Getting a fair deal

Aberdeenshire registered tenant organisations have committed to promoting equal opportunities in their constitutions.

Working together, we and our tenants will:

  • develop participative activities where as many tenants as possible are represented. We want people from different backgrounds and with different experiences to get involved in the decision-making process
  • promote participation free from prejudice and bias about ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, geographic location, special needs, language differences, learning difficulties or disability
  • make active efforts to make sure everyone who wants to get involved, can get involved, and strive to make our events and activities occasions where everyone can feel safe and welcome

But what does this mean for you and me

Firstly, that everybody seems to mean well! That is fine - but we want to see it all working in practice.

Secondly, we want to know what you think about getting a fair deal:

  • are the promises listed above enough?
  • are there problems of fairness and equality not on the list?
  • what stops you getting a fair deal - where you live, who you are, difficult circumstances?
  • can you think of any practical things that could be done to help you, as a tenant, get fairer treatment?

Thirdly, we have set up a tenants’ group to look at things in more detail. But there will be no group meetings, no travelling. This will be a group of people who can swap ideas and get new measures adopted from their own homes.

Armchair group

We have an Armchair Equalities group with members looking at equalities issues and what practical steps can be taken to address these. We want to make sure that every of our tenants gets the fair deal that they are entitled to.

From the Fair Deal responses we have already received, we know that the armchair group is roughly divided half-and-half between people who think they get a Fair Deal from us and those who do not. Group members are now beginning to look at why this is so.

Why do some tenants feel that they are not getting a Fair Deal from us? Once group members have worked this out, then they will be thinking about what can be done to put things right.

Join the group

If you are interested in what stops tenants getting a Fair Deal from us - where they live, who they are, difficult circumstances - or if you want to join the group, just get in touch with the Tenant Participation Officer on 01467 537456 or 01467 537413or email tenant.participation@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.