PRESS RELEASE : Competition opens to deliver new training and support programme for social housing residents

The press release issued by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 15 August 2022.

Social housing residents will be able to get training and support to speak up and raise issues with their landlord, the government has announced today.

A £500,000 government grant to provide training, boost confidence and offer toolkits for residents on a range of social housing issues has today opened for bids.

The Resident Opportunities and Empowerment programme will run from Autumn 2022 to Spring 2025 and will empower social housing residents across England to hold their landlord to account.

It 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.

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.” 

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.

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’; and

delivering projects that provide value for money.

The application window is open now for 7 weeks until 2 October 2022.