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Alison Inman, the former president of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), has been appointed chair of tenant engagement organisation Tpas amid a strengthening of its board.
Ms Inman, who was president of the CIH between 2017 and 2018 and is a high-profile figure in the sector, has taken up the role, having already been on Tpas’s board.
She replaces John Giesen, who has stepped down after eight years in the job.
Ms Inman, who also sits on the board of Saffron Housing Trust, is due to serve a three-year term as Tpas chair.
Tpas describes itself as “dedicated to improving tenant engagement standards across the country” through bringing tenants and landlords together.
The organisation works with tenant groups, housing associations and councils.
Ms Inman, who also co-founded SHOUT, the social housing campaign group, said: “Like all of us here at Tpas, I am a firm believer that when the voice of the tenant is heard, social housing works better.
“This has been one of my values for many years and I’ll continue to be a vocal champion of tenant involvement as I take on this role.”
The Regulator of Social Housing is taking on more post-Grenfell powers aimed at ensuring landlords are listening to their tenants and acting on their concerns.
Tpas has also appointed four new board members, it announced last week. These include Claire Wright, who is Flagship Housing’s digital and customer experience director; Amy Smith, partnership director at construction firm Wates; Billy Brown, a tenant of Southern Housing; and David Hampton, a tenant of Manchester-based Southway Housing Trust.
In February, a social housing tenant and Tpas associate launched a research project to make landlords more representative of their diverse communities.
Kai Jackson’s project is sponsored by Tpas, with academic support from the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence.
The research, Diverse Voices: Transforming Tenant Influence in Social Housing, seeks to create more opportunities for tenants to shape the policies and practices that affect their communities.
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