Becoming a Member ofWishaw and DistrictHousing Association

AGM 2012

Becoming a Member ofWishaw and DistrictHousing Association

Anyone who is resident in the Association’s area of operationwho is 16 years or over may apply to become a member ofWishaw and District Housing Association. We will also consideranyone who is employed in the Association’s area of operationunless this work creates a conflict of interest.

Please ask for our membership application form.

We cover Wishaw, Craigneuk, Flemington, Muirhouse,Netherton, Cambusnethan, Coltness, Newmains, Shotts andHarthill and all the areas in between.

Membership, also known as buying a share in the Association,costs £1.

Membership, also known as being a shareholder, entitles you todirect involvement in the Association’s affairs and a say in howwe run our business. Please note that being a tenant or sharingowner is not the same as being a member of the Associationand membership must be applied for separately.

As a member, you will be:

• Invited to attend our Annual General Meeting (AGM) whichis usually held in July, where you will hear our ChiefExecutive’s report on the year, where you will hear ourauditor present and assess our accounts, and where youmay join in the open question and answer sessions.

Who may becomea member?

Where is our areaof operation?

How much doesmembershipcost?

What are thebenefits ofmembership?

• Invited to attend any special general meetings that we maycall (SGM).

• Invited to vote at our AGM and SGM meetings on:- appointment of the auditor- any rule changes- election of board members

• Invited to stand for election to our Board of Directors at theAGM, or apply to be co-opted if there is a vacancy duringthe year.

• Invited to formally raise any matters of concern at our AGMwith Board Members or informally discuss those issueswith Board Members after the formal part of the meetinghas closed.

We have a simple form that we ask you to complete thatconfirms you are applying for membership and requires yourname, address, phone number/s and email address if you haveone. Please ask at reception for our Membership ApplicationForm, complete it, and return it with your £1 membership fee.

Our Board of Directors has the authority, acting within theRules, to decide to whom it will grant membership and allapplications are considered by them.

We assume that all tenants, sharing owners and owners whoreceive a factoring service from us have good reason forwishing to join so all applications from these groups areautomatically accepted unless we have good reason forbelieving the applicant has a conflict of interest.

Other eligible applicants are also welcome but are usuallyinvited to an informal discussion with representatives of theBoard so that we can make ourselves aware of your reasons forwishing to join us.

How do I apply for membership?

If I apply, will Ibe accepted?

You will receive a letter of acceptance, your Share Certificate(which is your membership certificate), and a copy of our Rules.

When the next annual, or special, general meeting is called youwill receive the agenda and accompanying papers.

In the unlikely event of your not being accepted for membershipwe will write advising you of our reasons within 14 days of ourdecision, and returning your £1 membership fee. If you wish toappeal this decision you would do so to the Scottish PublicServices Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO’s contact details canbe found in our leaflet “Our Complaints Policy” or atwww.spso.org.uk

All applications go to the next scheduled Board meeting. As theBoard usually meets at least once a month you will notnormally wait longer than four weeks. Membership is activeimmediately on approval.

Our rules do not allow us to consider applications formembership which are made within the 14 day period leadingup to our AGM.

Your membership lasts for your lifetime but you can cancel itshould you choose to do so. However your £1 membership feewill not be refunded.

We will end your membership if you die, if you move away andfail to notify us of your new address or if you do not attend orsubmit apologies for five AGMs and do not exercise your postalvote or appoint a proxy. There are also procedures for endingyour membership if we receive a complaint in writing that youhave behaved in a way that might harm the Association’sinterests, and two thirds of members voting at a special generalmeeting agree to end your membership.

What happenswhen I amaccepted?

What happens if I am notaccepted?

How long does it take to become amember?

Can mymembership beended?

You cannot sell your membership and it can only be transferredif we agree.

We will consider applications for corporate membership wherethe organisation applying has aims that complement our own.Such organisations will be corporate members and will beasked to name one person to be their representative member.However, a member may not be a personal member and arepresentative member of a corporate body at the same time.We will suspend your personal membership if you become therepresentative for a corporate member.

Please contact our Corporate Services Manager if you wouldlike more details on applying for corporate membership.

When you apply for membership we will also request that youcomplete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form asking foryour gender, your ethnic origin and whether you consider thatyou have a disability. This form does not ask for your name andis confidential. It is separated from your membershipapplication at receipt and not seen by those consideringmembership.

We ask for the information for statistical purposes so that wecan monitor our service to different groups of people,particularly minority or disadvantaged groups. If you do notwish to give this information you are not obliged to do so.However, it is very helpful to us if you do.

We keep a register of members which will contain your nameand address, your membership number and the amount youhave paid for membership (£1). Should your membership becancelled or suspended this will also be noted.

This list is not available on our website but must be madeavailable to anyone who asks to see it.

Can I sell or transfer mymembership?

Can anorganisationbecome amember?

Equal opportunities

As a member, what informationdo you keepabout me?

08/12

As a member you may stand for election to the Board ofDirectors. At least fourteen days before the AGM you willreceive a ‘nomination form’ along with your AGM papers whichyou should complete, asking another member to nominate you,and you should return this by the due date which is seven daysbefore the AGM. If you do not know another member who couldnominate you then please ask to speak to our Chairperson orSecretary, or our Chief Executive or Corporate ServicesManager, any of whom will assist you.

Alternatively, sometimes there are vacancies in between AGMsand it might be possible for you to be chosen to fill one ofthese. This process is called co-option. If you were co-optedthen you would have to stand for election at the firstopportunity in order to continue with membership of the Board.If you would like to be considered for co-option to a vacancythen please register your interest with our Corporate ServicesManager.

For any queries on membership not covered by this leaflet, or ifyou would like more information on joining our Board ofDirectors, then please ask to speak to our Corporate ServicesManager.

If needed, this leaflet may be able to be translated into otherlanguages and provided in other formats such as larger print.This service is provided free of charge and in line with theAssociation’s Translating and Interpreting Policy.

Wishaw & District Housing Association Limited 55 Kirk Road, Wishaw ML2 7BL

Tel: 01698 377200 • Fax: 01698 358712E-mail: assoc@wishawdha.org.ukWeb: www.wishawdha.org.uk

Open: Monday – Thursday: 9.00am – 4.30pm and Friday: 9.00am – 4.00pmClosed for lunch: 12.30pm – 1.30pm

After I havebecome amember I maywish to join theboard ofdirectors. How doI do this?

Furtherinformation

English not yourfirst language?Visuallyimpaired?