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Tenant engagement

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Tenant engagement

We want our tenants to have a voice on how we deliver housing services.

In November 2022, we launched our Tenant Engagement Strategy. Over one thousand tenants took the time to let us know how they would like to engage with us, on what matters to them. 

In November 2023, we reviewed the strategy with our Tenant Board to ensure we are meeting new Regulatory Standards and to understand what more we could achieve the following year. 

We also created a Tenant Engagement Review report to showcase all of the Tenant Engagement work we completed between January 2024 and April 2025. 

We are always looking for tenants and leaseholders to work with us, to help us improve our services.

There are several ways that tenants can engage with us:

Our tenant engagement roles

Within our Tenant Engagement Strategy, we identified six voluntary roles that our tenants can fill, to help us improve our services.

We believe there are many benefits to being involved, which include:

  • You have the opportunity to tell us what works well - and not so well
  • You can help us make positive changes
  • Free training is available
  • You can develop new, transferable skills
  • You can make new friends
  • You will be empowered to make changes you'd like to see in your neighbourhood or local area

We can pay for any costs you may incur (for example, childcare and travel). However, a lot of our engagement can take place from the comfort of your home. 

The table below details the roles that we are available to tenants. If you would like to volunteer your time - of if you would like to speak to us more informally about our services - please email tenant.engagement@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk

 

Role Responsibility Time commitment

Complaints Experts

 Assist us with the review of complaints - you will act independently, to help us ensure we deliver excellent customer service and consider the resident's perspective One to two hours, every three months

Digital Sounding Board

 Join a database of tenants, shared owners and leaseholders who provide us with feedback on a range of issues 30 minutes to two hours, as and when needed

Neighbourhood Experts

 Serve as the 'eyes and ears' of your community, and work with us on issues which affect residents One to two hours, at least every 4 months

Resident Readers

 Review our planned publications, to help us make sure that our communication with residents is easy to understand 30 minutes to one hour, as and when needed

Tenant Board

 This is our most formal role. Members of our Tenant Board hold us to account on our performance. Once a month for an hour and a half- plus time in between, to read reports.

Tenant Experience Experts

 Work with us to review specific services or issues that you are passionate about 30 minutes to two hours, as and when needed

 

Scrutiny Projects

Scrutiny will give you the opportunity to make positive changes to the housing services you receive and have your voice heard. Through our scrutiny process, you will be able to review what we do and why we do it, and make recommendations, influencing what happens to your home and community, and putting you at the heart of our decision making.  It involves panels of tenants working alongside Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council staff to conduct an in-depth review on a specific housing service. The recommendations that come out of the scrutiny project are then used to improve the service. The Tenant Board are responsible for overseeing a minimum of two scrutiny projects each financial year.

The 5 stages of our scrutiny process (Planning, Designing, Investigating, Reporting, Reviewing)

You can review our scrutiny reports and the action plans for recommendations here:

Anti- Social Behaviour

Complaints


 

Our Tenant Board 

The Tenant Board can have up to 12 members and is open to both tenants and leaseholders.

The Board oversees our tenant involvement function and ensures that tenants play an effective role in improving homes and services across both Districts.

Our Tenant Board are also in place to hold our performance as a housing service to account and to organise and oversee improvement projects based on what you have told us about our services.

Update September 2025:  The Tenant Board are currently undertaking an improvement project on communication which will take place between November and December 2025. If you would like to be involved with this project, please email the Tenant Engagement team at tenant.engagement@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk

Tenant Board meeting minutes and slides