We know the importance of living in a safe and secure environment and how this enables people to flourish. This can be achieved by colleagues and residents working together in partnership.

Our resident governance structure is designed to strengthen resident voices and increase accountability.

It's made up of several groups, with more than 100 members, and covers a wide range of topics - from picking contractors to our policies, and day-to-day services. 

The residents across our governance structure work with senior colleagues to identify what’s working well and where we can make improvements. They have the opportunity to influence decisions that affect them, their home, and their local community. 

Resident Governance Members drive the panels to be effective and have a positive impact on services. They attend quarterly meetings and aim to:

  • constructively scrutinise
  • challenge poor performance
  • contribute new ideas
  • influence service delivery.

The resident governance structure was designed by residents and links directly into our Board. It ensures residents’ voices are heard at every level of our organisation. 

Resident Governance Structure

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FAQs

We've tried to answer all your questions about resident governance here. If you're unable to find what you're looking for, please get in touch. 

As an involved resident, you'll be expected to:

  • Share your resident perspective on key issues
  • Review information given to you in reports or via email
  • Attend meetings regularly (they’re usually quarterly)
  • Actively participate at meetings, with the aim to scrutinise, question and influence service delivery
  • Work closely with fellow members and key colleagues.
See our full role profile

We’re looking for residents with the following skills (we’ll help you develop them too):

  • Clear communication
  • Naturally inquisitive
  • Good questioning skills
  • Work as part of a team with variety of stakeholders
  • Represent the views of others
  • Ability to weigh up issues and make a balanced judgement
  • Analyse written information.

Importantly, we’re looking for someone who can communicate constructively and objectively as part of a team, who knows about issues affecting fellow residents, and who wants to make a difference.

It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been part of a panel or committee before. We’ll support with you with a tailored induction and training programme

There are lots of benefits to being involved, including

  • Making a difference for you and your fellow residents!
  • Developing your skills, knowledge, experience and confidence
  • Gaining an understanding of the housing sector and your community
  • Meeting like-minded people, who want to make a difference
  • Ongoing training and development – great for your CV or profile
  • Access to a range of useful resources, including TPAS membership (involvement specialists) and Inside Housing (housing sector news).

Resident Governance members can claim an incentive for participating in meetings. These incentives will be paid quarterly in arrears. Residents who do not wish to receive an incentive can decline payment or opt to receive a personal development opportunity of equivalent value.


Involved residents are responsible for declaring work (including voluntary) to the Department of Work and Pensions if claiming welfare benefits

To be eligible for membership, you must:

  • Be a Southern Housing resident living in general needs, supported housing, independent living, care home, shared ownership, or a leasehold property (formerly Optivo or Southern Housing Group now known as Southern Housing)
  • Be aged 18 years of older
  • Be named on a Southern Housing tenancy or lease
  • Not be an employee of Southern Housing
  • Not currently be in legal action with Southern Housing.

Meetings usually happen quarterly and we hold them at times suitable for you. This is often in the evenings so it fits in around work. We also hold them online so you don't need to travel.  

A resident can be a member of up to two panels in the structure. We also have a Resident Strategy Group and Resident Scrutiny Panel - members of these groups can only take part in one panel.  

Equality, diversity and inclusion

 

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do. We aim to create an exceptional environment where everyone feels included and can be themselves.

We want to do more than just pay lip service to increasing the diversity. Inclusion and diversity is a fundamental part of our values and our culture. We value difference and the contributions of all, we embrace diversity, knowing it makes us stronger and more successful and we aim to embed inclusion into our everyday ways of working.

We’ll continue our focus on inclusion to ensure we’re best represented by the communities we serve. We’ll provide opportunities for all residents to develop and thrive. We want residents to feel Southern Housing is somewhere they belong and can be their best self.

Policies and terms of reference documents