Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation

BELLE ISLE TENANT MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION

 Looking at the history

• In 1991, the tenants and residents of the north area of Belle Isle set up an Estate Management Board (E.M.B.) to give them the power to manage that part of Belle Isle under a voluntary management agreement with Leeds City Council.


• Whilst the north part of the estate benefited with investment from the Estate Action programme, the south remained largely unimproved, requiring a programme of work in order to meet the Decent Homes Standard

The Birth of B.I.G

• In September 2001 a Feasibility Study was carried out to see if a Tenant Management Organisation for the whole of the Belle Isle Estate was feasible.  


• RTM notice was served on the Council


• This notice was served by an estate wide tenant and resident group called Belle Isle Group (BIG)

Looking At The History

• The Belle Isle Group commenced with the Right to Manage process, working with a section 16 agent and undergoing a rigorous training programme


• In September 2004, a ballot of tenants from the whole of the estate was conducted with an overall turnout of 58% of which 94% voted yes to tenant Management


• Consequently the unification of the estate was finally achieved in October 2004


• An option study was carried out in 2000/01 to look at extending tenant  management to cover the whole of the estate


• The Options study looked at 3 proposals

1 .Stay as you are

2. Form a T.M.O for Belle Isle South

3. Form one large T.M.O for the whole of Belle Isle

 FOLLOWING AN ESTATE WIDE BALLOT, TENANTS  VOTED IN FAVOUR OF ONE LARGE T.M.O

After the Ballot

 Staff from the EMB and the North and South Housing offices relocated into the newly refurbished Aberfield Gate.

There are currently 37 members of staff and 29 of these were tupe’d over from Leeds City Council and directly employed by BITMO from October 2004

At Present

• B.I.T.M.O Ltd is a company registered with the FSA as an Industrial and Provident society. 


• This offers tenants the opportunity to become a shareholder of the company.


• B.I.T.M.O is now the largest TMO outside of London, serving around 2000 tenants and employing 37 staff

The Way Things Are Done Around Here

• There are 3 committee meetings that cover all areas of the organisation


• Sub committees meet bi monthly


• Board members have the opportunity to decide which meetings they attend


• Relevant staff and representatives from other agencies attend the meetings


• Minutes of all meetings are presented to Full Board and recorded for future reference


• Board Members Make The Final Decision


• Examples of decisions that have been agreed by the Board before consultation with Leeds South Homes, that have had a huge positive impact on tenants in Belle Isle:


• The decision to include bathrooms in the Improvement Programme in Belle Isle (other areas have not included it in theirs)


• The decision to change baths, sinks, taps and overall layout of kitchens i.e. extra units

Expansion of the Service

• 37 members of staff are now employed by B.I.T.M.O


• 4 Sheltered Wardens transferred on 1st April 2006 •Extension of Caretaking service


• Finance Manager employed 2005


• Expansion of Admin Team


• Restructure of whole staff team April 2005

Who Do We Work With?

• Leeds City Council remain the Landlord and we obtain various services e.g wages and finance through SLA’s (Service Level Agreements)


• Our repairs service is contracted to Blackies


• Aire Valley Homes ALMO hold the Capital Programme


• First Business, for legal advice and Health & Safety guidance and procedures


• We also work with departments within Leeds City Council I.E Legal Services and Choice Based Lettings, probation services and Social Services.

Response

• We are the biggest TMO outside London


• We are always happy to welcome visitors hoping to learn from our experiences.


• Other TMO’s visit and gain knowledge from our experiences


• B.I.T.M.O. Board & staff visit other organisations to gain an insight into how they operate so that we can look at ways of further improving our services

Future Challenges

• One of the former Housing Offices has been turned back into housing •


• The second Housing office has provided an outlet for  Leeds Credit Union and a community room that will act as a good resource for Board members, enabling them to have a greater interaction with the community

At Present

• We are currently reviewing our Modular Management Agreement with Strategic Landlord (LCC) which coincides with the ‘New Right To Manage Agreement’