Eight ways housing providers can better engage with their communities

Backed by our recent work on building community presence, we look at some of the most effective ways housing providers can boost engagement with their communities and ultimately deliver a better service for residents.

One of the key recommendations from the Better Social Housing Review was for landlords to develop a proactive presence in the communities they operate. The benefits of doing so are myriad, including: 

• Enhanced resident satisfaction 
• Improved trust 
• A better reputation 
• More effective property management 
• Better financial management 
• Increased social inclusion. 

In this article, backed by a series of recent case studies, we highlight eight ways in which housing providers can better engage with their communities – and reap the rewards for both themselves and their tenants.

Conduct community meetings and workshops 

• Organise regular meetings or workshops where residents can voice their concerns, ask questions, and share ideas. These can be in-person or virtual. 

In practice 

One of the main goals of South-London-based Phoenix Community Housing (PCH) is to foster interactions and strong relationships between all stakeholders. To help deliver on this mission, PCH set up its community hub and headquarters in one building – The Green Man – located within a five-mile radius of all PCH homes. PCH has another community centre, called Grace Centre, at Grove Park, which it established in 2021 following the acquisition of 1,500 homes from L&Q. 

For PCH, the benefits of this approach include ensuring more residents' voices are heard and more ownership is given to communities, empowering more residents to get involved in resident leadership and other areas of involvement.

Employ community liaison officers 

• Appoint community liaison officers who can act as intermediaries between residents and the housing association. They should be easily accessible and approachable. 

In practice 

By its own admission, in 2021, whg moved away from “standards operation practice” and introduced 30 community housing officers (CHOs) to safeguard and build on its community focus as it expanded across the Midlands. 

As a result of these posts, whg says it has begun to connect with a greater number of customers and increased community sustainability. The percentage of customers with established tenancies (those of more than two years) has increased from 79 per cent to 85 per cent, and it anticipates improvements in overall customer satisfaction as the organisation continues to embed and improve this model. 

Develop diverse representation 

• Ensure the housing association's leadership and staff reflect the diversity of the community they serve. This helps in understanding and addressing the needs of different demographics. 

In practice

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) has made it its mission to be representative of its diverse customer base. For YHN, this means working with communities and staff to ensure it is engaging and providing the right services for everyone. Last year, the provider launched its Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy (Unity) and appointed its first EDI lead to improve representation across staff and communities. 

This year, the landlord’s EDI lead has been working with its employability team to promote apprenticeship schemes within its communities in a bid to attract a more diverse workforce. 

Provide education and training 

• Provide residents with information and resources to enhance their skills, financial literacy, and knowledge about their rights and responsibilities as tenants. 

In practice 

Over the next three years, Orbit is investing a total of £12m into its Better Days programme, which provides customers free services designed to support financial inclusion, mental health, employment and skills, and digital support. 

Meanwhile, Your Homes Newcastle’s financial inclusion team provides finance and income advice to residents, making around 200 referrals each month. Its employability team also delivers employability and digital opportunities via one-to-one support sessions in accessible community venues. 

Work with local organisations 

• Collaborate with local community organisations, schools, or businesses to support initiatives that benefit the community and promote social integration. 

In practice

Nottingham Partnership Homes (NPH) has been working with Happy to Help CIC, a social enterprise subsidiary run by NPH, to provide a range of services aimed at supporting the community. As the board is mostly comprised of tenants, community investment decisions are informed by those with the best local knowledge and the biggest community stake. 

NPH has also forged a relationship with the Spring Charity, which operates in Spring Boroughs, one of NPH’s largest estates. As a result of this work, NPH has helped the Spring Charity to develop its Early Years Family Support Strategy, which targets provision for families and ensures children start school at a baseline in line with their peers in the wider area. 

Wolverhampton Homes, meanwhile, has been working with and supporting dozens of local partners via its Community Chest initiative, which it says has allowed it to connect with customers it has “not engaged with so well” previously. 

Invest in the community 

• Invest in community development projects, such as green spaces, playgrounds, or community centres, to improve the quality of life for residents. 

In practice 

Chrisp Street Community Cycles (CSCC) is one of 14 community buildings set up by Poplar HARCA. The initiative had been designed to get more women into cycling, especially from minority communities in the Tower Hamlets area, who constitute 56 per cent of the borough's population. 

Meanwhile, Warrington Housing Association (WHA), alongside a group of other organisations from across the borough, turned an old printworks and post office into a collaborative hub called the Gateway Trust. The building includes offices, a reception facility, and a range of meeting rooms and meeting spaces, alongside a café and conference suite. 

Between October 2022 and March 2023, the Gateway Trust delivered: 

• 179 specialist training sessions and appointments 
• 11 one-off events, including a volunteer fair and a Dementia Network event 
• 267 community support group meetings. 

Conduct surveys and focus groups 

• Conduct regular surveys and focus groups to gather insights on resident satisfaction, concerns, and suggestions. Use this data to inform decision-making. 

In practice 

As a result of several mergers, Southern Housing found its residents had begun to feel a lack of closeness to their landlord. As part of efforts to ameliorate this, Southern Housing held an engagement event on its Hindle House estate (a block of around 200 flats transferred to Southern Housing from Hackney Council in 2001) to give residents the opportunity to voice concerns. 

Southern Housing was open to the criticism it received. It said: “We weren’t there to argue or disagree, we were there to find a way forward. We listened to the feedback and categorised before openly sharing it with the community.” 

Undertake regular maintenance and upkeep 

• Show a commitment to the wellbeing of the community by maintaining properties, addressing maintenance issues promptly, and ensuring a safe and clean environment. 

In practice 

This is another area which Southern Housing is looking to improve following residents becoming “increasingly frustrated” with poor repair quality, long waiting times, and lack of visibility over recent years as various mergers took place. 

As part of its aim to address each of these issues, the CEO and director of repairs visited residents in the Hindle House community to gauge problems such as leaks, damp, and mould first-hand. Going forward, Southern Housing says it is making sure it tailors its service delivery to the community to “truly understand” the needs of each estate.