Getting to know our tenants

The Getting to Know You visits provide a platform to engage positively with tenants and their households, building on the ethos of making every contact count.

The programme enables the Council to support tenants by providing signposting to services that enable them to stay in their homes, identifying adaptation needs, report any repairs, provide advice and support with over-crowding or under-occupation and strengthen the tenant voice about decisions affecting the District Council’s housing service.

Tenancy Officers have already visited 37% of tenants and from these visits made 529 referrals to partner agencies such as Citizens Advice and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Councillor Lee Brazier, Portfolio Holder for Housing at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “In recent years there has been, and rightly so, a shift in making sure landlords know their tenants by the Regulator for Social Housing. Our Getting to Know You visits are a great way to understand who is behind the front door and understanding how our homes are working for them.

“By knowing our tenants, we can more greatly shape our housing service to make sure it benefits them and supports their needs. The programme is being well received by tenants with many saying it is a great idea. Through the visits we have been able to move tenants to more suitable homes which have in turn improved their health and wellbeing, encouraged them to take part in our engagement activities as involved tenants and put support in place via referrals to our partner agencies.”