With the Social Housing White Paper granting greater powers to the regulator, there is a new requirement for all social housing providers to publish data on tenant satisfaction, evidence tenant engagement and meet regulatory standards in handling complaints.
The Tenant Satisfaction and Engagement Conference therefore provides support for social housing providers, to help them comply with the latest regulations and ensure they prioritize the needs of their tenants.
Below, we assess what you can expect from the conference, but you can explore our 2021 agenda in more detail here.
Explore with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government what your key responsibilities are in light of the Social Housing White Paper
The Social Housing White Paper sets out the actions the government are taking to ensure residents in social housing are safe, have their voice heard and have access to redress when things go wrong.
Jane Everton, Deputy Head of Social Housing Policy, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, will discuss the next steps for the implementation of the white paper, exploring the responsibilities it places on housing associations and sharing how landlords are expected to evidence tenant satisfaction and engagement under these regulations.
Gain practical insights from the Housing Ombudsman Service on how to ensure your complaints services are compliant with the new Complaint Handling Code
The powers of the Housing Ombudsman Service have expanded, and the new Complaint Handling Code has been published, granting the Ombudsman the power to make decisions more quickly and issue complaint handling failures to landlords where necessary.
Hear directly from Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman Service, analysing the findings from the new complaints handling code, sharing common mistakes by social landlords who failed to comply and offering delegates practical guidance on how to ensure their complaints services are compliant and prioritize the needs of tenants.
Assess the strengthened enforcement powers of the Regulator of Social Housing
The Regulator of Social Housing will have the power to intervene in matters of housing associations under the white paper. But what does this mean in practice?
Fiona MacGregor, Chief Executive, The Regulator of Social Housing’s session on the second day of the conference will strengthen your understanding of the enforcement of powers the Regulator have been granted. Fiona will also share insights into the new inspections programme and offer guidance for social landlords on how to prepare for the implementation of these measures in advance.
Explore the latest innovative methods for engaging tenants
All housing associations must evidence tenant engagement under the white paper, so it is imperative that they look for more innovative ways to communicate with their tenants and embrace technology more fully to ensure no one is left behind.
In the interactive panel discussion on day one of the conference, Janice White of Estuary Housing Association and Jenny Osbourne of Tpas will explore this further and look to the future of tenant engagement communications post Covid-19 and what lessons we can take away going forward to ensure all service users have the skills to access services and communications.
Benchmark against award-winning housing associations who have implemented innovative initiatives to improve tenant engagement
How can you implement an outstanding approach to tenant engagement within your organisation? What are the best methods and techniques for engaging residents in key decisions about service delivery?
Aasia Nisar, Head of Resident Engagement at Sovereign Housing Association will be on hand to answer these questions, as she gives insight into how her organisation led an innovative engagement strategy which led to them winning the ‘Excellence in Tenant Engagement’ Award in the Tenant Participatory Advisory Service (Tpas) awards, 2020.
If you want to register your interest in our 2022 conference, then please do so here.
