Putting lived-living experience at the centre of housing design.
Meaningful engagement of people with lived-living experience in housing and homelessness services is essential to system reform. It can increase tenant satisfaction, improve service efficiency and enhance quality of life for tenants.
In 2017 the Queensland Mental Health Commission (the Commission) published Stretch2Engage: best practice principles for service engagement (Stretch2Engage).
This framework guides organisations to improve and increase meaningful engagement of people with lived-living experience of mental ill-health and alcohol and other drugs concerns. This engagement is then applied in service design and evaluation in the mental health and alcohol and other drugs public and non-government sectors.
The Tenant Engagement with Common Ground Queensland (CGQ) project builds on the work of Stretch2Engage and considers the importance of tenant engagement in thehousing and homelessness service sector.
What is tenant engagement?
Tenant engagement means housing providers offer opportunities for tenants to have a greater say in their housing experience. This means giving tenants ways to raise issues, share their ideas, and put solutions into action to improve their experience of where they live.
Why is this important?
Effective tenant engagement is a collaborative process that enables tenants and housing providers to work together to create better places to live.
Meaningful engagement requires organisations to think and act differently.
Empowering tenants to engage in ways that resonate with their needs and preferences relies on housing providers creating the conditions in which tenant engagement can succeed.
This means both valuing and resourcing tenant engagement as a part of core business. Making meaningful engagement an organisational priority is key to delivering improvements that benefit both tenants and housing providers Tenant engagement works best when organisations value the diverse views and ideas that tenants have to offer.
What we did
We commissioned The University of Queensland (UQ), in partnership with CGQ to examine the importance of tenant engagement for tenants living at Brisbane Common Ground, a single site model of permanent supportive housing provided by CGQ.
The project drew on multiple data sources, including a tenant survey and interviews with tenants and service providers. The aim was to build a picture of what tenant engagement does, and could, look like with CGQ, and identify what lessons could be drawn for the wider supportive and social housing systems.
The Commission acknowledges all the tenants who participated in the research, alongside the invaluable contributions of the tenant representatives who were active members of the research team.
What we found
The research examined what tenant engagement means to tenants, including what type of engagement tenants know about, participate in, and prefer. It also considered what CGQ does to enable tenant engagement, what works well, and the barriers to achieving tenant engagement.
The research found that tenants placed importance on the need for CGQ to engage tenants in decisions that affect them, including policies that affect tenant engagement and participation. Additionally, it is critical that tenants are aware of tenant engagement initiatives, and that options are accessible and respond to diverse tenant needs.
While there were diverse perspectives and understanding among tenants, tenant engagement was generally viewed as an invitation to contribute, where tenants can choose whether they participate and how they participate.
Regardless of whether tenants choose to engage or not, the research showed it is critical that housing providers create conditions that support tenant engagement.
Looking to the future, tenants highlighted the importance of fostering a culture of mutual support, respect, and shared dignity.
Seven principles of tenant engagement
Based on the research findings, the report outlines seven principles of tenant engagement.
These principles provide guidance that can be used to inform changes to broader social and supportive housing systems to facilitate better tenant engagement.
- Belief: A belief that tenants have a right to engage on the basis that housing is their home.
- Willingness: A willingness to change policies and procedures based on tenants’ needs and preferences.
- Resources: The provision of resources and plans dedicated to enabling tenant engagement.
- Diversity: Appreciating and valuing the diversity of forms that tenant engagement can assume.
- Accessibility: Ensuring accessibility to enable tenant engagement.
- Communication: Providing systematic and transparent communication with tenants.
- Balance: Ensuring a balance of tenant engagement with other operational requirements.
The seven principles of tenant engagement illustrate that tenant engagement cannot be meaningfully imposed on housing providers, rather, it must be approached as a resource to enhance the interests of both tenants and housing providers.
How does this support reform?
Shifting minds 2023–2028 outlines actions to enhance access to housing and prevent and reduce the impacts of homelessness. This includes exploring solutions that incorporate diverse models of integrated housing, support, and tenancy sustainment for people experiencing mental ill-health and/or alcohol and other drug concerns.
Shifting minds 2023–2028 also recognises the importance of strengthening lived-living experience leadership and participation, which was a critical component of this research project.
This project supports reform by enhancing understanding of lived-living experience engagement in housing and homelessness services.
The Commission will use this research to strengthen the social and supportive housing system and deliver better housing services and outcomes for people with lived-living experience.
Further information
If you would like to find out more about this work, you can contact the Commission via info@qmhc.qld.gov.au.
To learn more about Common Ground Queensland please visit their website: https://commongroundqld.org.au/
