Funding is now available to support ways for tenants and residents to take control of local services without going through the Statutory Right to Management process.   This is referred to as the 'voluntary route' and is open to both local authority tenants and housing association residents.  There are two voluntary routes available:

• Local Management Agreements (LMAs)
• Voluntary Route to Tenant Management

All voluntary route projects must begin with the Exploring the Options stage (Part I and Part II)  

Local Management Agreements

Local Management Agreements (LMAs) are defined in Residents Choice as arrangements that give tenants and residents devolved control over a limited range of services, with a contract value which is below the threshold for EU procurement regulations (currently around £140,00).  

A model LMA, developed by CityWest Homes, is highlighted in the Residents Choice guidance.  The CityWest Homes LMA toolkit is available from http://www.cwh.org.uk/main.asp?page=339  However, groups are welcome to propose new innovative arrangements to deliver local agreements.

Where a LMA is the chosen option at the end of Exploring the Options stage, there is no requirement to proceed to a Feasibility and Development funding stage.  This is because there is no requirement for a competency assessment, a formal ballot or for the group to become a legally constituted TMO. 

LMAs are intended to facilitate a fast track to local control of services and are an ideal entry into tenant management on a small scale.

Voluntary Route to Tenant Management

Once groups have agreed a Statement of Intent with their landlords as part of the Exploring the Options Part II Stage,  they must then apply for an initial assessment with the Approved Assessor service.  Once the initial assessment has been carried out and the Approved Assessor service has approved the required training and development plan, they can then proceed to the Feasibility and Development stage.

Feasibility and Development Stage for the Voluntary Route to Tenant Management

The Feasibility and Development stage is intended to support agreements between landlord and tenants to devolve control of local services where:

• the tenants/residents group is constituted as a TMO;
 
• an Approved Assessor is appointed and an independent assessment of
 competency is made: and

• the Management Agreement is to be put to all tenants in a ballot on a TMO offer.

This process is designed especially for voluntary management agreements covering multiple local services, with no upper limit on the value of contracts.  However, there is no lower limit on the value of contracts.  Therefore, an LMA would be eligible for consideration for Feasibility and Development funding if the tenants or residents group wanted to take the LMA forward as a legally constituted TMO, were willing to meet the above conditions and had worked through the Exploring the Options stages.

For the remainder of 2008/09, the Housing Corporation is looking to pilot the Voluntary route for local authority tenants and welcomes enquiries.

Voluntary route for Local Authority tenants

If local authority tenants choose the voluntary route, they still have their statutory Right
to Manage. This means they can serve a Right to Manage proposal notice at any stage, and switch to the Statutory Right to Manage route.

The tenants’ organisation will need to serve a notice according to the Right to Manage regulations (see Local Choice, Local Control)  If the local authority accepts the notice, the process should continue from the point reached on the voluntary route and should not be significantly disrupted when the TMO serves a Right to Manage proposal notice.

The TMO may decide to switch to the Right to Manage route after a ballot on the voluntary route has taken place. In this case, if the proposed terms for a management agreement
are the same as set out in the offer, the ballot on the offer should be considered as giving the local authority a legal responsibility to enter into the agreement, as supported by the
tenants who have voted in the ballot.