Advertising

Everything necessary to produce newsletters, leaflets, flyers etc. This includes printing costs, photocopying and distribution costs if needed.

Affiliation Fees

To allow any TRA to join either local or national non-political organisations. This includes TPAS (Tenants Participation Advisory Service), VAL (Voluntary Action Lewisham), TAROE (Tenants & Residents Organisation England), London Tenants Federation etc. Please talk to your Tenant Participation worker first as they may be prepared to pay your subscription fee.

Audit costs

Every TRA must have an annual independent audit of their accounts carried out. A copy must be presented to their members at their AGM. TRA’s can ask any suitably experienced person to do this. For example the Treasurer of another TRA or of a local voluntary group, who will usually only charge for their expenses. LTF and TPU keep a list of approved auditors who make a small charge. The independent auditor must not be a resident in the area covered by the TRA. Please note accounts must be signed and dated by the person who does the audit together with their contact details. Accounts must also be signed and dated by the chair of the TRA.

Community Events

TRA’s can hold events to encourage more people to become actively involved, these can include, Fun Days, Open Days, and Barbeques ect. Events must be open to everyone in the TRA. TRA’s can hire any equipment necessary for this type of event, pay for catering, book entertainment/transport etc. Grant funding cannot be used for Children’s/OAP’s Christmas parties or outings because these types of events are only for certain members of the TRA. Please check with your TP worker about insurance needs.

Conferences

TRA’s can pay for their members to attend housing/tenant related conferences or seminars anywhere. Any costs involved in enabling any tenant to attend including transport costs can also be met from grant funding. LTF and LBL pay for a number of places at the annual TPAS conference but TRA’s can fund extra places for their members.

Equality and Diversity Issues

Every TRA must ensure that no individual member is disadvantaged in their participation in the TRA by reason of ethnicity, gender, disability or learning disability, sexual orientation, age, class, income, employment status or religious belief or any reason whatsoever. Grant money can be used to encourage greater participation, by paying for translators, language interpreters, tape recorders, crèches/childcare costs, carer’s costs, special equipment etc.

Furniture

If a TRA is responsible for tables, chairs, kitchen equipments etc. in their meeting rooms, these can be paid out of grant money. Please check with your TP worker. If you pay a hire charge for your meeting room, it is the responsibility of the person who you are paying rent to, to provide these items. If TRA officers use their home for TRA business, they can ask the TRA to provide items such as desks, filing cabinets etc.

Information and Research

If a TRA undertakes a project, which needs someone else to do research and provide information, the TRA can use grant money to fund this.

Office Equipment

Grant funding can be used to buy any equipment that the TRA members need. This can include telephones, fax machines, answering machines, calculators, staplers, hole punches, computers, printers, photocopiers etc. Grant funding can also be used for the maintenance of equipment.

Office Stationery

TRA’s can purchase all stationery items such as account books, files, paper etc. from their grant money.

Refreshments

Grant funding can be used for refreshments for TRA meetings. Expenditure for extra snacks for special meetings such as AGM’s should be agreed by members.

Telephone Calls

If members of the TRA’s make telephone calls on behalf of the TRA they can be reimbursed from grant funding. Telephone calls made, should be highlighted on an itemised telephone bill and presented to the Treasurer for payment. The cost of receiving itemised bills can also be claimed. Details of personal calls on the bill should be blacked out.

Training

Grant money can be used to provide training for TRA’s. This can be by paying a trainer to come to the TRA or by members attending a training session elsewhere. Reasonable costs of travelling can be met from grant funding.

Travel

Tenants can be reimbursed by their TRA for any journey they make on behalf of the TRA when representing their members at meetings, seminars, conferences etc. This includes public transport, cabs or using their own motor vehicle. Receipts (or claim forms for mileage) must be provided.

Venue Hire

If TRA’s do not have free use of a community room, grant funding can be used to pay for meeting room hire for TRA meetings. Also if TRA’s need a larger venue for their AGM this can be paid for from their grant funding.

NOTE: these guidelines only apply to grant money received from the lewisham tenants fund. money received from any other souce including subscriptions from leaseholders can be spent in any way that the tenants and residents associations (T&RA) agrees