Housing Action Plan
Tenant Involvement Strategy
| Action | Last reviewed April 2026
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1 | Accessibility: set up weekly surgeries where Housing Officer will guarantee to be available to take telephone calls from tenants | To provide greater flexibility, the ability to access Housing Officers calendar and book a Microsoft Teams/online meeting has been developed and is now in use. This allows tenants to make appointments at their convenience. |
2 | Recruitment: Increase the number of tenants and RL leaseholders involved in different TI activities | We continue to review and update our tenant Involvement Options Brochure and to try new ways to engage which in 2025 included outreach events. In 2026 we are planning some family fund days. In 2025 we also reviewed and updated our Tenant and Leaseholders Recognition Scheme. 1992 individual tenants and leaseholders were involved in some way (from completing a survey to attending a focus group) between April 2024-March 2025 – Up from the previous year. We are also currently exploring with Freedom Leisure outreach activities in Retirement Living following successful sessions through Share Prosperity funding, as well as working in partnership with our Heakth and Wellbeing team. |
3 | Create Database of interested tenants: Use TP Tracker to create a data base of tenants and RL leaseholders who have expressed interest in involvement | TPTracker continues to be used as our database. Work continues to recruit new tenants including at sign-up and through our publications. |
4 | Develop and implement regular tenant satisfaction surveys for all service areas: Identify service areas where satisfaction surveys and focus groups can be used | A range of surveys and opportunities to collect tenants and leaseholders’ feedback is in place. Including new tenant survey and ASB survey. Together with our feedback email inbox and the use of complaints and complaint learning meetings. The Tenant Satisfaction Measures perception surveys are also sent out and the results used to identify areas for scrutiny or areas for improvements. |
5 | Develop and support Tenant and Retirement Living Leaseholder Representatives: Recruit, train and embed 3 or more elected Tenant and RL leaseholders Representatives | Court based Retirement Living Resident Groups have been set up, where there is interest from the residents and they are now supported by the Court Manager. We have just set up our first joint Retirement Living Resident Group with Sussex Housing and Care. We are also just about to consult on an umbrella Retirement Living Resident Group. This is to ensure all residents in our courts have the opportunity to raise issues at a higher level and can carry out their own activities where there is no court based Resident Group, but still have the necessary insurance. |
6 | Remove Barriers to Involvement: Support all tenants and RL leaseholders to be involved regardless of any disability, financial status, care commitments etc.
| Tenant Involvement Recognition Scheme aims to provide support to enable all to engage. With the help of tenants the scheme was reviewed and updated in 2025. We also offer a tablet loan scheme for those that would like one to help assist them to engage. We are in the process of contacting those tenants that have signed up to get involved but haven’t so far to find out if there are any barriers to their participation and if so how we can help to overcome these. |
7 | Training: Ensure that actively engaged tenants and RL leaseholders have access to relevant skills and training Promote other training and skills opportunities to wider tenant base | We continue to be part of Tpas and actively promote this to our tenants so that they can access all the resources available. We have paid for training via Tpas including scrutiny training. We provide bespoke training as needed which has included dementia awareness training and this summer are rolling out first aid training.
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8 | Publicise Tpas membership and benefits for tenants and RL leaseholders | We periodically included information on Tpas in our monthly newsletter, and Threshold. Information is also on our website. |
9 | Continuing to promote the Tenant Involvement brochure | We promote the brochure at new sign-ups and other opportunities as appropriate. There is also information on our website. The Brochure continues to be refined and developed. An editable form has been created to allow tenants and leaseholders to tell us how they want to be involved and request. |
10 | Improve Internal Communications To improve customer service to our tenants and leaseholders | As a small housing provider we work closely across teams both within housing and outside of the service to ensure we can provide the best service possible. There are numerous group Teams chats and we ensure we work closely with our Customer Service and Comms teams to ensure consistent communications and information. There is a monthly Housing Complaints Learning meeting, bi monthly management meetings and monthly team meetings together with regular one to ones for all staff. |
11 | Marketing & Promotion: Promote the ‘Tenant Involvement Offer’ to increase awareness of TI options available | We continue to using the monthly newsletter and Threshold as well as sign-up process to promote, together with our website. |
12 | Set up new Involvement Options based on the Tenant Involvement Offer brochure | Tenant Involvement Options Brochure is in place and continuously reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose. All options are now being utilised. |
13 | Reading Group: Further expand and develop the role of the Reading Group to give feedback and influence all Housing Service draft reports, letters and documents | Reading Group are very active and being used to run all publications passed prior to including website prior to release. |
14 | Support and facilitate Residents Associations and Community Groups: Continue to support and work in partnership with existing groups. Work with RL Service to increase number of Residents Association in R.L Courts | Resident Groups continue to be supported by us. In Retirement Living Court the Court Manager primarily provides the support and in general needs housing its the Tenant Involvement Team. We continue to provide running cost funding which all constituted groups can access. In 2026 we will be exploring with tenants and leaseholders the creation of an umbrella general needs and an umbrella Retirement Living Resident Group. |
15 | Tenant Portal Explore options to improve or replace the Tenant Portal to expand the amount of information available through it | Our new Tenant Portal went live at the beginning of February 2026. Existing users of the portal were told and provided with details of how to access the new portal shortly before go live. Those that never accessed the portal will be informed in the Spring 2026 Threshold. New tenants are advised and helped support to access the portal at sign-up or their 6 week visit. The portal is now a 2 way portal and contains the ability to see the contact information that we hold for a tenant and to update it. |
16 | Tenant Scrutiny Panel (TSP) Continue and develop the Tenant Scrutiny Panel/s | Despite training a scrutiny panel in 2022 the commitment involved for tenants meant that this was not sustained. However, we identify issues for scrutiny via the Consumer Panel and recruit members once a topic is identified and based on the topic agree how this will be delivered – for example a on-off online session or several in person sessions. In 2024/25 an ASB scrutiny took place with all the recommendations put into place and we completed a Voids Scrutiny project in 2025/2026. We are currently working through the recommendations.
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17 | Decent Environments Work with tenants and RL leaseholders to explore ways to improve local areas and utilise funding opportunities
| We continue to set aside £15k from the HRA for community improvements which both Resident Groups and individual tenants can request funding from, subject to eligibility. We work closely with our contractors to deliver social value and report back via our newsletters. This has included things like planters and solar lighting. We work with Contracts Officer on HRA land to explore options such as wildlife gardens. We also have a number of leased pieces of land including those leased to Resident Groups for community gardens. |
18 | Drive to Digital: help those who aren’t online get online where they want to and ensure access to service for those not online | We have introduced a tablet loan to engage those not online to engage which included a SIM card preloaded with data if needed. Basic training on how to use the device is also provided. We also work closely with the library service and have delivered digital outreach into our Retirement Living Courts and continue to promote the offering at the local libraries. |
19 | Annual review of TI Offer, Strategy and Action Plan: Review annually to ensure the T.I Offer, Strategy and Action Plan is still fit for purpose and meet best practice | Options Brochure regularly and this strategy is still current and this associated action plan regularly reviewed and updated. In 2026 we are co-designing an new Tenant Involvement Strategy and have already recruited tenants to help us with this piece of work. |
20 | Continue to be a member of Tpas and utilise benefits to ensure we are up-to-date with best practice | Tpas membership will continue in 2026/7 with membership fees for the year now paid. |
21 | Develop effective reporting of results and feedback: Agree format and produce quarterly report on results of feedback received from TI activities for HMT | Housing feedback email set-up and being promoted at the bottom of all housing staffs email signature.
Feedback is used to shape change to our services or delivery of them. This is feedback via our monthly newsletter, Threshold and the website. |
22 | Performance Management: Including recording and monitoring all Tenant Involvement Activities | TPTracker is being utilised to ensure engagement activities are recorded. In 2024/5 we engaged with 1992 tenants and leaseholders up from 858 in 2021-22. |
23 | Setup and embed Complaints Panel subject to demand from tenants and RL leaseholders: Form and support a complains panel consisting of tenants, RL leaseholder and lead member of Housing Staff | The panel was set up in 2022 but in 2025 it changed to the Consumer Panel in consultation with the members. This was so that it could cover complaints in addition to all the Consumer Standards. The panel meets 4 times a year and reports directly into ori Housing Board. It has reviewed performance, customer feedback and complaints as well as compliance against the Housing Ombudsman Complaints handling Code and complaince with the Consumer Standards. |
24 | Ensure website is kept up to date Include information on service performance, feedback – compliments and complaints including formal complaints data as well as updates on action plans | Work was done to change Tenant Involvement pages and how they interlink making it more attractive and interactive.
Lots more information is now also available on the website including details of all complaints, their outcomes and our learning. As well as a lot more performance information. |
25 | Review information provided in Annual Report Responding to requirements of the White Paper | HQN event on annual report writing attended in 2022. In 2022 when we wrote the 21-22 report we recruited tenants to get involved. Since the we have worked with our Consumer Panel and Reading Group to ensure tenants can help shape what goes into the annual report and how it is presented. Despite it no longer being a requirement to produce an annual report we have continue to produce one as our residents find it informative and useful. |
26 | Develop and implement Local Offers Work with and consult tenants and RL leaseholders to develop local offers that deliver improvements that are important to them | We have used our text forum to find out if the term Local Offers was understood, which it wasn’t so we are now calling them service standards/Local offers. Local offers for 23/24 have been agreed and published. Consulted tenants and leaseholders on draft local offers and ideas for other things that we could offer. We have also published what we achieved against last years Local Offers. Since the introduction of the new regulatory framework and Consumer Standards local offers have been superseded and no longer exist. |
27 | Actively encourage feedback for Compliments and dissatisfaction | We introduced a new feedback email which we promote in publications and on the website. It is also on the bottom of all housing staff email signatures. |
28 | Develop and implement a Housing Communications Plan: Work with tenants and RL leaseholders on publication and benchmarking of our performance across Housing Services and ensure feedback on contributions of tenants and RL leaseholders | In 2026 we are reviewing this inline with our corporate Communications Policy. |
29 | Tenant Involvement Recognition Scheme | The scheme has been revised a number of times with the latest scheme amended in 2025 in consultation with tenants and as a direct result of feedback from tenants. |