Greenwich Council has established a new Tenant Influence and Oversight Panel to give residents a greater say in housing decisions.
The panel, agreed by the Cabinet on Wednesday 18 March 2026, will provide council home residents with a formal mechanism to scrutinise and influence housing strategies, policies, and services. The Housing Resident Engagement Policy, which supports these changes, is noted as being implemented in Q4 2025/6.
Councillor Pat Slattery, Cabinet Member for Housing Management, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, stated that the new panel would provide a powerful and effective way for tenants to shape our housing services.
The panel will operate independently of the council's decision-making processes, setting its own agendas and determining which areas it wishes to explore. Officers will support the group but not attempt to shape it. The panel should agree how it records and communicates the outcomes of its work, including findings, conclusions, and recommendations, which may include the production of short reports or statements to be shared with the Council in a timely and transparent manner.
This initiative is part of a broader effort to modernise resident engagement, responding to changing preferences for more flexible and topic-specific involvement, including online options. The council is also moving away from Local Housing Panels, which have seen declining attendance, and will support their transition into resident associations or housing champion networks. In the next two years, the council proposes to support the remaining active Local Panels to transition to new forms of governance. Borough Wide Housing Panel meetings will rotate locations across the borough, and online options will be available.
The Tenant Influence and Oversight Panel will comprise eight tenants, including a Chair and Vice-Chair, recruited through a transparent and open process. Membership will be open to lead tenants (including joint lead tenants) of a Greenwich council home. The specific criteria for selection are not detailed, but the process is described as open, transparent, and fair, while also being designed to attract and appoint tenants with the skills, confidence, and commitment required to undertake a scrutiny and influence role.
Members will receive training and support to equip them for their scrutiny and influence role. The council will also consider appropriate recognition and reward for members' contributions, which will be proportionate and transparent, and structured so as to preserve the independent and non-employee status of the tenant-led panel.
The panel's role will be to review and scrutinise housing strategies, policies, and services from a tenant perspective, providing constructive challenge to support learning and improvement across housing services. While specific initial focus areas are not detailed, the panel may consider neighbourhood or estate-based themes where these raise broader strategic or systemic issues.
This move aligns with the Regulator of Social Housing's Transparency, Influence and Accountability Consumer Standard, which requires social landlords to offer tenants meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise services. The new panel aims to strengthen accountability, improve decision-making, and support continuous service improvement.
The Tenant Influence and Oversight Panel will be set up if Cabinet agrees the proposals. A further report will be brought to Full Council for approval of the formal establishment and any constitutional changes. Following this, a detailed implementation plan will be developed, and the panel will be established and commence operation in line with agreed arrangements.
