Steering group appoints research partner to support tenant empowerment study

Funding for the research has been provided by the Longleigh Foundation, the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations and the Taroe Trust, which has since ceased operation. Initial results are due to be released in July 2024, with a final report concluded by the end of the summer.

Since the abolition of the National Tenant Voice organisation in July 2010, there has not been single body with a role to speak on behalf of social housing tenants. The Social Housing Green Paper in 2018 stated the need for stronger representation for tenants at a national level.

A Voice for Tenants said that a new permanent national tenant body might not be established, but it hoped that tenants having greater influence will lead to more positive outcomes between social tenants and landlords.

Joseph De-Ville, chair of A Voice for Tenants and a social tenant, said six candidates were interviewed for the project and HCA was chosen as the winner after an “amazing presentation and question and answer session”.

He said: “We decided they were a good fit for the project as most of the sector is saying we need something new to happen and rather than going with the usual or most embedded in housing networks we opted for just that – someone who can look at this with a fresh pair of eyes.

“Maybe they will see what we have all been missing for so long and show that the tenant voice is now required in our country to make housing much better for all tenants.”

Merron Simpson, chief executive of the HCA, said: “The case for a sustainable tenant voice to influence national housing policy has grown stronger in recent years and its continuing absence a clear gap in the influencing architecture. Our health creation framing offers a fresh approach and, as a diverse cross sector movement whose members include both housing tenants and organisations, the HCA will bring a range of perspectives to bear on the challenge.”

A Voice for Tenants urged tenants and landlords to get in touch to help the HCA access a “truly diverse” range of tenants from across England.

This plan is similar to some of the work being done by a social housing tenant and Tpas associate who launched a research project earlier this year to make landlords more representative of their diverse communities.

Kai Jackson’s project is sponsored by Tpas with academic support from the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence.

Ms Jackson invited social housing tenants from ethnic minority backgrounds and all housing sector staff to participate in the hope their insights will play a “crucial role” in shaping recommendations from the study.