About usOur historyWe have championed tenant engagement since 1988. |
Our journey
Tenants Charter
In the 1970’s tenants in Britain were campaigning for legal rights, especially for security of tenure and consultation. Tenants’ groups began to join together. The National Tenants Organisation (NTO) was formed and the NTO launched its own “Tenants Charter”.
In 1980, The Government introduced the Housing Act in England and Wales. The Act did not apply to Scotland and so tenants in Scotland had no statutory legal rights to consultation. Scotland had a very active Scottish Tenants Organisation and with the help of the Scottish Consumer Council, housing workers, academics, Shelter and other organisations, a plan was put together to try and support and encourage greater tenant involvement. The first Tenant Participation Advisory Service was set up in Scotland in 1981.
British Housing
In 1985, an “Inquiry into British Housing” was launched, chaired by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
The report emphasised the need to involve tenants in all aspects of housing management, the need to support and encourage the development of tenants’ associations and to provide resources to help tenants. The Inquiry praised the work of Tpas in Scotland and recommended setting up a similar service for England and Wales on a regional basis.
Launch of Tpas for England and Wales
In November 1985, the National Consumer Council took up the Inquiry’s recommendation about support for tenants and the idea of a Tpas (and a Tenants Information Service) and set up a consultative conference for Tenants Organisations from all over Britain to discuss the ideas. A steering group was formed.
In 1988, success was achieved and Tpas was launched as an independent advisory service for both tenants and landlords. The aim was to have a membership organisation run by equal numbers of tenants and landlord representatives, with funding from subscription and consultancies to match the Government funding.
Tpas began as a small office in Salford and moved to Old Trafford in 2002. A decision was then made to close the offices to enable everyone to work from home, which they do to this present day.
Tpas Today
Tpas has over 340 landlord members, giving tenants the opportunity to engage with all our events, training, consultancy products and more. We also have over 60 contractor members and continue to increase those numbers.
We deliver training, consultancy, advice and events to housing staff and residents and contribute to emerging policy, and consultations. We are England’s leading tenant engagement experts and regarded as an important stakeholder for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Homes England, The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), The Housing Ombudsman, The Regulator for Social Housing, The National Housing Federation, and more.
Our mission is to ensure “When the voices of tenants are heard, social housing works better”.
Tpas is committed to building strong communities through effective tenant and resident engagement. We work to ensure tenants, residents, landlords and contractors have access to good quality information, advice, research, networking opportunities, and training to allow them to play an integral role in their homes and communities.
Tpas Distinctive Values
Our mission is our starting point, and people are at the heart of what we do. We exist to promote tenant empowerment and engagement, make a difference to people’s lives and add value and purpose.
Tpas exists to promote, support and champion tenant involvement and empowerment in social housing across England.