycling, totalling approximately 12 tons of rubbish.
We have eight Block Champions, who carry out independent walks of their own multi storey blocks and accompany a Tenant Participation Officer on benchmarking inspections citywide. In 2023-2024 the Block Champions inspected 13 high-rise, 123 low-rise and independently inspected a further 13 high-rise. This makes a difference to our service by monitoring the cleaning standards and highlighting any concerns and issues, including building safety.
What are you currently working on when it comes to engagement?
In the last 12 months the Tenant Participation Team have continued to increase the use of on-line digital surveys, contacting tenants via SMS or e-mail as a means of reaching as many of our tenants as possible. We have also expanded our engagement digitally by offering hybrid meetings to our volunteers and are currently developing an engagement app.
Why did you decide to join Tpas?
To share and learn from other providers and continually improve our knowledge and understanding of new housing legislation. We are keen to ensure we deliver best practice and are open to new ideas.
What is your top engagement tip?
Ensure you have a blended approach offering both traditional and digital opportunities and be flexible about change. Use your customer insight data to ensure you are reaching and contacting all those involved and who may be affected by change. Do not ask questions you already know the answer to.
What is the one thing you are really proud of when it comes to engagement?
We are very proud of our Tenants’ Compact, The Key to our Future. Tenant compact - 2023 to 2027 (click to view). This is a partnership document between tenants, officers and councillors and details the methods of involvement and the support available. The original document was created nearly 20 years ago and continues to be refreshed and updated by all stakeholders.
Previous Member Spotlights
April 2024 - Hull City Council
March 2024 - Partners Foundation
February 2024 - Red Kite Community Housing
January 2024 - St Leger Homes of Doncaster
December 2023 - settle
November 2023 - Flagship Group
Sept / Oct 2023 - Hinckley and Bosworth Council
August 2023 - Tenants Hub CIC
June / July 2023 - Dovecotes TMO
May 2023 - Stockport Homes
April 2023 - TPTracker
March 2023 - Metropolitan Thames Valley
February 2023 - West Kent
January 2023 - Fairhive
December 2022 - Platform Housing Group
November 2022 - Integrated Solutions - City Plumbing
September / October 2022 - Homes Plus
August 2022 - Aspire
May 2022 - Arches
April 2022 - Acis Group
March 2022 - wdh
February 2022 - Michael Dyson Associates Ltd
January 2022 - South Yorkshire HA
December 2021 - Gateshead Council
November 2021 - LiveWest
October 2021 - YMCA Thames Gateway
September 2021 - Bernicia
August 2021 - Anglian Building Products
July 2021 - Warrington HA
June 2021 - Futr
May 2021 - Vale of Aylesbury HT
April 2021 - Aaron Services
March 2021 - Soha
February 2021 - North West Leicestershire DC
January 2021 - Vinci Facllities
December 2020 - Ongo
November 2020 - Places for People
October 2020 - Community Gateway Association
September 2020 - Dacorum BC
August 2020 - Eastend Homes
July 2020 - Connexus
June 2020 - Gridizen
May 2020 - Grand Union Housing Group
March / April 2020 - Onward Homes
January / February 2020 - Estuary HA
December 2019 - Muir Group
November 2019 - Blackpool Coastal Homes
October 2019 - Texthelp
September 2019 - Greatwell Homes
August 2019 - Selby DC
July 2019 - North Star Housing Group
June 2019 - Rotherham MBC
May 2019 - Homes for Haringey
I'd like to be in the spotlight
If you'd like to be featured in our Member Spotlight and highlight the work you are doing, please get in touch by emailing lisa.holt@tpas.org.uk.
Why choose Tpas?
Well established
We've been promoting, supporting and championing tenant involvement and empowerment across England for over three decades
Not for profit
Investing in Tpas means benefitting from the latest tenant involvement policies and practices but also securing and supporting the future of the tenant involvement agenda
Accreditation
We offer the only independent evidence-based accreditation scheme that assesses resident involvement arrangements.
Expert advice
Our shared knowledge, expertise and experience with staff, tenants, landlord and contractors are the building blocks of this organisation.
Find out more?
For more information please contact our dedicated membership team