Tenants and residents associations

You can have your say on housing issues in Denbighshire by joining a tenants and residents association.

What do tenants and residents associations do?

Tenants and residents associations are groups of local residents and council tenants, who provide help and advice on housing and community matters in their area. They work together to look after the interests of residents on matters about housing, the environment and community life.

We consult with tenants and residents associations on issues that are likely to affect you, such as major changes to housing policy or substantial changes that directly affect your property.

Denbighshire Tenants and Residents Federation (DTARF)

The Denbighshire Tenants and Residents Federation (DTARF) is an organisation that brings together all the tenants and residents associations across the county. It can also give you help and support to set up a new association in your area.

How do I get involved?

The best way to get involved is by going along to a meeting of your local tenants and residents association. Contact your local association to find out when and where meetings are held:

If you would like more information on the Resident Associations or to book one of our Resource Centre’s then please contact Denbighshire Housing (external website) or call 01824 706000 and ask for the Community Development Team.

If your area doesn’t have a tenants and residents association already, you can set up a new one. There are five steps to creating a new group:

• You must open your membership to all tenants and residents within your defined area. 
• You must hold an open meeting and have a democratic process for electing a committee to run the organisation with a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. 
• You must keep appropriate financial records which can be inspected if needed. 
• You must vote in a constitution which will determine how your association will be run. We can provide a model constitution to help you. 
• You must invite a designated council officer to a meeting to confirm all the above.

There are a number of other ways you can have your say on housing matters, including: 

• Environmental Improvements sub-group: monitor and prioritise the Welsh Housing Quality Standards environmental improvements programme. 
• Improvements sub-group: monitor and review the refurbishment programme on our housing stock, including selecting contractors.
• Mystery shoppers: make sure we are providing good customer service by phoning any part of our department and surveying our services.
• Policy and Performance group: look at new policies and review existing ones to improve the performance of the housing team.
• Repairs sub-group: monitor and review the services provided by the repairs team.
• Resident forums: forums where we can discuss issues with local residents
• Sheltered Housing sub-group: monitor and review the services provided by the sheltered housing team.
• Tenant inspectors: shadow council officers and analyse the services we provide.

For more details on these and any other ways you can get involved, contact us.