Scrutiny Special: Revisiting the Keys to Tenant Scrutiny Success
Tuesday 7th of July 2026
Scrutiny Special: Revisiting the Keys to Tenant Scrutiny Success
Our July 2026 Local Authority and ALMO Engagement Officers Meet-Up brought together colleagues from across the sector for a “Scrutiny Special” exploring the challenges, opportunities and practical realities of tenant scrutiny in local authorities.
As always, there was plenty of honest discussion, shared learning and ideas people could take away and try in their own organisations. If we had to sum up the key themes from the session in just three headlines, they would be:
Recruitment remains the biggest challenge
Senior management buy-in is essential
Communication continues to be the glue that holds it all together
We asked participants a simple question:
“Which three words best describe the challenges facing tenant scrutiny right now?”
The strongest theme by far was recruitment, followed closely by commitment, diversity and time.
When we looked at opportunities, the conversation shifted towards optimism. The top opportunities identified were:
- Technology
- Impact
- Incentives
- Communication
Technology in particular sparked discussion around new ways to involve residents, widen participation and make scrutiny more flexible and accessible.
Revisiting the 10 Keys to Scrutiny Success
Back in 2020, a Tpas report identified 10 Keys to Tenant Scrutiny Success, and we revisited them again in 2023. This year gave us another opportunity to see whether priorities had shifted. See the report here
The 10 keys are:
- Learning and development
- Support and resources
- Relationships and respect
- Organisational culture
- Role and recognition
- Scrutiny process
- Senior buy-in
- Access to information
- Recruiting and retaining
- Keeping in touch
We asked participants which mattered most right now.
Most important:
- Senior buy-in
- Relationships and respect
- Access to information
What organisations felt they do best:
- Relationships and respect
- Support and resources
- Senior buy-in
- Keeping in touch
Areas organisations most want to improve:
- Recruiting and retaining
- Learning and development
- Organisational culture
- Scrutiny process
One thing was clear: while some priorities shift, recruitment and sustaining involvement continue to be major challenges across the sector.
Practical Ideas from the Group
The session generated lots of practical ideas and examples of what is working well. Some of the stand-out suggestions included:
- Sharing back outcomes and “you said, we did” updates to show impact
- Having a strong chair to keep scrutiny focused and effective
- Inviting service teams and contractors into meetings
- Creating clear scopes and questions for each scrutiny exercise
- Tracking recommendations and actions over time
- Using technology and surveys to widen involvement
- Building in tenant-to-tenant feedback
- Giving scrutiny findings visibility with senior managers and councillors
- Using rotating chair arrangements so responsibility is shared
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that scrutiny works best when it becomes part of organisational culture rather than simply another process.
About the Meet-Up
The session took place on 1st July 2026 and brought together 22 engagement officers from local authorities and ALMOs.
The session was packed with interactive discussions including:
- Nine-minute networking sessions
- Appreciative interviews exploring examples of success
- Mentimeter polls
- Open space discussions to raise key issues and ideas
As always, the value came from people sharing honest experiences and learning from each other.
The challenges around tenant scrutiny may still be familiar, but there was also plenty of energy, creativity and practical thinking in the room. While we may not be “there yet”, every conversation helps move scrutiny forward.
Join our next meet up on 22nd October, you can book your place here - https://www.tpas.org.uk/tpas-events/show/1228
You can also join our Tpas connect online networking group, for more information click here https://www.tpas.org.uk/tpas-connect