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The Scottish Housing Regulator recruits tenant assessors

The Scottish Housing Regulator today launched a recruitment campaign for volunteer tenant assessors. The Scottish Housing Regulator regulates and inspects Registered Social Landlords and the housing and homelessness functions of local authorities.

A panel of tenant assessors already work with the Regulator, on a voluntary basis, to bring a service user perspective to the inspection process. The recruitment campaign is aimed at expanding the panel. Tenant assessors work with inspection teams to review and comment on the services provided by social landlords. While the work is unpaid all expenses are reimbursed.

A tenant assessor can be involved in inspection work in a number of ways:
- talking to and gathering the views of tenants;
- shadowing landlords’ staff on estate and home visits;
- talking to staff and members of housing associations’ governing bodies; and
- reviewing and commenting on literature produced by landlords for tenants.

John Jenkins, an Inspection Manager at the Scottish Housing Regulator said “We aim to include at least one tenant assessor on each inspection we carry out and are looking to add to our current panel of tenant assessors. This is an excellent opportunity for tenants to get involved in influencing the quality of landlords’ services. We would particularly welcome applications from young people, tenants of local authorities and people from minority ethnic backgrounds as they are currently under represented on our present panel of tenant assessors.”

Closing date for applications is 30 January 2009. To find out more or obtain an application pack please contact:

• Diane McKiernan - (0141 305 4117,
* diane.mckiernan@scottishhousingregulator.gsi.gov.uk or
Carolynne Watson - ( 0141 305 4177,
* Carolynne.watson@scottishhousingregulator.gsi.gov.uk

Application packs are also available to download at:
http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/shr_roleoftenantassessors.hcsp#TopOfPage

NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS

1. Full details of about the tenant assessor panel can be found on the Scottish Housing Regulator website at:
http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/shr_roleoftenantassessors.hcsp#TopOfPage

2. The Scottish Housing Regulator came into operation on 1 April 2008. It is the successor to Communities Scotland’s Regulation & Inspection Division. As a government agency the Scottish Housing Regulator has complete operational independence, but will remain accountable to Scottish Ministers, and through them to the Scottish Parliament for the standard of its work. The agency sits within the Justice and Communities Directorate of the Scottish Government and will work within the government’s overall purpose and contribute to its strategic objectives.