So You Want To Be A Member?

You Do Not Have A Right to Be A Member By Paying Your Rent!

The first question is: Why? Perhaps an interest in the welfare of your community or housing? That may make some explanation. Is it because North Glasgow Housing Association describes itself as a “membership organisation”? It fails to make clear its purpose is simpler than that. It is one of the major landlords in the North of Glasgow and is trying to become the dominant if not monopoly landlord. Other organisations describe themselves a “people organisations”, “people friendly”, NGHA calls itself a “membership organisation” while placing obstacles in the way of real popular participation.

Being a rent-paying tenant is not enough to give you a say in how your property is run and managed or your rent levels. Unlike the Council, you must apply for membership from the Governing Body on a specially numbered form. A letter of application is not good enough. This is “a safeguard to avoid uncontrolled photocopying of applications forms”. (p2, Association & Committee Membership Policy) Of course, this is entirely absurd since all application forms have to be approved by the Governing Body. The real purpose is simply to make applications more difficult so that fewer are made.

“Absolute Discretion”

There are no rules that can compel the Governing Boyd/ Management Committee to give membership to any tenant. Indeed the Association & Committee Membership Policy clearly states that the rules on acceptance and rejection are made up by the Committee as it goes along. “Whilst it is the Association’s intention to encourage membership, the Governing Body has absolute discretion in deciding on applications and membership.”(emphasis added) This medieval approach to allowing or denying membership clearly shows that the Committee have prepared themselves for any challenge to their perceived authority.

You Have No Right To Correct Something You Believe Wrong!

Many people believe that if they feel something is wrong in their community, they should make an effort to correct it. They may call it working from the inside or use a number of other explanations. This may be why you wish to become a member of North Glasgow Housing Association. But such a viewpoint immediately runs against the Association’s Membership policies where “the management Committee suspects that the application is part of an organised attempt by narrowly defined interest groups who are hostile to the principles of local accountability, equality of treatment and tolerance.” In short anyone who disagrees with the Management Committee! the Management Committee can "suspect" without proof, and accuse anyone of being part of "narrowly defined intrest group" If a street or group of tenants feel they have been unfairly treated and organise to be heard at the next Annual General Meeting, their concerns can be ignored and membership denied, simply because the existing Management Committee wish it.

After an application for membership is considered and approved, the individual simply becomes a member. This only gives them a right to stand for election to the Annual General Meeting. But because most housing associations can’t fill the vacant positions, uncontested filling of positions is common. This causes the NGHA serious problems. According to the NGHA Minute of June 28 th, 2005, “Given the number of places on the Management Committee and the recent history of uncontested elections a person seeking to become a member must be regarded as a potential committee member.” Of course many, if not most, people taking out membership do not wish to become committee members. But this means that the management Committee must “ensure that anyone seeking membership conformed to criteria set down in the [membership?] policy.” Put simply, no real rules exist other than the whims of the Management Committee over who it wants as members. An entirely arbitrary judgement is made about whether you fit the non-existent rules over membership. They fear anyone with a different opinion.

You Can Be Slandered With No Right To Know Why !

Because the Freedom of Information Act 2002 does not apply to housing Associations, you have no right to know why you were rejected, or what was said about you at any meeting. This would not be true if the housing stock was owned by the council. A legal curtain of secrecy protects any official or committee member from being made accountable for any decision they make. You have two chances to apply for membership of the North Glasgow Housing Association. If rejected on the first occasion, you have no right to be told why or for them to present any proof of the accusations that may have been made against you. The second application is not an appeal. It is simply a second chance, and allows NGHA not to have any accusation against you challenged, or even revealed.

The Gagging Clauses

Suppose you stand for election and suppose you are elected to the Management Committee/ Governing Body. You may wish to advocate a point of view and seek to convince others of its correctness. It is unlikely that you can convince everybody at once. You may wish to convince other members of NGHA who are not members of any Committee. But you are expressly prohibited from doing this! It is worth reading the exact words of the June 28 th Minute of the presentation by the NGHA’s lawyers who have offered them a ready made gag, “the view was held by members of another organisation that having participated in a decision of a committee and been on the losing side in a vote the committee members considered that it was quite appropriate to criticise the decision of the organisation while remaining a member. [The lawyer] re-affirmed the view that this was not appropriate and such conduct should result in expulsion from the committee.” This is not the same as respecting a majority decision and expecting to see it implemented or enforced, but simply a measure to gag anyone who disagrees with policy. It is unlikely to be enforced against the MSPs and councillors who sit on these boards and hold clear political differences with these organisations. It is drawn up to “gag” anyone who says anything the interested parties do not want heard or repeated. The lawyer failed to make clear that such a rule probably breaches Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights guaranteeing freedom of speech. But surely this possibility is a little far fetched? Not so according to the same Minute, which states, “the code of conduct did not state anything which in practice the committee members did not already practice”!!!

Do You Really want to be a Member?

The NGHA is simply a private landlord with the mask of tenant involvement. the real decisions are still taken by an elite group of housing officials. All that has changed is that it is now outside of methods of democratic accountability. You have no right to know what discussions are taking place over housing and community issues that affect you. If you can leap through enough of the loops to achieve a position on the board, you will simply be gagged and held responsible for decisions you probably had no real say over. Membership of the North Glasgow Hosuing Association will not help your community and if you lack even an atom of integrity you should not seek a position on any of its communities.

If you’ve been a committee member of the North Glasgow Housing Association then tell us your experiences by e-mailing us on:-

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