Landlords not listening to tenants' views
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The chief executive of the National Consumer Council has slated the 'extravagant failure' of social landlords to listen to their tenants, following a major poll.
Writing exclusively for Inside Housing Ed Mayo said an NCC poll of more than 1,200 tenants found that most social landlords were still not meeting tenants'expectations, with councils being the worst culprits.
Residents said local authorities were less likely to provide a flexible housing service or foster a sense of community than housing associations.
The findings come despite government calls for landlords to tackle tenant dissatisfaction, after Professor John Hills' report on social housing described increasing numbers of unhappy tenants (Inside Housing, 23 February).
Social landlords also compared unfavourably with other sectors. Social housing services scored lower than employment and home care offerings on service delivery, communication and 'going the extra mile'.
'The results offer conclusive proof that social housing has further to go in the eyes of its tenants,' Mr Mayo said.
Less than one in three of those questioned said their landlords took on board tenants' suggestions for service improvements. '[This result] stands out as an extravagant failure,' Mr Mayo said.
A second NCC study, published last month, found that when asked how their service could be improved, tenants were more likely to ask for too little than too much.