Most housing associations will be familiar with this scenario: A significant funding opportunity is fought for and won, and/or a long-term investment commitment is made. Teams develop comprehensive programmes. Communications go out to residents. Then, response rates disappoint. Access becomes challenging. Programme delivery faces unexpected delays.
Sound familiar? You’re definitely not alone. Residents are wrestling with unprecedented pressures that naturally affect how they engage with improvement programmes. And at the same time, unless we ask them, we can’t profess to understand how they feel about upcoming programmes.
In Summary:
- Housing associations struggle with resident engagement because people are dealing with cost pressures, trust issues, and information overload, which makes them cautious about home improvements
- The solution isn’t better announcements – it’s research-led engagement that involves residents in programme development
- This means leading with immediate benefits like warmer homes rather than policy targets
- Building peer champion networks, partnering with already-trusted local organisations
- Addressing uncertainty upfront with clear “what to expect” guidance
Your residents are managing multiple challenges that naturally impact how they engage with you and with proposed change:
Cost-of-living pressures:
When managing tight budgets month to month, long-term efficiency improvements can feel remote, even with grants available.
Information overwhelm:
Multiple sources offering different advice (and sentiment) about technologies and programmes. Having lots of information available can make decisions harder rather than easier.
Industry wariness:
News stories about poor workmanship naturally make people cautious about anyone offering home improvements. Even excellent programmes need more time to build credibility.
Trust challenges:
The ONS Trust in Government Survey 2023 shows 27% of UK residents struggle to trust the national government. When schemes change or multiple schemes with different eligibility criteria run concurrently, people are wary - especially if they read the tabloid press.
Mental health considerations:
Post-pandemic research shows sustained increases in anxiety and decision fatigue. Major home decisions often get postponed during stressful periods.
Better resident engagement
1. Invest in Understanding Your Residents First
Consider conducting customer research before programme launch to understand specific concerns and preferences in your community.
2. Include Residents in Programme Development
Many successful programmes benefit from involving residents in shaping the approach from early stages, rather than just consulting on finished plans.
- Action: Establish resident advisory panels that can review approaches during development and help map the experience from a resident’s perspective.
Listen and Learn - VIVID Housing Association
Rather than assuming what residents want, gather evidence about their actual priorities and concerns. VIVID Housing Association’s research revealed that 73% of residents found materials helpful when they accessed them, but 69.5% hadn’t read existing booklets – prompting them to reevaluate their channels and reminder messages.
They also discovered that only 2.7% had no concerns about heat pumps, which meant their education programme needed to be much more comprehensive than initially planned. Most importantly, 56.9% preferred face-to-face communication for detailed programme information, fundamentally steering them away from significant investment in digital materials.
3. Focus on Immediate Benefits, Not Long-term Goals
Policy objectives, such as carbon targets and EPC ratings, don’t motivate residents. Warmer homes, lower bills, and reduced condensation do.
- Action: Lead communications with tangible benefits that residents will experience within the first month. Stress-test your messaging with the UK’s average reading age in mind. You may need to simplify and then simplify again. Translate policy-first language into people-first language that removes barriers and respects your reader’s time.
4. Build Champion Networks
Surrey trained 120 Energy Champions who provided more credible information than expert advisors because they’d experienced the process themselves.
- Action: Identify residents who’ve had successful improvements and support them to become peer advisors.
5. Partner with Organisations Residents Already Trust
To address the institutional trust challenge, or if you have vulnerable customers, strategic partnerships with and the production of materials for already trusted local organisations can achieve significant engagement.
- Action: Build relationships with existing trusted services, such as Citizens Advice, local health visitors, and community centres, rather than simply pushing out via your existing channels.
Partnering in Practice - Surrey County Council
Partnership with Zero Carbon Guildford: Surrey County Council partnered with existing community groups like Zero Carbon Guildford rather than launching entirely new programmes from scratch
90 ‘Warm Welcome’ venues: They established advice locations in places residents already knew and trusted – community centres, libraries, etc. – rather than creating new, unfamiliar touchpoints
The success metrics (4.91/5 satisfaction, 78% more likely to install measures) demonstrate that this approach was effective in practice.
6. Address Uncertainty Proactively
Uncertainty delays decision-making. Residents appreciate honest communication about what they can realistically expect from improvements.
The only way to build back trust is by consistently adding support touchpoints.
- Action: Develop “what to expect” guides covering every stage of the process, including realistic timescales and any potential disruptions.
For vulnerable residents, uncertainty amplifies existing barriers. Ofgem’s 2024 research with energy consumers in vulnerable circumstances found that “expectations of support were low, which acted as a barrier to accessing help” and that “the most vulnerable participants felt that the complexity of their circumstances may require a more personalised approach to support.”
Building the Right Communications Infrastructure
These approaches work most effectively when supported by a good communications infrastructure:
- Consistent messaging frameworks – compatible terminology that means residents don’t need to learn a new language for every programme.
- Knowledge sharing opportunities – ways to capture what works with different resident groups, so successful approaches can be adapted for other communities and roll-outs.
- Cross-organisational learning – housing associations that develop excellent tenant engagement can share insights with other departments facing similar challenges. Consider creating a playbook based on customer insight.
- Regional understanding – recognising that approaches working in coastal communities may need adapting for urban areas or former industrial towns.
The Business Case for Better Engagement
Investing in resident engagement should be a foundational element of your programme delivery. Especially as access difficulties can spiral, becoming harder to manage, and influencing other residents. This is much harder to resolve reactively.
The benefits of investing in engagement planning are clear:
- Smoother programme delivery through early issue identification
- Better resident satisfaction and stronger relationships
- More effective use of funding through reduced delays
- Evidence base for future programme planning
- Proactive support for vulnerable residents
Moving Forward
Early engagement planning makes a significant difference to any programme that requires resident cooperation, whether it’s Warm Homes retrofit, building safety improvements, or central area regeneration.
Housing associations achieving the best outcomes tend to move beyond standard announcement approaches towards evidence-based engagement that involves residents in programme development.
Your first step is understanding what your residents actually need and prefer. Build trust through consistent and honest communication over time. Use face-to-face support to address specific concerns. Remember, investing time in engagement planning often speeds up overall programme delivery.
You have a choice: invest in strategic communications early, or manage resident concerns and programme delays as they arise. The most successful housing associations are choosing the former.
Need help transforming your approach to resident engagement?
Our Pre-Engagement Customer Co-Design Package helps housing associations replace assumptions with evidence and turn resistance into informed support. Contact us to discuss how customer intelligence can protect your next programme.