We are on an equal footing with the landlady.
Babett Buschmann, tenant advisory board Spokesperson MBR Gehrenseestrasse
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Anyone who takes part in the tenant advisory board can make a big difference. Tenants and landlady appreciate the good cooperation. In the interview, both sides talk about motives and wishes.
Babett Buschmann, spokesperson for the Gehrenseestraße tenant advisory board, and Cornelia Eckert, consultant for tenant communication and committees at HOWOGE, meet in partnership for an interview in the Wohnungsmacherei on Anton-Saefkow-Platz. HOWOGE's appreciation for the commitment of the tenants in the tenant councils is great. For participants like Babett Buschmann, it is a grateful opportunity to keep moving and help shape their own living environment as a team.
Ms. Buschmann, in your free time you volunteer on a tenant advisory board – what attracts you to this work?
It's just a lot of fun because you get to know your own neighborhood in a completely different way and deal with topics that go beyond your own horizons. We walk the neighborhood down to the smallest corner, we organize neighborhood walks with authorities, we talk to neighbors and are on an equal footing with the landlord. In this respect it is also movement – mental and physical.
Why does a housing company need tenant councils, Ms. Eckert?
Nobody is as close to the tenants as our tenant councils, because they are their neighbors. It's much quicker to talk to a neighbor than to the landlord. That's why the tenant advisory board is very important to us in order to capture the tenants' concerns, moods and tendencies. Many tenants don't want to go to an authority and open up there. The tenant advisory board is a good medium to say, come to us first, we will listen and mediate for you. In a sense, it is a trend barometer that we take very seriously.
Tenant advisory councils are up close and personal.
Cornelia Eckert, HOWOGE Consultant for tenant communication and committees
And why do tenants need such a committee, Ms. Buschmann?
We see the tenant advisory board as an intermediary between the tenants and the housing company. The tenant base of the state-owned housing companies is very, very diverse. In this respect, it's good that the tenants still have someone to contact if they don't know where to turn at first. We can then build networks and mediate. And we are very close. The customer centers and caretakers are not always on site either. The members of the tenant council live next door.
How does HOWOGE support the work of the tenant councils, Ms. Eckert?
Tenant advisory councils are – as I said – close to the tenants and have their ear directly in the area. To this end, we train our tenant advisory councils accordingly – for example on the topics of data protection, tenancy law, operating costs or conflict management. We also maintain an intensive exchange with all advisory boards and attach great importance to good communication at eye level. That's exactly why you can really make a difference and get deeply involved in the tenant advisory board.
What would you like to achieve in the future?
Buschmann:I want to make contacts in the closest private environment where you live, continue to learn and make a difference in small steps. I would also like to take responsibility for those around me in a society that is becoming increasingly anonymous. Eckert:We are looking for partnership. We would like to have more conversations with our tenants in order to make a difference together. I can therefore only invite everyone to take part and not be afraid of the task. We therefore hope for more candidates and increased multilingualism in the tenant committees in the future in order to come into contact with all of our tenants.