Tenant Led Inspections Group

Tenant Led Inspections are a new form of tenant participation which has been developed elsewhere in Scotland. There is growing interest in developing Tenant Led Inspections here in Edinburgh, and Edinburgh Tenants Federation has just completed a pilot inspection.

What’s different about Tenant Led Inspections is that tenants decide which service they want to inspect, and secure the landlord’s cooperation in this. Teams of tenants then work as inspectors. They carry out an inspection and make a written report of their findings. Their assessment also makes recommendations to the landlord on how to improve the service.

The landlord then has to respond – in writing – to the recommendations the tenants have made saying which ones will be acted upon and why others will not. They set out a timetable for when the recommendations will be implemented. At a later date a check is made to ensure the recommendations have been implemented.

You don’t need to be a member of a tenants’ association to be a tenant inspector. You don’t need any specialist knowledge or qualifications, just an interest in finding out how things work in order to suggest improvements and a willingness to work in a small team.

In June 2008 two teams of tenant inspectors carried out pilot inspections of how repairs are reported to both Dunedin Canmore Housing Association and the City of Edinburgh Council. You can download their reports and recommendations here.

If you would like to be involved with this group contact Raymond Pringle in the Federation office or email him at raymond@edinburghtenants.org.uk