£2m will fund 20 innovative schemes across England to resolve social housing issues faster, including the use of new AI tools to improve support for tenants
Thousands of social housing residents will be given more control as part of a new government drive to get landlords to listen and give underrepresented tenants a voice.
By the end of April, 20 new digital and on-the-ground projects will be in place for a year-long trial period to involve tenants in important decisions and resolve the issues they are most concerned about: ignored repairs, poor updates, slow responses, and being bounced between services.
The projects include new AI assistance for social housing, a ‘living room on wheels’ for chats with housing officers and a national online hub for shared ownership.
A full list of the projects and allocated funding can be found below:
- Belonging Begins Here (BBH): Connecting our Communities. Accent Group. £120,000.
- Trusted Voices: A Council of Elders Model for Refugee Tenant Engagement. Ashley Community & Housing Ltd. £76,442.
- Ermine Community Partnership. Lincoln City Council. £104,049.
- Connected Neighbours: New Models for tenant-landlord engagement. Clarion Housing Group. £119,110.
- Our Homes. Leeds City Council. £119.371.
- Hidden Voices to be Heard. Loconomy Ltd. £120,000.
- Amplifying Survivor Voices – Domestic Violence & Violence Against Women and Girls Residents. London Borough of Hillingdon. £120,000.
- Tenant Board Member Academy: Building Leadership from Within. Manningham House Association Limited. £70,000.
- The Tenants’ Voice. National Communities Resource Centre Limited. £113,631.
- Building Safety Resident Engagement at Scale. Newham Council. £120,000.
- YouNG Networkers. Nottingham Community Housing Association. £98,889.
- A National Voice for Shared Owners. The Places Foundation (led by Shared Ownership Resources). £120,000.
- Richmond Community Ambassadors – Making a difference locally. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. £102,316.
- Virtual Voices: Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Engagement Through Accessible Communication. Rooftop Housing Association. £75,500.
- The G15 Residents’ Group: A Model for Strategic Resident Involvement. Southern Housing (led by G15 Resident Group). £70,000.
- The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge: tenant-led change in social housing. Stonewall Housing Association. £95,250.
- Improving resident scrutiny. Together Housing. £103,340.
- Breaking the stigma: Stronger scrutiny in social housing. Vico Homes. £72,368.
- Front room on wheels. Wigan Borough Council. £70,000.
- Wythenshawe Enabled – Powered by Difference. Wythenshawe Community Housing Group. £95,900.
Social housing is seeing a government overhaul
This fund falls alongside new legislation, such as Awaab’s law, and the Social and Affordable Housing Programme worth £39bn. The Social and Affordable Housing Programme is a package that will provide funding for councils and housing providers to give financial flexibility and cut costs.
Housing secretary Steve Reed said: “Every new social home means one less family stuck on a housing waiting list. Building more social housing is crucial to fixing the housing crisis for good.
“But that’s only part of the story. We’re also driving up the quality of social housing so they’re well insulated and damp-free to keep families safe and cut their energy bills in the years ahead.
“I’m calling on everyone who has a part to play to build, baby, build.”
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