Twenty new projects have received funding through the Social Housing Innovation Fund to get landlords to listen and involve tenants in important decisions.

These projects, a combination of digital and on-the-ground trials, are hoped to provide real-world fixes to issues tenants are most concerned about – ignored repairs, poor updates, slow responses and being bounced between services.

Each project will run for 12 months to test the ideas that give tenants clearer and faster ways to talk to and influence their landlords.

Thousands of tenants will be involved in the trials, which will involve testing interventions in targeted areas to see which are most successful so that the learnings from the projects can be rolled out nationwide.  

Specialised help will boost their voices, including tenants who face challenges like disabilities, trauma or low digital access, so their needs are heard and met.  

Digital and creative face to face projects will also be tested in neighbourhoods, with programmes to strengthen the presence of tenants on boards – giving residents of all ages and backgrounds the chance to lead and shape matters affecting them.

Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government Baroness Taylor said: “We’ve doubled this fund to £2 million so we can ramp up practical, real-world interventions that strengthen tenants’ voices and ensure they are respected and taken seriously.

“The best ideas will be rolled out nationwide and tenants will shape every step, so what we take forward genuinely works to transforms tenants’ experiences.”

The winning projects will now each receive a share of £2 million to get going on their projects over the next 12 months.