Members of the Hammersmith & Fulham Commission on Council Housing with chair Rt Hon Keith Hill (centre)
Six tenants, three leaseholders and three independent experts have been selected to lead the borough’s new Residents’ Commission on Council Housing.
The members of the Commission were named last month by its independent chair, former housing minister the Right Honourable Keith Hill.
The Commission will work with Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s tenants and leaseholders to explore how they can be given more control and safeguards over their homes, rents and service charges. Its proposals will then be put to a ballot.
H&F Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Lisa Homan, said: “We are committed to devolving more control to residents and to protect residents and their homes and estates for the future. We will do so in a way that ensures that tenants and leaseholders are fully involved in an accountable and transparent process.”
The six tenants are: Shirley Cupit, Paul Ekudo, Sofia Saraiva, Kim Shearer, Anthony Wood and Lorna Wynter.
The three leaseholders are: Mathias Kulubya, John Ghazi Quick and Andy Robson.
The three independent experts are: Peter Bevington, Joanne Drew and Anthony Mason.
Dates of all of the Commission’s public hearings are also online, along with a full resource centre of information and background into the process. The first public hearing is next week (May 14) and will be held at Hammersmith Town Hall.
The Residents’ Commission on Council Housing members have access to expert independent advice as they seek to develop the best options for the future of social housing in the borough. It will be their recommendations that will then be put to a vote of eligible council house residents, if any decision to transfer the ownership of council homes is reached.
The Commission will look at how to:
- Safeguard Council homes and estates for the future
- Give power to residents to take local control over their homes
- Protect tenant rights and keep rents and charges residents can afford
- Fund improvements to homes and housing services
“As a Londoner for 40 years, I understand why it is so important to residents that they are at the centre of this project,” Keith said.
“After their family, homes are the most important thing to people. So everything we do on this project will be in order to protect the position of people who live in Hammersmith & Fulham.
“To vest ownership of the future of estates in residents themselves is a bold idea. It needs a sensible and practical solution which provides residents with the kind of future security that they desire.”
Who is Keith Hill?
Keith was the MP for Streatham for 20 years. As housing minister, he spearheaded the Decent Homes Programme. He currently chairs the regulatory panel for the Association of Residential Managing Agents.
What is the Residents’ Commission on Council Housing?
Local tenants and leaseholders are being offered the opportunity to take more control of their local council homes.
The Residents’ Housing Commission will assess the wide range of options available to give residents more control over their homes. It will run its own consultation and there will be a ballot before the council makes any decisions on transferring any of its homes.
Meanwhile, H&F Council launched a pioneering online consultation last December to seek views on how residents living in the borough’s 12,500 council homes and 4,600 leasehold properties could have more say over how their homes were run. The result is a pioneering new housing strategy, which will reflect the views of residents from across the borough on how the council can shape the future of housing in H&F, from creating more affordable housing to protecting private tenants in the local rental market.
Anyone wishing to give evidence to the Residents’ Housing Commission should email: keith.hill@hf-residents-commission.org.uk.
