Stirling Council is working in partnership with tenants to develop its housing service into one of the best in the sector.

Council tenants have praised the local authority for the allocation process and condition of their new home as part of the ‘Tenants Talking to Tenants’ telephone survey.

The survey was undertaken by the Stirling Tenants Assembly (STA), a Registered Tenant Organisation which the council consults with on housing services. The findings will feed into a wider service review.

Survey results found that 73% of tenants were satisfied with the overall allocation process, while 71% of tenants were satisfied with the physical condition of their new home when they moved in.

The STA also commended the professionalism of council officers and the support provided to housing applicants.

The survey has helped identify opportunities for improvement, and a number of actions are planned, or have already taken place, in response, including:

Stirling Council housing portfolio holder, Councillor Evelyn Tweed, said: “Housing Services recognise that sometimes tenants are more comfortable discussing housing services with other tenants, so we are keen to support this type of involvement.

“The results of this survey provides an excellent example of how tenant involvement in service reviews is improving outcomes for tenants and applicants and also helps ensure that good quality services are being delivered.”

Head of Scottish Government social housing team, Anne Cook, said: “By tenants from the Stirling Tenants Assembly talking directly to tenants, it has ensured that applicants give an honest view of their experience of the allocations process and helps to identify any further improvements that could be made. It is good to see this approach being mainstreamed into service reviews and I would encourage other services to adopt it when reviewing policies and procedures.”

To build on the success of the survey, the council is in the early stages of planning a series of joint activities with the STA to promote tenant participation within housing services.

The STA has agreed to undertake another ‘Tenants Talking to Tenants’ telephone survey on a different part of the Housing Service before 2020.