FAQs

Getting involved with our housing engagement activities is a great way to learn more about the Housing and Property Service, meet new people and use your voice to make a difference and influence future services. 

You will work alongside other tenants to help improve the service for all our tenants, getting an inside view of how our service operates. 

It is important to us that we always let participants know the impact of their involvement and what happened to the feedback they gave us. We publicise the results of our engagement activities – what tenants told us, what we did with that feedback and the improvements that leads to. 

We never take for granted the fact that tenants give up their free time to work with us on a voluntary basis. By taking part, you will develop skills that are transferable for your work or home life, which you can add to your CV or any future job or training course application. You will be involved in reviewing written information, taking part in group discussions and asking questions of the service’s senior managers at meetings or focus groups. This may seem daunting at first, but we work hard to make sure everyone feels comfortable and able to join in. We have seen many of our tenants develop self-confidence by speaking in front of a group and asking us challenging questions!

Any North Tyneside Council tenant or leaseholder. Occasionally, we may invite other residents or representatives from local organisations or voluntary and community groups with relevant knowledge or expertise too.

Many of our engagement activities are open for people to take part in, however there are some activities where we will not involve:

• Current or former tenants or leaseholders who have breached their Tenancy Agreement/terms of their lease
• Anyone who we are aware of having caused anti-social behaviour
• Anyone who we are aware of having been charged with an offence
• Anyone who has attended one of our events or activities and acted inappropriately, used abusive language or caused offence

If we become aware of any such issues relating to an involved tenant or leaseholder, we will let that person know that they can no longer be involved and the reason for our decision.  

North Tyneside Council’s Housing and Property Service recognises the significant positive contribution that tenant volunteers make to improving our service for all tenants. 

A range of support is available to make our in-person meetings and events accessible to any tenant who is taking part. 

Accessibility

Through engagement, we will build positive relationships with residents and communities.

Well-planned and inclusive engagement activities will ensure fair and equitable representation of residents, communities, and groups, which will help create equality of opportunities across services. 

Engagement activities also present an opportunity for different voices to be heard and hear each other, increasing understanding and collaboration. 

Our in-person engagement activities are held at venues which are accessible to those with a range of disabilities and have public transport links nearby, or we can provide taxi transport if applicable. We can provide written materials in alternative formats and can provide interpreters.

Please let us know in advance of any support we can provide to help you take part.

Travel

We are happy to reimburse reasonable travel expenses. Public transport is our preferred method of transport as the most economical and environmentally friendly way to travel and we can reimburse your fares (you will need to provide a ticket or receipt). 

Please let us know before the activity if you would like to claim for your travel expenses. If you use your own vehicle, we will reimburse you at the standard rate per mile as advised by HMRC (currently 45p per mile for a car or van). You must have a valid driving licence and your vehicle must be roadworthy with valid tax, insurance and MOT certificate. Car parking fees, if applicable, can also be reimbursed with a valid ticket or receipt.

If you do not have access to a car and are unable to use public transport, for example due to a disability or if public transport is not available or practical at the time of the activity, we can arrange a taxi for you and cover the cost. Please notify us at least three working days in advance. We will ask you to provide a reason for requiring a taxi and you may be required to share the vehicle with someone else taking part in the same activity.