Lewisham Homes and Lewisham Council support Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) where there is interest from tenants and residents.
The Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations allow residents to take over the management of their homes from the local authority.
TMOs can choose to take all or part of the management functions such as caretaking, rent collection, repairs etc. and receive management and maintenance allowances for the services it provides.
Tenant Management is inevitably more expensive than management by a housing provider although this is supported by the belief that it is a more responsive and better quality method of delivering the service, which leads to greater levels of resident satisfaction.
The higher expenses are as a result of economies of scale (because TMOs generally look after a smaller stock level), higher staffing levels and enhanced allowances to provide committee training and servicing.
Lewisham Homes currently monitors two TMOs: Ewart Road in Forest Hill and Fiveways on the Milton Court Estate.
If you are interested in setting up a TMO, contact the Strategic Housing Team at Lewisham Council on 020 8314 6057 or email genevieve.macklin@lewisham.gov.uk.
You may also be interested in reading “Residents’ choice”, which gives guidance on tenant management and other options supported through the Tenant Empowerment Programme.