Tenant Engagement

In this episode of Housing Insights, David Silke is joined by Darren Hudson, National Tenant Engagement Manager at Respond and Chair of the Irish Tenant Engagement Network (ITEN).

Darren shares his journey from youth development to national housing management, offering a unique perspective on why viewing tenants as partners, rather than just "customers", is the key to building sustainable communities.

Key Discussion Points

• Defining Engagement: Moving beyond "transactional" housing to an "everyday" practice of relationship building.

• Formal vs. Informal Participation: From community fun days and "cosy farms" to structured regional panels and board-level representation.

• The Proactive Shift: Why the sector is moving from "crisis managing" groups of tenants to introducing engagement at the very start of a tenancy.

• Global Context: How Ireland compares to leaders like Scotland and the Nordic countries, where tenant-run boards have existed for decades.

• Regulatory Standards: The impact of AHBRA (Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority) in making tenant engagement a formal standard for housing providers.

• Success Stories:

1. The Respond Roundup: How tenants took over the editorial control of their newsletter to share real human stories.
2. Empty Homes Policy: Renaming "voids" and involving tenants in assessing properties before they are re-let.
3. Service Improvement Groups: Turning around heated relationships through transparency and long-term maintenance planning.

 

Useful Links & Resources

Organizations & Networks

• Respond

• Irish Tenant Engagement Network (ITEN)

• Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority (AHBRA)

 

Research & Reports

• Best Practice in Tenant Engagement (Just Economics)

• Developing a Tenant Engagement Culture (Housing Agency)

• Tuath Housing: Embedding a Culture of Tenant Engagement

 

For Tenants

If you are a tenant looking to get involved, your first point of contact is your Housing Officer or your provider’s dedicated Tenant Engagement Team.