Havering Council's Cabinet has approved the Housing Tenant Engagement Strategy for 2026-2029, aiming to foster greater trust and resident involvement in shaping housing services.
The strategy, presented by Councillor Robert Whitton, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, emphasizes a shift towards genuine partnership with tenants, moving beyond traditional consultation to empower residents in decision-making and service improvement. Key objectives include utilizing data to tailor engagement efforts, empowering residents through panels and forums, removing barriers to involvement with flexible options and practical support, and strengthening feedback loops through transparent reporting and resident scrutiny. The strategy will be delivered using existing resources.
Data-Driven Engagement and Targeted Strategies
To tailor engagement efforts and understand resident needs, the strategy will Use data to tailor engagement and understand our resident needs
by cross-referencing tenant and homes data to identify patterns, such as single people in one-bed homes or housing for growing families. It also plans to Combine all relevant datasets to inform targeted and inclusive engagement strategies
and Utilise data-driven frameworks to understand who our residents are and how best to engage them.
The council aims to Complete integration of tenant data into a dashboard by June 2027
and Publish yearly engagement reports starting April 2027.
Empowering Residents Through Panels and Forums
The strategy proposes to Build upon and establish panels, forums, and task & finish groups for scrutiny, co-design, and service improvement.
Specifically, it aims to Establish two Area Panels by December 2027 (10 members each)
and Increase participation in Resident Participation Panel meetings by 25 per cent by December 2028.
Removing Barriers and Expanding Opportunities
To remove barriers and expand opportunities for involvement, the strategy will offer flexible engagement options: online surveys, hybrid meetings, one-off and ongoing roles.
Practical support will be provided to help tenants take part, including childcare, interpreters, transport, and accessible venues.
Furthermore, resident groups will be Support[ed] with training and resources to help them be better prepared to get involved.
The council will also Use digital tools to enhance participation and remove access barriers
and Recognise and reward resident contributions to encourage sustained involvement.
Strengthening Feedback Loops and Transparency
The strategy aims to Strengthen feedback loops and accountability
by being open, transparent and accountable in what we do such as our complaints process, and communicate outcomes clearly.
Tenant panels and forums will scrutinise housing services and monitor strategy delivery,
and satisfaction measures and survey results will be Publish[ed] regularly.
Specific targets include Publish annual 'You Said, We Did' reports starting July 2027
and Achieve 90 per cent transparency compliance by December 2028.
Addressing Key Resident Concerns
Councillor Whitton highlighted the importance of listening to residents, stating, It is an old adage in politics that politicians are very good at talking to the public, but not very good at listening to them. Obviously, there are consequences for that.
He added that ensuring residents' feedback leads to tangible improvements is crucial. Concerns raised during the consultation regarding delays in repairs and communication were acknowledged. The strategy aims to address these by aiming to Deliver a Right First-Time Service,
which includes quickly responding to complaints and requests
and providing information that gives assurance that the management of homes and communities is in safe hands.
It also aims to Improve our repairs
by tracking repairs and looking to improve this method with better IT solutions
and proactively addressing the most frequently reported repairs to help reduce the overall number of repair requests.
The goal is to complete 80 per cent of repairs at the first time of asking.
The strategy also aims to Make communication simpler and more effective.
Measuring Success and KPIs
The strategy outlines several ways to measure success, including inclusion, empowerment, social value, partnerships, resident satisfaction, participation rates, feedback quality, service responsiveness, inclusion metrics, impact tracking, and digital reach. Specific targets include completing the integration of tenant data into a dashboard by June 2027, increasing survey response rates by 15 per cent by March 2028, and establishing two Area Panels by December 2027. The council also aims to Increase satisfaction levels by at least 5 per cent in at least three categories – TPO2 (repairs); TPO6 (Listening & responding to tenants); TPO 12 (Anti Social Behaviour management)
and Improve complaints satisfaction from 28.9 per cent to 50 per cent by March 2029.
Furthermore, it aims to Increase by 20 per cent underrepresented group engagement by 2028
and Increase to 80 per cent resident repairs satisfaction by 2028.
Alignment with Regulatory Standards
The strategy also aligns with the Regulator of Social Housing's Consumer Standards, particularly the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, which mandates landlords to consider tenant views and demonstrate how feedback influences decisions.
Councillor Martin Lardner, Cabinet Member for Housing Allocation, noted the importance of this strategy in the context of recent elections where the last administration and the established parties were kind of washed away in a tsunami of change and reform.
This strategy will be delivered using existing resources, with the council confident in their sufficiency to implement all aspects of the plan.
See the full Public reports pack and Agenda frontsheet for more details.
