One Vision Housing (OVH) has become the first social landlord in Merseyside to be endorsed by TPAS - the national tenant participation organisation.
The TPAS accreditation recognises OVH's commitment to tenant involvement and meeting the high standards set by TPAS, whose aim is to extend the reach and quality of tenant influence by working with social housing residents and landlords to develop successful partnerships with residents.
Michelle Reid, TPAS Chief Executive, awarded the accreditation to OVH at a special celebration event at head office. She praised the immense amount of hard work by tenants, staff and partners to achieve the accreditation.
In making the award, she said:
"Just like One Vision Housing, TPAS are extremely proud of our reputation, and as such only award our accreditation to real quality.
"My first snap shot of OVH was that they are an organisation with a huge amount of energy who really know their tenants and what they want. I'm delighted to welcome them into the TPAS accreditation family."
Eradicating illegal money lending from local communities will only happen if partners work together to take a holistic approach, if the credit vacuum is filled and if agencies are prepared to ring fence funding - according to experts at an Illegal Money Lending Seminar organised by the Housing e-Academy.
Representatives from tenants groups and RSLs across the North posed questions to experts from Accent Group Ltd and Birmingham City Council.
Chloe Weatherhead, Housing e-Academy Manager, said:
"Delegates came away with a better understanding of the issues and with ideas on how best to tackle them.
"Some victims of illegal money lenders have alcohol, drug or other problems that excaserbate the need for credit.
"Around half have defaulted on legal credit agreements in the past and so are deemed high risk by high street lenders.
"This is a complicated issue which often requires a multi agency approach.
"As well as providing support to an individual’s specific problem, it is vital that any credit vacuum is filled with some form of legal financial credit such as a credit union and so financial inclusion strategies are vital."
Deterrent and enforcement strategies from money lending teams operated by local authorities have also worked well and Birmingham City Council shared its success stories.
