What we mean by Resident Engagement

Resident Engagement is a vital to understanding how services are received and supports the Council to improve the Housing Service it delivers. As a landlord, the Council has a responsibility to make sure everyone's voice can be heard and support a range of ways this can happen.

Resident is used throughout this strategy to refer to the tenants, leaseholders and other residents who live on the Council's estates and in Council owned homes. This strategy sets out the Council's approach to resident engagement in this wider sense. In some cases, however, the Council will carry out consultations which are for tenants and / or leaseholders only, where there is a need to do so, to meet legal requirements upon the Council.

In summary, resident engagement is:

• an opportunity to find out what residents want and need (expect and aspire to)
• a way that supports any resident to hold the Council to account and importantly influence and change how services are provided

By working together, we can achieve more by:

• creating the right environment that is open and supportive that leads to genuine partnership
• having a clear approach where engagement activities lead to service improvements and positive solutions
• improving resident focus and increasing satisfaction
• using resident insight to provide better services, improve the design of services and achieve greater value for money
• providing services that reflect tenants needs
• supporting more sustainable and vibrant communities
• improving relationships between landlord and tenant with more awareness of everyone's position