Setting Up A Tenants and Residents Association
Contents
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Why start a Residents and Tenants Association
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Basic Principles
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What are the rewards
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Running a Tenants and Residents Association
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The Constitution
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The Committee
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The Committee as a group of people
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Officers of the Committee
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The Chairperson
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The Secretary
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The Treasurer
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The Meetings
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The Agenda
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Good Chairing
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Involvement
Why Start a Tenants and Residents Association
To campaign for something (such as a better repair service, better play facilities, cleaner environment etc).
To campaign against something (for example the closure of a local facility, the effects of new housing laws).
To create a better relationship between tenants, their landlords, Councillors and other service providers.
To increase the sense of belonging in the area.
Basic Principles
Work out what you want to do (and what you think you can achieve).
Work on issues that can unite the community.
Involve other people in all decisions as far as practicable.
Work out how you will keep people informed about what is happening.
Do no take on too much or aim too high.
Share out jobs and responsibilities around as many people as possible.
Show enthusiasm and commitment - it is infectious!
What are the Rewards
Setting up and running a Tenants and Residents Association can be hard work but the rewards can be very good. People who have dont it will tell you about:
Meeting neighbours, making friends where previously they felt isolated.
A feeling of being needed and useful to other people.
A sense of purpose when they find long term goals to work for.
A sense of belonging that comes from working with other people.
A sense of achievement and pride when their community is improved as a result of the TARA's work.
Running a Tenants and Residents Association
There are no particular rules on how a TARA should be run but you will have to make some decisions on how to organise yourselves to ensure that your group works effectively and fairly.
Questions to be Asked
The Constitution Do we need one? What should our rules be?
The Committee Do we need one? How many people do we need? What are their jobs?
The Meeting How often should we meet? How should we run our meetings?
What about public meetings?
Involvement How can we make sure people get and stay involved?
The Constitution
In order for your group to be taken seriously by both the tenants and the Council, you will need a Constitution.
A Constitution will help to clarify:
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Who you represent
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What your group is about
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How your group is run
The Constitution is the basis of your organisation and should be set out for all to see. The Constitution will need to include:
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The name of the group
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The aims of the group
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The rules of the group generally
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Safeguards to make sure the group is run in a democratic and fair way
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Rules on membership
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Rules on how any monies belonging to the group will be managed
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Rules for changing the constitution in the future
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Details on how the group will be managed, i.e. the formation of a Committee and what the role of Committee Members will be
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Details of how the Committee will communicate with the wider membership
The Committee
The Committee is elected by the members to carry out the work of the organisation.
The Committee organises general meetings of all the members and the Annual General Meeting.
The Committee must carry out the decisions made at these meetings.
The Committee will also need to make decisions where general members are not present. In these cases these decisions should be reported back to the members.
There are no set ways of organising a Committee but there are working practices that are useful.
Try to make sure the Committee represents all the people in the Association - men, women, old, young, black, white, disabled, residents, tenants etc.
The Committee as a Group of People
A Committee is a group of people working together towards a common goal. It is a a team of people with a mixture of skills.
Differences of opinion are natural and necessary to make the goup think about what it is doing. The best approach is to accept that conflicts will occur and try to face them as soon as they emerge. There are people on committees who do not seem to be doing or saying much, this may be because they do not have the information they need, or simply lack of confidence. Information and encouragement is what they need. Always try to use people's strengths rather than criticise their weaknesses. Remember that everyone has something to offer.
A well behaved Committee member :
Attends meetings regularly and arrives on time
Makes useful suggestions at meetings
Keeps comments short and to the point
Listens to others and does not interrupt
Support others, helping people without taking over
Does what he/she says they will do
Abides by the group's decisions
A badly behaved Committee member:
Often misses meetings
Is often late at meetings
Is disruptive or aggressive at meetings
Does not listen to others
Does not do what he/she promises
Does not let others speak
Keeps information to him/herself
Does not let others do anything
Makes other people feel useless
Officers of the Committee
The main positions in all committees are:
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The Chairperson
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The Secretary
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The Treasurer
You may want to have other 'named' officers. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve and who can do what.
Other officers you may choose to have are:
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A Vice-Chairperson - who will deputise in the absence of the Chairperson
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A Minute Secretary - to take notes at meetings, relieving the Secretary who can concentrate on correspondence and preparation of agendas etc
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A Fundraiser - to organise fundraising events
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A Social Secretary - to organise social activities.
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A Publicity Officer - responsible for producing the groups newsletters
There will always be other jobs to be done by general committee members e.g. distribution of newsletters and notices, attending meetings with the landlord, concluding surveys etc.
The Chairperson
There are two basic jobs the Chairperson should do:
Outside of meetings he/she should:
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Be aware of all the activities carried out by the Association
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Ensure other offices (and general Committee members) are carrying out their tasks
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Prepare agendas for the meetings (with the Secretary)
In meetings he/she should:
Remember - The Chairperson is the officer who makes sure things get done - not the person who does everything! Above all he/she is responsible for the smooth and fair running of the organisation.
The Secretary
The Secretary's main duties include:
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Taking minutes at meetings, that means taking a written record of decisions made (some groups share the tasks of minute taking between several members)
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Letting people know when and where the next meeting is and what it is about
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Helping the Chairperson to prepare agendas for meetings
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Writing and receive letters on behalf of the association
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Keeping members informed of what correspondence has been sent out and received
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Keeping a record of membership, important phone numbers etc.
The Secretary's job is to keep people informed so they feel involved in what the group does and are able to join in. Minutes are one of the most important aspects of the job and often the most daunting. Take notes at the meeting, draft minutes as soon after the meeting as possible. Check them with the Chairperson then write them up properly. Some groups have a special minutes book for this purpose.
Minutes should NOT be a record of everything said at a meeting - just a record of the items discussed, the main arguments for or against, the decision taken, the action proposed and a record of who is responsible for taking that action. Minutes should NOT reflect the Secretary's personal feelings.
Minutes should :
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State the name of the group, date, time and place of the meeting
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Include a list of who was present and the names of anyone who sent apologies for absence
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Follow the agenda
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Be clear, short and easy to read and understand
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Include all decisions made and the key arguments leading to the decision
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Have an action column stating who is reponsible for carrying out decisions made
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State date, time and place of next meeting
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Be written up and sent to all Committee members as soon as possible after the meeting (Some groups send minutes of all meetings to the full membership)
The Secretary should also keep a full set of minutes for future reference.
The Treasurer
The Treasurer is the person with overall responsibility for the associations finances. The amount of work varies according to the size of the association and the amount of money the group has and spends, but the principles and duties are the same.
The Treasurer should:
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Open a bank account
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Pay money received into the bank, keeping a record of money received and issue receipts
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Pay bills and keep a record of money spent
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Keep an account book of all money going in and out of the organisation
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Prepare statements for the Committee and for the Annual General Meeting
It is particularly important that all members should know how much money the association has, how money is spent and where it comes from. This information helps the group make informed decisions about what it can spend and how much money is needed. Some Treasurer's fall into the trap of acting as if the group's money is their own - IT IS NOT! The Tresurer keeps accounts, advises and keeps people informed of the financial situation. The Committee makes the decisions on spending the money.
The Meetings
If you are an association, you are going to be organising and running meetings. It is important to get it right, whether it is a Committee meeting, a public meeting or an AGM the principles are the same. Meetings are for passing on information, discussing issues and making decisions.
The sussess of any meeting depends on:
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A clear agenda (that means knowing what you are there for)
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Good chairing (someone making sure the agenda is followed, decisions are made and a good atmosphere is maintained)
Meetings CAN and SHOULD be interesting!
People should feel comfortable :
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Knowing who the other people are can help
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Make sure people introduce themselves
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Rows of chairs can be too formal
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When people sit in a circle the atmosphere is more relaxed
The Agenda
The agenda must be logical, quick items should be dealt with first, with items needing discussion and decision making later. When planning the agenda think about timescales and the importance of each item. 'Matters arising' should not take too long - it should only be for points of information. The smooth running of a meeting depends on planning.
Here is an example of how you might prepare an agenda:
Welcome and Apologies 7.30
Minutes of last meeting 7.35
Matters arising 7.40
Treasurer's report/correspondence (if necessary) 7.45
1st Agenda Item 7.50
2nd Agenda Item 8.10
3rd Agenda Item 8.30
Any Other Business 8.50
Date and Time of Next Meeting 8.55
Including timescales in an agenda can help people to keep to the agenda. It is up to the Chair to stick to the timescales or to get everyone's agreement if they are to be changed. However, usually if an agreement cannot be reached after about 20 minutes debating, it is likely that no amount of debating will resolve this. Either the options need to be voted on or more information gathered in order to assist people in making a decision at a later date.
Good Chairing
Good chairing is often the key to making meetings work. The Chairperson has a variety of roles.
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To introduce and summarise the purpose of the meeting
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To introduce each agenda item giving the necessary background information
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To summarise the points made in the discussions and encourage decision making
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To stop people from taking far too long or going off the point
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To make sure everyone at the meeting gets a chance to participate
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To be positive and help the group find solutions
The main aim is to ensure the meeting achieves what it sets out to achieve in as fair and friendly a way as possible. Bad meetings are a sign of a poor organisation.
Here is a useful checklist for checking whether your meetings are working well:
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Do your meetings start on time? YES / NO
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Do most people attend? YES / NO
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Do you discuss items on the agenda? YES / NO
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Do you discuss items no on the agenda? YES / NO
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Do you make decisions on items? YES / NO
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Do you finish on time? YES / NO
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Are issues properly prepared and reported on? YES / NO
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Do a few people dominate? YES / NO
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Does everyone get a chance to speak? YES / NO
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Do people behave properly towards each other? YES / NO
No group is perfect but you can try. There are a number of benefits, better attendance, more involvement, a more effective group and more enjoyment.
Involvement
People are the most important resource your group has.
The biggest task is to get and keep people involved. This does not happen by chance. You do not want your group to be a clique or a one-man band. Here are some ways to avoid these problems:
Define your aims:
Make sure the group is clear on what it is trying to do. You will need long term and shorter term aims. The short term aims should have a good chance of success. In this way you can report regularly on your achievements.
People will see the point of staying involved if they know what they are working towards and can see some progress and results.
Share tasks
Jobs needed in order to run the association are best shared. If too few people are doing all the work they will soon get fed up and other people will feel excluded and unimportant. Sharing workloads and responsibility is a way of preventing members from getting discouraged and ensuring all members feel involved. It also means your group gets more done and is more successful.
Keep in touch:
If people are to feel involved and encouraged to contribute they must know what the group is doing and what decisions it has made. Send out regular newletters and leaflets and generally let people know what is going on.
They may not attend regularly but as long as they feel part of the group they may at some stage offer support.
Remember
Just because a person does not come to meetings does not mean they are not interested - maybe they don't want to come out at night, cannot get a sitter, work late in the evenings, or perhaps have been unable to read or understand your leaflets/notices.
If you keep in touch with people you will find out about these things and be able to organise in a way that involves more people.
Have some fun!
Try to make your group enjoyable - being a Tenants and Residents Association is hard work. But it is possible to set some satisfaction from the social side of working together with people. Even if you just break for tea/coffee during your meetings, you are creating a friendly atmosphere where people can chat and get to know each other. No one will stay in a group for long if they have no friends and never have a good time. They will soon find something else to do.