Tenant Impact at a Glance 2025/26

Over the past year, tenants have played a vital role in shaping services, improving neighbourhoods, and strengthening accountability. Their involvement has moved beyond participation to delivering real, measurable change.

 Key Achievements

· 250+ tenants engaged through surveys, events and community outreach

· 4+ key policies influenced including repairs, lettings, compensation and grounds maintenance

· Complaints process improved through tenant-led scrutiny

· Community events delivered across Harrogate, Selby, Richmondshire, Tadcaster and Ripon

· Expanded engagement methods, including door knocking and digital surveys

· Award-winning approach recognised by North Yorkshire Council for creativity

How Tenants Made a Difference

Following the introduction of our Tenant Involvement Strategy 2025–2030, we have provided a variety of meaningful opportunities for tenants to influence decisions, scrutinise services and share their experiences. We have made it easier to get involved and for tenants to get involved in ways that suit them. 

Shaping Services

Tenants worked directly with staff to design and improve key policies and services. 

Impact: Reviewed policies are now clearer, more consistent and better aligned with tenant expectations

Strengthening Communities

Tenants worked alongside staff and partners to improve local areas and deliver community events. 

Impact: Neighbourhoods have improved, and stronger relationships are being built between tenants and housing teams.

Holding Services to Account

Tenant panels scrutinised performance and influenced decision-making at a strategic level. 

Impact: Greater transparency, improved processes, and increased confidence that tenant voices lead to change.

 What This Means for Tenants

Tenant involvement is making a real difference.

· Services are designed with tenants, not just for them

· Feedback leads to visible improvements

· More tenants are able to get involved in ways that suit them

· There is greater trust and transparency in how decisions are made

Looking Ahead

Whilst great progress has been made, we recognise the need to build upon this in 4 key areas:

· Increasing participation across all our localities and demographics

· Continuing to embed tenant influence in service design and policy

· Expanding community-based engagement

· Supporting involved tenants to fulfil their role with ongoing training and development

Tenant Scrutiny and Panels

Tenant panels have continued to strengthen over the past year, playing a crucial role in holding services to account, shaping improvements, and ensuring tenant voices are embedded in decision-making.

Tenant Scrutiny Panel

Tenant input: The Tenant Scrutiny Panel carried out a detailed review of complaints handling, drawing on tenant experience and evidence.

What changed: Findings and recommendations were presented to senior managers and elected members, with a commitment to implement improvements.

Impact: This has resulted in a stronger complaints process and reinforced the value of tenant-led scrutiny in driving service improvement.

Tenant Voice Panel

Tenant input: Feedback from panel members shaped the way the group operates, making it more tenant-led and focused on open discussion.

What changed: Meetings were redesigned to encourage greater participation, with a stronger focus on issues that matter most to tenants.

Impact: Engagement and satisfaction have improved, with more tenants actively contributing to service discussions and influencing priorities.

Editorial Panel

Tenant input: Tenants worked collaboratively to co-produce communications, including tenant stories and content for newsletters.

What changed: Tenants have taken a more active role in leading and shaping content.

Impact: Communications are now clearer, more relevant and better reflect tenant experiences, increasing engagement with wider audiences.

Building Skills and Confidence

Tenant input: Tenants participated in training and development opportunities, including external training for scrutiny panel members.

What changed: Increased investment in tenant development has strengthened skills in areas such as strategic thinking and constructive challenge.

Impact: Tenants are better equipped to contribute effectively, leading to stronger scrutiny, more informed challenge, and improved service outcomes.

Overall Impact

Tenant panels have become more confident, influential and effective, with a clear role in shaping services and holding the organisation to account. This has led to more transparent decision-making, improved service quality, and greater confidence among tenants that their voices make a difference.

Shaping Services and Policy

The introduction of focused task and finish groups have allowed tenants to get involved in the co-creation of new policies and new ways of working. These groups aim to encourage tenants with a personal experience or a keen interest in the topic area to get involved and we have been keen to encourage a wide range of tenants to join and to share their views.

Tenants have played a central role in shaping key housing services and policies over the past year, ensuring they better reflect the needs and expectations of residents.

Repairs Standard and Tenant Satisfaction

Tenant input: Tenants worked collaboratively to review the draft repairs standard, repairs handbook and co-produce a simplified five-question satisfaction survey.

What changed: Communication materials were improved and the feedback process was streamlined.

Impact: A new Repairs Standard is in place with a supporting Repairs Handbook, designed by tenants for tenants to improve the overall repairs experience

Lettable Standard

Tenant input: Feedback from new tenants and focus groups helped shape expectations around property condition at the point of letting or mutual exchange.

What changed: Clearer standards were developed, reflecting what tenants feel is acceptable when moving into a home.

 Impact: This has led to more consistent property standards and will result in improved satisfaction for new tenants.

Compensation Policy Review

Tenant input: A dedicated tenant group reviewed the Compensation Policy, drawing on lived experience.

What changed: Greater emphasis was placed on resolving issues quickly rather than focusing on compensation alone.

 Impact: This has helped shift the service approach towards early resolution, improving outcomes for tenants

Grounds Maintenance Policy

Tenant input: Tenants were involved from the outset in shaping a new grounds maintenance approach, including participation in a joint review group with elected members.

What changed: Tenant perspectives have directly informed emerging standards, ready for wider consultation.

Impact: Services are being designed with a clearer understanding of tenant priorities, helping ensure neighbourhoods are maintained to a standard that reflects local expectations

Overall Impact

Through task and finish groups and targeted engagement, tenants have directly influenced how services are designed and delivered. Engagement methods were expanded to reach a broader group of tenants. This included door knocking, community conversations, and digital surveys, with over 250 responses gathered through email for initial grounds maintenance feedback. These approaches provided valuable insight into tenant priorities while helping to refine future engagement methods, while also increasing tenant confidence that their views lead to real change

Strengthening Communities

Tenant involvement has played a key role in improving neighbourhoods and building stronger relationships between tenants, housing staff and partner organisations.

Community Events and Clean-Up Activities

Tenant input: Tenants took part in community clean-up and spring clean events across Harrogate, Selby, Richmondshire, Tadcaster and Ripon.

What changed: Local environments were improved through joint working between tenants, housing officers and partner teams.

Impact: These visible improvements increased pride in neighbourhoods and demonstrated the value of collaborative working in addressing local issues.

Warm and Well and Neighbourhood Outreach

Tenant input: Tenants engaged in Warm and Well sessions and community-based outreach activities.

What changed: Services adapted their approach to meet tenants in community settings rather than relying on traditional engagement methods.

 Impact: This led to greater accessibility and engagement, particularly from tenants who may not normally participate in formal involvement opportunities

Expanding Engagement Methods

Tenant input: Feedback was gathered through door knocking, community conversations and digital surveys

What changed: A broader range of engagement methods was introduced, allowing more tenants to share their views in ways that suit them.

Impact: This has resulted in a wider and more diverse range of tenant voices influencing services and priorities

Building Relationships and Growing Involvement

Tenant input: Engagement activities created opportunities for tenants to connect with staff and share local insights.

What changed: Stronger relationships were developed between tenants and housing teams, and new tenant representatives were recruited.

Impact: This has strengthened trust, improved understanding of local issues, and helped build a more representative and sustainable tenant involvement network.

Overall Impact

By meeting tenants where they are and providing flexible ways to get involved, community-based engagement has improved both neighbourhood outcomes and participation. This approach has strengthened relationships, increased trust, and ensured that more tenant voices are shaping services at a local level.

Tenant Commitments

At the outset of our journey to improve tenant involvement at North Yorkshire Council we made 12 commitments and during 2025/26, we have made strong progress in delivering on these, with a clear focus on transparency, accessibility, and meaningful involvement, summarised below:

We said	We did
Share information through a tenant-led magazine four times a year	Delivered four newsletters, with content led and developed by our Tenant Editorial Panel
Co-produce an annual report with tenants	This annual report is being co-produced with tenants, ensuring tenant voice shapes how performance is presented
Share Tenant Satisfaction Measures annually	Submitted TSM results to the Regulator, published on our website, and shared them with tenants
Use plain English and keep information jargon free	Worked with tenants to simplify communications, including introducing a five-question new tenant satisfaction survey
Offer information in different formats	Through the tenant census we have asked tenants how they want us to communicate with them. We have improved accessibility through using clearer, simpler formats and further work is planned
Share learning from complaints annually	The Tenant Scrutiny Panel completed a full review of complaints, resulting in improvements to the complaints process. Complaints performance is reported and shared through the Tenant Voice Panel meetings
Hold four open tenant forum events every year	We delivered quarterly tenant led Tenant Voice Panel meetings, open to all tenants, and accessible either in person or online via video or phone.
Provide hybrid meetings and options to join remotely	All meetings delivered in a hybrid format, allowing attendance in person or online
Let tenants know about involvement opportunities	Delivered a wide range of opportunities including surveys, community events, and clean-up days. We shared information about involvement opportunities through our tenant voice forum, in the magazine and by contacting tenants directly either through email, letter, through front line officers or in the magazine
Provide quarterly performance information including safety	Shared performance updates at each Tenant Voice Panel meeting and uploaded performance information to our website
Offer tenant training and support meetings with clear governance	Delivered training opportunities and supported the development of our tenant groups. The tenant scrutiny panel has taken part in external and internal training and attended partner events and conferences.
Let tenants know how involvement   has made a difference	Demonstrated impact through service improvements, policy changes, and ongoing feedback to tenants

These commitments have strengthened trust, increased tenant participation, and ensured that tenant feedback is not only heard but acted upon. As a result, services are becoming more responsive, transparent and shaped by the people who use them.

Conclusion

Over the past year, tenant involvement has made a meaningful and measurable difference to the way services are designed, delivered and improved. Tenants have moved beyond being consulted to becoming active partners in shaping policies, scrutinising performance, and strengthening their communities.

Through a wide range of involvement opportunities, tenants have directly influenced key service areas, improved communication, and helped ensure that services better reflect the needs and expectations of residents. The development of new policies, improvements to the complaints process, and the introduction of more accessible feedback mechanisms all demonstrate the tangible value of tenant insight.

Community-based activities have further strengthened relationships between tenants, staff and partners, leading to visible improvements in neighbourhoods and increased trust in housing services. At the same time, tenant panels have grown in confidence and impact, providing effective challenge and driving continuous improvement.

Importantly, this year has also shown that when tenants are supported with the right opportunities, training and flexible ways to get involved, participation becomes broader, more inclusive and more representative.

Looking ahead, we will continue to build on this progress by increasing participation, embedding tenant influence at every level, and ensuring that feedback continues to result in visible change. We remain committed to working in partnership with tenants to create services that are transparent, responsive and shaped by the people who use them.

Tenant involvement will remain at the heart of our approach, ensuring that together we continue to improve services and communities for everyone.