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Resident panel meetings

Resident Panel meetings

In Autumn 2022 we launched a new all-resident panel, which has replaced our previous resident majority panel, Your Voice. A summary of meeting discussions can be found here.

For more information about the work of the Resident Panel and to speak to us about something you would like the panel to review, contact us at: be.involved@octavia.org.uk

18 October 2023

Resident Panel Members focused on:

  • Rent, service charges, and the impact on resident affordability as one of its agreed priorities. At the meeting, the Head of Income, Allocations and Homeownership announced plans to communicate with residents about the rent setting process months earlier than in previous years so there is time to query and challenge.
  • Development of the Resident Charter ahead of its launch in November. The panel were able to confirm with Octavia that the commitments made throughout the document were based on the customer experience and insights provided by residents.

20 September 2023

Member focussed on key areas that residents had highlighted as concerns during the previous year in order to agree a list of priorities including:

  • Affordability – including rent, cost of living, fairness, VFM, Octavia finances
  • Safety and Security of Residents – Resolving ASB, Domestic Abuse, Safeguarding, working in partnership with other agencies
  • Repairs and Building Safety – regular updates on quality of service and compliance, involvement in how to improve, involvement in procurement, standards communication, improved use of digital methods to track jobs and resident experience
  • Improving accountability to Residents, and scrutiny – Demonstrate they listen and act on resident feedback and influence, access to Board, CEO and other leaders, TSM Performance
  • EDI and Wider Tenant Welfare – Sense of community, wellbeing, communication, meeting vulnerable and diverse needs, greater empathy with the resident experience

5 July 2023

Resident Panel Members focused on:

  • Providing feedback to the communications team on key issues that should be featured in the annual Resident Report
  • The Octavia Portfolio Income & Investment Strategy, in order to better understand the approach taken to generating the surplus required to effectively support the business plan
  • Monitoring progress on a joint resident and staff project developing a Resident Charter designed to set out new standards for service delivery based on resident feedback and experiences across 6 areas including:

Relationships
Communication
Voice and Influence
Accountability
Quality
When Things Go Wrong

03 May 2023

Resident Panel Members focused on:

  • Scrutinising the Octavia approach to resident communication regarding rent setting. Octavia has promised to consult with residents earlier in the process next year.
  • Monitoring the new Octavia approach to addressing cases of Damp and Mould following the Housing Ombudsman Spotlight Report which criticised organisations that had a practice of blaming it on resident lifestyle.

23 November 2022

Resident Panel members discussed:

  • The aims and visions of the Chair of the Group Services Committee and Executive Director for Customer and Communities for Resident Influence within Octavia
  • The proposed Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct for the group
  • The importance of the changes being brought about by the White Paper and the emphasis on hearing the resident voice
  • How the Resident Panel will feed its views through to the Group Services Committee and the Board
  • Examples of wasteful practice and how Octavia can improve the value for money of its service

Members also discussed key areas that residents had highlighted as concerns during the previous year including:

  • Local safety and security
  • Repair issues and communication
  • Energy costs/Cost of living
  • Schemes with Managing Agents
  • Building safety and cost liability
  • The Complaints process

15 September 2022

Resident Panel members discussed:

  • The proposed process for recruiting new Resident Panel members through a promotion in the resident newsletter and online
  • Members volunteering to take part in the selection and interview process
  • The key features of a new Terms of Reference being developed for the group
  • Appointing a member as interim chair while new members are recruited
  • Passing on their feedback and advice to new Panel members when they join 
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