Panels and forums for council housing residents

I want to: 

• be part of an online community which gives feedback on council housing 
• learn about borough-wide housing services for tenants and homeowners
• talk to a council officer or councillor about housing
• find out about Local Housing Forums, Tenants' and homeowners' forums or our Online residents' panel
• find out what forums are available in your area

Online residents' panel 

Who can join the online panel 

You can join the panel if you live in a council property. Tenants, leaseholders and freeholders of council properties can all join. 

Why join the panel 

You can get involved in decisions that affect you even if you can’t attend meetings. For example, you’ll be able to complete online surveys or read and comment and draft documents relating to council homes. The panel discusses issues throughout the borough. You can choose what to get involved in and give as much or as little time as you want. 

What happens when you sign up 

When you sign up you can tell us which topics or decisions you want to be involved in. We'll stay in contact with you by email and invite you to take part in topics you’ve expressed an interest in. You can unsubscribe at any time. 

Join the Online Residents' panel  

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Tenants' and Homeowners' Forums 

Useful links  

• find your local councillor by entering your postcode, then clicking Council and Democracy; you can also find your councillor alphabetically or by ward 
• view the latest council meetings, agendas and minutes 
• take part in an online consultation 
• search and comment on local planning applications 

What are Tenants' and Homeowners' Forums? 

These forums provide a place where tenant and homeowner representatives can: 

• help to shape and improve the council’s housing services 
• ensure residents can raise any concerns they have about the management of the council’s housing services and homes 
• be consulted by the council on key policy changes affecting people living in council owned homes, such as rent and service charge setting 
• advise the council on how it can better involve residents 
• receive updates on the performance and delivery of housing services 

There are 2 forums: 

• the Tenants' Forum focuses on tenant specific issues 
• the Homeowners' Forum focuses on homeowner specific issues 

Members of both forums also meet each other regularly to look at issues that affect both tenants and leaseholders. 

Upcoming Tenants' and Homeowners' Forum events

The list of Southwark Tenants' & Homeowners' Forum dates, times and venues given below are subject to change pending further discussions with forum Chairs during agenda planning meetings. The Resident Participation team will try to update this information as and when required. If you have any queries or would like to know more about the events below, email resident.particiption@southwark.gov.uk. 

Join a forum 

The Tenants' and Homeowners' Forums meetings are made up of residents who: 

• live in the borough 
• were elected by other residents 

The election process is as follows: 

• we ask residents for either expressions of interest or nominations for other residents
• elections for representatives of the Tenants' & Homeowners' Forums are held once a year at Local Housing Forum meetings
• a vote takes place during these meetings and the successful residents become representatives

View the current list of Tenants' and Homeowners' Forum elected members ^{(PDF, 114kb)}

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Local Housing Forums 

Everyone who lives in a council home can attend their Local Housing Forum (LHF) meetings. This includes people living in council owned temporary accommodation. 

• list of upcoming Local Housing Forum events 
• list of past Local Housing Forum minutes 

At the meetings, you can talk to council officers and councillors about a wide range of housing related topics. Subjects may include: 

• how the council can better spend funding on improving homes and estates 
• how the council allocates homes 
• important council policy changes 
• how the council is doing with services like repairs, new homes building and major works 

These meetings are not the best place to raise personal housing queries. Instead, email resident.participation@southwark.gov.uk and it will be forwarded to the relevant council department. 

How topics are chosen 

We run an annual residents’ poll at the start of the year to help inform the topics on LHF meeting agendas. 

We’re sorry for the delay in publishing details of upcoming Local Housing Forum (LHF) meetings. We're currently discussing with LHF Chairs whether upcoming events should be online, in-person or a mix of the two. Once this has been decided, we will update this page and send an email notification to all residents on our mailing lists. In the meantime, please bear with us and we’ll be in touch with you soon! 

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Upcoming Local Housing Forums 2023/24 

Here are the dates, times and venues for your upcoming Local Housing Forum meetings:

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Past Local Housing Forum minutes 

• Central East 
• Central West 
• North East 
• North West
• South 

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What forums can I join in my area?

We have a team of Resident Involvement Officers who can help you find and contact the forums closest to you.  

• Email us to find a forum in Borough and Bankside, Chaucer, London Bridge, West Bermondsey or St George's or call Louis on 020 7525 1239
• Email us to find a forum in North Bermondsey, South Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, and Surrey Docks or call Louis on 020 7525 1239 
• Email us to find a forum in Faraday, Newington and North Walworth or call Rubeena on 020 7525 1257 
• Email us to find a forum in St Giles, Camberwell Green and Rye Lane or call Bukky on 020 7525 4747 
• Email us to find a forum in Old Kent Rd, Peckham and Nunhead & Queens Road or call George on 020 7525 3603 
• Email us to find a forum in Peckham Rye, Champions Hill, Goose Green, Dulwich Hill, Dulwich Village and Dulwich Wood, or call Carla on 020 7525 1139 

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Page last updated: 04 December 2023