What does 'Tenants at the Heart' really mean to tenants? See 10 key points identified at our 2018 Annual Conference 

What does 'Tenants at the Heart' really mean to tenants? 

10 Key Points from our 2018 Conference

'Tenants at the heart' is one of the most over-used phrases within the housing sector; we even decided to use it as a theme for our annual conference. This led to several valuable discussions around how the term made tenants feel and what it truly meant to tenants and landords. We identified 10 key points. 
 
  1. In a world of digital and online consultation etc don’t forget the value of engaging with tenants face-to-face within their communities to gather insight and build positive relationships

 

  1. Social landlords need to balance building new homes whilst ensuring they are investing in the quality of existing homes.

 

  1. Would changing the term ‘social housing’ to ‘community housing’ help create a more positive perception of social housing?

 

  1. Tell positive stories about what tenant engagement has achieved.

 

  1. Landlords should develop trust and relationships with tenants to empower them to be a critical friend.

 

  1. For existing social housing tenants to share positive facts about social housing.

 

  1. New technical and digital developments offer a great opportunity to enable those with disabilities with new assistive technology.

 

  1. Tenants voice is vital in shaping landlord services because they can challenge the mentality of landlords

 

  1.  Tenants should be valued as much as staff

 

  1.  Remember that keeping tenants at the heart is the right thing to do!