Dear Camden Tenant,

You are invited to register for a consultation event about your landlord services to be hosted in the Chamber, Camden Town Hall, Judd Street on Monday 24 October 2016 commencing at 6.30pm.  

The workshop format on the day will mean that numbers need to be restricted and booking essential.

Why are we holding this event?

The Council’s medium term financial forecasting has identified budgetary pressures to the HRA up to 2019/20.  The main budgetary pressure is being driven by a government mandated 1% reduction in rents for each year from 2016/17 to 2019/20 contained in the Welfare and Work Reform Act (2016).  The rent reduction along with the loss of stock from council tenants exercising their ‘right to buy’ means a projected loss of income to the HRA of £13 million by the 2019/20 financial year.

The event for tenants on 24 October will consider areas for savings, reshaping services  and income generation in more detail.  Finalised proposals will be considered by Camden’s District Management Committees at their joint meeting in January 2017 prior to the final decision by Cabinet Members.

 What is the format?

Following a scene setting session in the Chamber at 6.30pm, delegates will be directed towards their pre-selected workshops.  An agenda will be sent to delegates once registered.

 On booking delegates are asked to choose and will be able to attended up to two of the following workshops which will be for the duration of 40 minutes each:

 A. Income Generation

To offset the reduction in income in rents, to look at the possibility and desirability of raising additional income from HRA assets and services. The workshop will examine current ideas and look to generate new ideas for income generation.

B. Maintaining your homes

The Council’s in house repairs team and contractors provide a vital front-line service and deliver almost 100,000 repairs each year across the housing stock. Budget reductions will therefore have a big impact on the repairs service and the Council’s tenants and leaseholders. For example, should the Council spend less on empty properties to get them ready for letting or do fewer communal repairs that maintain the appearance of estates. Another option is to do less work through the day to day repairs service and batch repairs so they can be addressed later in one visit. Reviewing our service also provides an opportunity to make improvements, for example could we provide greater access to the repairs service through the Council’s website. We would like to hear your views, consider your priorities and look at the options available.

 C. Managing Tenancies

 This workshop will show you some case studies of how we have engaged with tenants over the lifetime of their tenancies, give you the opportunity to talk to us about what is important to you, and what would matter to you if we were reshaping the services that we provide as a landlord.

 How to book

 email tp@camden.gov.uk or phone 020 7974 4444  and ask for the Tenant Participation Service to book your place and register for up to two of the above workshops.

 You could additionally send us your list of delegates using the table below by reply.