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Listening to tenants must be a priority
We can only make things better for residents by hearing their views and recommendations, says Geeta Nanda
The Grenfell Tower fire is rightly seen as a line in the sand: the voices of social housing residents need to be heard and heeded.
Following the tragedy, the call came from across the housing sector and local government urging the prime minister to make sure residents have a strong voice in social housing decisions.
The housing minister is already touring the country talking to housing professionals and residents about what needs to change following Grenfell.
“It is refreshing to see a minister engage directly with residents.”
This is the right thing to do and the feedback so far from these discussions is that he is genuinely listening to what people have to say.
It is refreshing to see a minister engage directly with residents in this way from the start.
As the minister himself has admitted, too often the government has not paid enough attention to social housing.
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While last month’s Budget placed housing at the top of the political agenda, more needs to be done.
The question of what lies next for social housing needs to be addressed by the government and the housing sector, in partnership with residents.
It is widely acknowledged that residents need to be listened to at a local level and involved in decision-making processes. As housing associations, for example, we need to work with them to design services that they truly need, and which will have the most positive impact on their lives.
As we all know, a safe, secure, affordable home is the foundation for a stable life – and without it children suffer, health is affected and homelessness and inequality grow.
“Many of the residents I met had been actively involved locally with the organisation for years.”
One of the first things in my diary when I arrived at Metropolitan as its new chief executive in October was to meet with our customers at an annual residents’ conference. Many of the residents I met had been actively involved locally with the organisation for years.
Their enthusiasm to work with us to make things better came across very clearly from speaking to them.
One of our residents said: “We all want to live in a good environment – and we want that for everyone around us.”
Our tenants are no different from anyone else – they want what’s best for their families and their communities, and to live in safe, secure environments. Their views are paramount because it is only by listening to what they need that we can make things better for them, their families and their communities.
We know that the government is planning a Social Housing Green Paper in the New Year, which will address engagement with social housing residents alongside a whole range of issues that are affecting their lives – and we look forward to seeing what recommendations it contains. First and foremost we need to ensure the views and recommendations of social housing residents reach the top of that list.
Geeta Nanda, chief executive, Metropolitan
