Contributor(s): | When the government, under austerity budgets from 2010, cut funding for social landlords and for multiple neighbourhood services, these communities suffered a significant loss of support. Residents face additional social stigma associated with living in social housing.

In response, LSE Housing and Communities co-founded the Housing Plus Academy, which aims to close the knowledge gap between those who make decisions about social housing, and those who live in it. The Academy organises residential Think Tanks for social landlords, frontline workers, policymakers and – crucially – social housing tenants. Findings from each event are reported to government, meaning that tenants’ voices are fed directly into decision-making.

The urgent need to address long-term failures in social housing management was brought into sharp focus following the catastrophic 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster in West London. Following the tragedy, LSE Housing and Communities ran a bespoke programme that included tenants, landlords, government, and other professionals. This informed their "Lessons from Grenfell" report which has been used to influence government policy. The first lesson: it is crucial to listen to tenants.

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🔴 Find out more about LSE Housing and Communities, Housing Plus Academy and Energy Plus Academy, visit https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/lsehousing