Firstly, it is delivering a free training programme for social housing residents. New regulation to empower them means nothing if they don’t have the information they need to use that power and hold landlords to account. It also has to reach them – so the programme includes face-to-face and online sessions on days and at times of day that we hope will make them accessible to everyone.

This is high quality training, accredited by the Chartered Institute of Housing and in-person classes are being held across a number of regional nodes – Birmingham, Bristol Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Nottingham. And it tells residents about their right to be heard by their landlords, and how the law now sets minimum standards that landlords must meet. Importantly, they explain how residents can complain and get redress if their complaints are not listened to.

This autumn’s courses are looking at equality, diversity and inclusion, how residents can set up and run their own associations, and how the resident panels that many landlords are setting up can make a difference.

We’ve already had free online webinars and live streams dealing with issues such as damp and mould and antisocial behaviour, and a live stream from the tenants’ TPAS. These recordings, along with a whole range of information about resident rights, landlord responsibilities and signposting to other websites and resources makes the Four Million Homes website a really useful one-stop shop for tenants wanting to know more.

This really is a programme for all social housing residents: an entire section of the website is for leaseholders and another section is for shared ownership residents.

We don’t want a programme that turns into two years of complaining; we want to focus on what works so that both residents and landlords can see what can be achieved, and perhaps fuel and spark change in other communities. We hope to show residents whose landlords who perhaps don’t perform some best practice – and perhaps encourage them to ask for it for themselves. We’re hoping to create the momentum for that culture change through more active, better-informed residents.

The challenge, of course, is to reach significant numbers of people, including those who don’t have the time to go to evening meetings or attend classes at specific times. So we’ve established a resident sounding board to help shape content, advise on how best to get it to the people who need it, and influence national policy.

So, finally, we are really keen to get feedback from any and every corner of the sector – and we have a lot of questions.

What are we all doing to enable residents to engage? Is our approach leading to improved services, better neighbourhoods, or more resident participation? Or are we seeing a skewing of participation in certain demographics, for example, or in certain locations? What exactly is the cost and benefit of resident engagement? Does it lead to better resident satisfaction? And what impact does that have on complaints within our organisations?

Whatever your role in housing, please do feel free to get in touch with comment, feedback on what we’ve already done, and any example of best practice you might want to put in front of tenants. Four Million Homes would be delighted to hear from you.

Scheduled online and in-person classes for September, October and November 2023 include sessions on tenant panels, setting up effective residents’ associations and how a focus on equality, diversity and inclusion can improve communities. Contact the team with best practice suggestions and feedback at the Four Million Homes website.