TANT is here to support 1000's of Tenants

The National Trust have made a policy decision to cease funding the running costs of its tenant association from next year. Do a great thing today - please support this petition and show one of the UK’s largest and most loved institutions that they may have got it wrong this time.

The National Trust has around 5,000 tenanted properties, most of which have been gifted to them by well-meaning landowners over the last century. This means that over 10,000 people depend on the National Trust for the roof over their heads. At the turn of this century it became clear that there were problems with the running of the National Trust’s let estate and various small groups of localised tenant associations came together to form one body - TANT - the Tenant Association of the National Trust.

TANT is, and always has been, an independent non-profit organisation run by volunteers intent on improving the living standards and treatment of anybody who lives under a National Trust roof and our basic running costs have been covered by the National Trust for over a decade. Last year the National Trust received £44 million in revenue from the let estate. TANT’s running costs last year were under £5,000 - costing the National Trust approximately £1 per household per year - a tiny fraction of the money they make from the tenants that we represent.

TANT operates a 24/7 helpline that enables tenants to call us immediately in times of emergency such as a burst water main or broken boiler and we are able to offer instant advice whereas the National Trust’s local teams are generally only available during office hours. We also work closely with individual tenants, helping with a wide variety of issues from imminent eviction to neighbour disputes and access problems. Our service comes free of charge to anybody who lives under a National Trust roof.

Over the years our achievements have been many and we have been the driving force behind many of the National Trust's recent policies, including changing National Trust policy to allow tenants to apply to sit on the National Trust Council, the introduction of a Tenant Handbook and Tenant Satisfaction Surveys, the current ongoing investment programme to bring National Trust homes up to Decent Homes Standard and the introduction of qualified professional staff to run the let estate. Along with this we have been involved in resolving many individual tenant issues some of which would, had TANT not intervened, have resulted in costly and difficult legal action. Not only do we do great work but we also help to protect the National Trust from spending thousands on legal fees and potentially attracting adverse media attention.

Please sign this petition so that we can demonstrate the strength of feeling from the general public in this matter. You don't have to be a National Trust tenant or indeed a tenant of any kind to show your support.

If TANT funding is removed we will no longer be able to help the tenants that currently rely on us to intervene on their behalf - often to keep a roof over their head. We are the only organisation that understands the complexities of National Trust tenancies and often the issues that tenants experience are far beyond the understanding of general housing advice bodies. Many of the tenants that we deal with are vulnerable and often on a limited income and we are the only free of charge help that they have available to them.

You don’t have to be a National Trust member to sign this petition but if you are please could you mention it in the comments box.

We have tabled a resolution at the upcoming National Trust AGM and if you are a National Trust member we would urge you to please vote for TANT’s continued funding if you are planning on attending the AGM on October 22nd 2016. You can view our full resolution along with the Trust’s response and our response here:  www.tantuk.org  

Thank you for your support.