(or Initial Feasibility Study Grant under the Housing (RTM) Regulations 1994)

What are the Aims and Objectives of Feasibility Grant?

Feasibility grant is made available to enable a Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) to undertake a feasibility Study under the Housing (RTM) Regulations 1994.   During the Feasibility Study the TMO works with an agency to assess whether some form of TMO would work on a particular estate or group of estates. A Feasibility Study may only be carried out after tenants have exercised their Right to Manage by serving a RTM Notice on the local authority and would generally take six to nine months to complete.  The Feasibility Study will consider the disadvantages as well as the potential benefits of setting up a TMO.

It is recommended that tenant groups interview up to three agencies prior to making a decision as to which agency it will work with to carry out the Feasibility stage of the RTM process.

At the feasibility stage tenants will be developing the skills that they will need to carry out tasks involved in the work programme and prepare for the development phase.  The agency will assess the current skill base and advise the tenants where these need to be developed through training and practical activities.  The TMO will also need to show that it is acting in accordance with its constitution and has adequate committee, administration and financial procedures in place.

In order for the TMO to progress to the development stage, the Corporation will require the majority of those eligible to vote to support the development of a TMO.

Who can claim Feasibility Grant?

RTM Feasibility grant is made available to enable a TMO to work with an agency to carry out a Feasibility Study, as required by the RTM Regulations 1994.  The Corporation will pay the grant to the agency invited by the tenants’ group to carry out the work involved in assessing whether a TMO would be a viable proposition in the particular circumstances.  

The agency must work with the TMO to draw up the feasibility study work programme, in consultation with the local authority. The work programme must comply with the guidelines set out in Preparing to Manage.

The Corporation recommends that tenant groups interview up to three agencies prior to making a decision as to which agency it will work with to carry out the Feasibility Study.

Guidelines for Work Programme?

The work programme must comply with the detailed guidelines set out in Preparing to Manage and which are summarised below:

The Feasibility study comprises twelve key elements which should form the framework around which bids for grant are built.  All twelve elements should normally form part of every feasibility study and are summarized below:

• planning the Feasibility Study (meetings to agree the Feasibility Study and plan its activities);
• assessing the estate's problems and priorities (data collection, surveys and meetings to collect information about the estate);
• assessing the support for tenant involvement (activities to gauge the level of support among tenants for tenant management);
• exploring management options (training on TMOs and their alternatives);
• understanding housing management and finance (basic training on local authority management and functions); 
• preparing for a management role (training in the skills needed to lead and represent the community);
• assessing competence (assessing the competence of the TMO); 
• the Feasibility Report (drafting, validating and finalizing the report);
• the ‘Test of Opinion’ (a ballot or poll of all tenants on their support for a TMO);
• planning for the Development stage (training and agreement on the development stage);
• Communication (communicating with local residents and the local authority); and 
• Monitoring (monitoring progress of the programme and of the group).

What items are eligible for Feasibility grant?

Feasibility grant will be provided for the following key elements:

• the production of newsletters and leaflets for tenants, including translations;
• the organisational costs of meetings and information days, including hall and equipment hire,
• interpreters and child care provision;
• questionnaires and surveys to establish the level of tenant support;
• study visits to established TMOs, including travel and subsistence costs;
• general administration costs, e.g. postage, telephone calls and photocopying;
• staff time;
• training for tenants and attendance at conferences and seminars related to tenant management;
• stock condition surveys;
• liaison with the council; and
• feasibility ballot.

The output of the Feasibility Study

The output of the Feasibility Study is a final report  which should follow the structure set out in the publication Preparing to Manage".

This report  should be submitted with the development application or, where there is no application, as soon as possible following the end of the project.

Further information on how to make an application for Feasibility Study grant is given in the Feasibility grant: grant application section and the form is available on this page.