LGBTQIA+ Tenant Q&A by Aiden Moffitt

Aiden is a Monmouthshire Housing Tenant and finalist for TPAS Cymru’s Tenant of the Year Award 2026. She is a strong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ tenant community and a member of the Stonewall Housing Accreditation Panel.

Hear what Aiden has to say on reflections regarding tenant engagement and meaningful inclusion for LGTQIA+ Tenants in social housing.

“What does meaningful inclusion for LGBTQIA+ tenants look like in practice, not just on paper?”

Personally, meaningful inclusion should be a charter approach that enables all tenants and staff to feel visibly included, supported and safe. Afterall, tenants just want to live their lives with normality and no barriers. Ensuring all frontline facing staff with tenant interaction have regular comprehensive EDI training, alongside small indicators such as rainbow lanyards/laces and visible pronouns all help. It is also worth noting that Section 28 was extremely damaging and not inclusive to all. 

“When people hear the phrase ‘lived experience’, what do you wish they understood differently?” 

Lived experience should be respected and valued with compassion as it’s what we face every day. It’s real-life learning by experience and it can often be exhausting trying to live an everyday life as a LGBTQIA+  person.  

“What’s one experience in your life that fundamentally changed how you see systems, services, or communities?” 

The answer to this is much like how long is a ball of string? The list is endless. But my experience has certainly been shaped by how much desensitisation to normality perception and sector burnout is around. As a result, it often seems like we receive an emotionless response and lack of cohesion to solve problems together. 

“Can you share a moment when you realised your voice could actually influence change?” 

Growing up under the shadow of Section 28 meant I learnt so little that I’m now driven to speak out and influence change. I’m blessed to have some amazing role models, and I’d like to think that future generations will one day be inspired by me. There are also still elements of the stigma that people in social housing can’t progress and do well in life, or if they do they should lose access to social housing.  

“What does being recognised as an ‘expert by experience’ mean to you personally?”

I wish that they’d acknowledge and respect that we are experts by experience and not by completing LGBTQIA+ training which often seems like a box ticking exercise.