A new commission has lessons on what tenants need from engagement

“Social housing today faces huge challenges, and the paternalistic ‘us and them’ approach simply won’t work,” says Sir Steve Bullock, the commission’s chair.

“There has to be a different way, an approach where we work together and share power to make things better for everyone.”

The commission is led by CDS Co-operatives, a co-op management services agency and 900-home housing association, in partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE). The first report features interviews with experts and looks at a number of case studies, including Phoenix Community Housing and the Walsall Alliance of Tenant Management Organisations (Watmos).

Its conclusions include: the importance of recognising diverse models of power-sharing and different forms of engagement; the promotion of training and support to allow tenants to engage meaningfully; and a call for organisations to realise the mutual benefit of power-sharing.

Those gathered to digest these findings agree that landlords need to understand that tenants often have a different perspective on what an organisation’s priorities should be.

“I sit between two worlds,” explains Andy Bates, a housing consultant and associate at Community-Led Housing London.

“So when I sit in meetings with those who have the legal responsibility to manage housing, it’s all about money. But when I go into meetings with tenants, it’s about respect, racism and competency. If the sector is going to change, we need a way of joining those two conversations.”

Denise Fowler, chief executive of Phoenix Community Housing, says her 7,600-home organisation tries to be open with tenants about the reality of the difficult choices being made. For instance, as Phoenix grapples with investing in its stock to tackle damp and mould, this means hard financial decisions need to be made elsewhere in the business.

“It is about that partnership and being open and honest about the challenges that we’re facing – and seeing residents as part of the solution,” Ms Fowler says.

“The only way of doing that is to have discussions, and lots of discussions, not just with the board. There is something about an adult-to-adult conversation.”

“You’ve got to remember tenant board members are accountable to the organisation,” Ms Jackson says. “So yes, you get that direct feedback and that direct perspective from tenants in that boardroom, but at the end of the day, they’re there for the business of the organisation.”

“It’s the day-to-day interaction and the day-to-day involvement of residents in decision-making that makes the biggest difference,” adds Ms Fowler. “It’s not just about the formal governance structure, important as that is.”

Kul Bains, chief executive of 3,000-home Watmos, sees tenants as having a “stewardship role”.

“In that stewardship role, they’re able to kind of set out their expectations, they’re able to exercise the rights and responsibilities as shareholders, and they’re able to hold the organisation to account,” he says.

Many of the participants have questions about how to maintain co-operation and power-sharing as organisations grow. Most of the case studies in the report come from small organisations, so how scalable are these models? 

Susie Dye, grants manager at charity Trust for London, challenges the participants with a question: “Who’s not in the room?”

She says: “I’ve also got this little question in my head about who doesn’t engage? Even within communities, there are dynamics of the people who are slightly more likely to turn up to meetings and the people who never will.”

Anne Power, emeritus professor of social policy at LSE and head of research group LSE Housing and Communities, says housing providers must not rely solely on technology, but continue to invest in frontline staff, in order to reach all tenants.

“If we want social landlords to communicate better with their tenants, they have to invest time in it, and the only way that is actually going to work... is by having staff on the ground,” she says.

“You can’t co-operate with tenants unless you’re there at the coalface.”