Tenant & Resident Associations
Tenant and Resident Association (TRA)
It is a group of individual residents, voted democratically in
by the residents of an estate/street to represent their views to
the Council and Ascham Homes.
TRA’s speak as one strong voice and can
influence the services that are delivered to them and ensure that
the Council and Ascham Homes delivers its promises. By
setting-up a TRA the residents:
- Make their views known to Ascham
Homes
- Promote a sense of community and improve
well being on your estate
- Improve residents living conditions /
facilities through Decent Homes and Major Repairs Allowance (MRA)
initiatives
- Reduce anti-social behaviour and build a
strong, safer community
Setting up a tenants & residents
association (TRA) for short is the best approach if:
- There is a group of individual tenants prepared to contribute
their time voluntarily to developing the group and can attend
meetings on behalf of the estate/area.
- Tenants prefer to make their views and opinions known to Ascham
Homes or the Council as a collective group rather than
individually.
The main benefits
include:
- Tenants making decisions as a group about
what's best for the estate at their own meetings and then telling
their elected Association Committee members to make representation
of these views to Ascham Homes or the Council on their behalf.
- Executive Committee members can use their
vote on the behalf of their estate to veto policy decisions that
will impact badly on the estate.
- Opportunities to invite Ascham Homes / LBWF
staff, councillors, the police etc to your local TRA meetings to
answer questions & give updates
- Tenants on the estate can help contribute to
community cohesion through the Association by helping to organise
events and fund raising activities that benefit the estate as a
whole.
- Tenants through the Association can access
and request training to help them improve their skills and
knowledge about policies and decision making to become more
effective and get more involved with Ascham Homes.
Key duties of elected committee
members:
- Chair – Overseas the association, chairs
meetings, acts as a representative at external meetings
- Vice Chair – Supports & stands in for the
Chair where necessary
- Secretary – Keeps everyone informed on the
activities of the TRA, organises meetings, takes Minutes,
deals with TRA paperwork
- Treasurer – Looks after the finances, keeps a
record where the money is spent, keeping receipts and invoices
Available help:
- A start up grant of £250.00 for stationary, publicity, postage,
hall hire, refreshments, fares to meetings
- A discretionary cohesion grant funding to enable you to hold
activities / events in your area up to £700.00
- Free training opportunities
- Free photocopying at the Tenants Resource Centre
- Provide annual insurance cover to the Association
- Your Assistant Community Development Officer will be there to
offer you help and support at all times
If after considering the above you still would
like to set up a TRA, then you will need to nominate between 3 to 4
people to form a committee to work with Resident Involvement
Team.
Please contact them on 0208 496 4038 /
4934 or email Resident.Involvement@aschamhomes.org.uk
Setting Up & Running an Effective TRA
booklet
This booklet is a good practice involvement guide for residents,
covering what a Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) is through
to useful information on getting started as an association.
The purpose of this guide is to increase your understanding of
resident involvement and to help you choose an approach that best
suits your estate and the needs of its tenants.
Booklet - Setting Up & Running an Effective
TRA
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