The Resident Opportunities and Empowerment programme will provide training and support for social housing residents to speak up and raise issues with their landlord
A new Government programme will offer training and support for social housing residents to speak up and raise issues with their landlord.
A £500,00 grant will be available through the Resident Opportunities and Empowerment programme. This will run from Autumn 2022 to Spring 2025 and empower social housing residents across England to hold their landlord to account.
The Resident Opportunities and Empowerment programme honours commitments set out in the Social Housing White Paper
The training and support for social housing residents includes opportunities for residents to learn how to influence landlord decisions that affect tenants and their community.
For example, guidance on how to form a residents panel will help residents in engaging with their landlords where services, such as repairs and maintenance, do not meet required standards.
The announcement is a key part of the government’s commitment to re-balancing the relationship between tenants and landlords, set out in the Social Housing White Paper.
The £500,000 grant is open to bids from organisations or partnerships in England with relevant expertise in the social housing sector and an understanding of the importance of resident empowerment.
Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Eddie Hughes MP said: “Tenants have a right for their voices to be heard – and we want to ensure they have the tools and resources to do this. We committed to rebalancing the relationship between social housing tenants and landlords as part of our Social Housing White Paper.
“This new grant will enable an organisation with expertise in the sector to help tenants take an active role in how their home is managed.”
Entry requirements for training and support
Applications are now open for organisations with relevant social housing sector experience to deliver the programme. Applicants should have experience in:
- Providing training, capacity building and access to independent information, within the social housing sector;
- Working collaboratively with landlords to deliver outcomes beneficial to residents and their communities;
- Establishing significant and appropriate sector links and networks, to reach social housing residents, including underrepresented demographics and new audiences
- Delivering an offer which supports and adds value to the measures set out in the ‘Social Housing White Paper, The Charter for Social Housing Residents’;
- Delivering projects that provide value for money.
The application window is open from now until 2 October 2022.
