New Tenant Panel To Scrutinise Housing Services

North Belfast tenants are to be offered a greater say in the future of their neighbourhoods through new tenant led housing scrutiny panel.

Tenant Scrutiny Panels are being set up across Northern Ireland, as part of our Community Involvement Strategy, to give our tenants a voice to ensure that local offices are delivering the housing services they feel are important and to the standard they want and have a right to expect.

Tenant scrutiny is based on the principle that the views and priorities of tenants should be at the heart of the Housing Executive's framework for directing, assessing, monitoring and modifying its activities.


The North Belfast Scrutiny Panel consists of six tenants and community representatives selected by the Housing Community Network. Initially their role will be to define what they feel constitutes a "good" or "excellent" customer service, then over the coming year they will scrutinise current housing services in North Belfast, starting with empty properties and re-let times, to ensure that they meet an agreed standard.

Members of the Scrutiny Panel, which will meet on a bi-monthly basis, have said they are looking forward to the year ahead as chairperson Kieran O'Reilly explained: "As a member of the North Belfast Housing Community Network I was personally delighted to hear that the role tenants have in the targeting and provision of housing services is being expanded.

"Through the Scrutiny Panel tenants will have an even greater say in ensuring that the services being delivered in North Belfast are the services they really want as well as an opportunity to constructively challenge the Housing Executive, where necessary, to ensure that agreed standards are met."

(CD/JP)