Giving social housing tenants a voice

For more than a quarter of a century, LSE Housing and Communities has been investigating the experiences of those living in disadvantaged communities. Their research has shaped social housing policy among professionals and in government, and helped social housing residents to take action to improve their living conditions.

When the UK government, under austerity budgets, cut funding for social landlords and for multiple neighbourhood services, social housing tenants suffered a significant loss of support and were faced with an increasing stigma. In response, LSE Housing and Communities co-founded the Housing Plus Academy – an academic and professional association partnership working to close the knowledge gap between those who make decisions about social housing, and those who live in it.

In 2019, a generous three-year grant from the Mitchell Charitable Trust helped the Housing Plus Academy to consolidate and build on their existing work around the wider value of social housing. This funding allowed them to undertake in-depth research aimed at reducing precarious housing for those on the lowest incomes and tacking homelessness.

The grant also enabled the Housing Plus Academy to run bespoke workshops for tenants, social landlords, government, architects, the fire service, and other stakeholders living in, working in, and managing high-rise residential buildings.  Its findings, together with wider research, informed their Lessons from Grenfell report, which has been used to influence government policy.