About TMOs
A Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) is an independent legal body set up by tenants and leaseholders to manage their estate or block. They provide housing management services on behalf of the local authority.
TMOs usually operate as a co-operative or non-profit making community company. Their members are unpaid volunteers who want to improve the quality of people’s lives by taking on more responsibility for local services.
Each TMO has its own legal contract with the council, known as the Modular Management Agreement. This agreement outlines what services the TMO is responsible for and what services the council is responsible for on an estate.
Setting up a TMO
Every council tenant in England and Wales has the ‘right to manage’ the housing services they receive under The Housing (Right to Manage) Regulations 2012. Council tenants can exercise this right by forming a TMO. The criteria for forming a TMO and how to proceed in setting one up is in the Right to Manage guidance (GOV.UK).
A TMO will:
- meet the criteria set out in law for being a TMO
- undertake training and development
- complete an competency assessment by an approved independent assessor
- engage with residents to consider what services they would like to influence and mange to improve lives for all
- work in partnership with the council to develop proposals
- hold a formal ballot of their membership
For more information about how TMOs work and guidance on forming one, visit the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations or the Confederation of Cooperative Housing.
TMOs in Royal Greenwich
There are 2 TMOs in Royal Greenwich.
River Heights Tenant Management Co-Operative (TMC)
This is made up with 178 properties located in Plumstead on Glyndon estate.
This is a Tenant Management Co-Operative TMO.
Walpole Estate Management Board (EMB)
This is an EMB with 87 properties, made up of a block of contained flats in central Woolwich.
This is an Estate Management Board TMO.
Responsibilities of a TMO
Each TMO can choose how much or how little responsibility they want to take over from the council. The services managed by TMOs vary but in Royal Greenwich, TMO managed services include:
- day-to-day repairs and maintenance
- tenancy management
- caretaking
- management of anti-social behaviour
- management of community facilities including fire safety of community halls
- parking management
We pay TMOs an annual allowance which is dependent on the size of the TMO and the services it provides.
The government decides how much allowance each TMO gets. The monies are then managed and accounted for by the TMO Board including annual returns to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Our responsibilities
As a landlord we continue to be responsible for:
- building safety and fire safety
- major works
- rent collection
The Management Agreement also gives us powers to monitor TMOs and act when a TMO is not performing.
As the landlord, we have overall responsibility for all our estates. We are regulated by the Regulator for Social Housing.
Read how we use Tenant Satisfaction Measures to assess our housing performance
Contact a TMO in Royal Greenwich
River Heights Tenant Management Co-Operative
177 Glyndon Road,Plumstead,
SE18 7NX
Telephone: 020 8854 9358
Walpole Estate Management Board
Walpole Place,Brookhill Road,
Woolwich SE18 6TR
Telephone: 0208 921 5154