This summer, ‘A new deal for social housing’ report was released as a reaction to the Grenfell Tower disaster. The main issues raised in the report were building safe and decent homes, improving the complaints process and, crucially, empowering social housing residents by removing the negative stigma they experience. It aims to drive developers to shift attitudes, tackle the stigma and celebrate thriving and diverse communities.
So how are these principles going to change the future of social housing? It all comes back to effective communication. While developers will be familiar with the set of principles, the key is the use of effective, face-to-face communication to establish relationships with social home owners and tenants, giving them a sense of trust, inclusivity and empowerment.
When a developer understands the views and values of residents via effective communication, any negative stigma will be reduced as they will feel accepted and have confidence in the developer. The established sense of trust and respect reduces the risk to the overall development, as well as adhering to the principles set out in the ‘A new deal for social housing’ report.
Social housing is already a big part of the UK’s property market, with 300,000-400,000 social house lettings in England each year. According to the Housing White Paper, there will be a constant need for social housing, as the number of households is expected to rise. A total of £9 billion has already been invested in the Affordable Homes Programme to meet the ever-growing need for social housing.
As interest in the social housing sector continues to gather pace, developers need to take the initiative and demonstrate their commitment to the report’s ideals as soon as possible. As ever, to achieve this clear communication is essential.
The full report can be accessed here:
