CITY council tenants in Leicester are playing a major role in shaping the future of housing services thanks to a new tenants’ scrutiny panel.
The council formed the new panel to give tenants a bigger say in the way housing services operate. It’s made up of 18 people from different council estates who put themselves forward after a call-out from the council for people to get involved.
Their role is to look closely at how housing services are performing, input into the development of policies that affect tenants, and to hold the council to account if it doesn’t meet tenants’ expectations.
Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, deputy city mayor for housing said: “It’s vital that we put our tenants at the centre of everything we do.
“This panel is one of a number of new initiatives we are bringing in to give them a much louder voice, and to ensure their views are listened to, and acted on.
“The panel is already making an impact, having requested changes to our tenancy management process, which has increased the support we offer to vulnerable tenants.
“We have also asked them to look at the way we spend our environmental budget, and to suggest physical improvements we could make on their estates that would make them better places to live.”
The panel was set up following a tenants’ satisfaction survey carried out in 2023, which showed that tenants wanted the council to improve communication with them.
The most recent meeting in September included a presentation from the city wardens’ service and an update on the way the council allocates council properties.
Panel member Sue Green said: “I enjoyed the meeting and found it very informative. I am sure this scrutiny panel idea is a good one, as the council gets feedback which is also a great help”.
The scrutiny panel meets every two months and is attended by council officers from service areas that the tenants wish to scrutinise. Panel members are also invited to attend the council’s housing scrutiny commission.
The next meeting of the panel takes place on 26 November 2025 at City Hall on Charles Street, Leicester.
Council tenants or leaseholders who want to get involved can request further details by emailing tenant-news@leicester.gov.uk
Photo: Members of the panel are joined by council officers and deputy city mayor Cllr Elly Cutkelvin.