Insurance News Archive
NCC calls for boost to tenant rights
A consumer policy organisation is calling on housing associations to better inform their tenants of their rights when they sign an agreement.
According to the National Consumer Council (NCC), when it comes to understanding their rights tenants struggle to understand what rights and responsibilities they have beyond the right to occupy and the right to exchange.
In a new report on social housing, the NCC highlights the confusing mix of tenants' rights that leave millions in the dark.
It calls for better and clearer information for tenants about their rights to help redress the imbalance of power between landlord and tenant, and it calls on the Housing Corporation to do much more to safeguard and boost tenants' rights.
Ed Mayo, chief executive of the NCC, says: "Years of piecemeal reform have led to a complex and confusing mix of contractual and statutory rights for tenants.
"Users of these services who want to stand up for their rights can be caught up in a protracted and bureaucratic process, so tenants in affordable housing have rights in name alone.
"Giving tenants a clearer picture of their rights is a positive way to improve the quality of service they can expect," he said.
22 Sep 2006
