Unsure about your rights as a social housing resident? An opportunities and empowerment programme called Four Million Homes can help.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now known as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), introduced Four Million Homes to help rebalance power between residents and landlords.
This initiative follows the Make Things Right Campaign and improvements to the Social Housing Regulation Bill, including Awaab’s Law, which requires social landlords to fix hazards like damp and mould within set time frames.
The programme aims to help social housing residents understand their rights, know how to raise issues with their landlords, and shape and improve the services they receive and the homes they live in. It offers advice and training on resident rights and how to stand up for them.
- Helps residents know their rights and how to access the Housing Ombudsman service.
- Empowers residents with knowledge of their landlord’s responsibilities to provide safe and decent homes.
- Enables residents to feel confident in reporting problems to their landlord.
- Encourages residents to be involved and take an active role in how their homes are managed.
Four Million Homes includes a social media campaign (stay up to date on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, and LinkedIn).
There are webinars on a wide range of topics and eight accredited face-to-face training modules available across England, including Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, and Nottingham.
Online training videos are also available at www.fourmillionhomes.org/category/videos/training-videos/.
Residents can also join a Resident Sounding Board to ensure the ongoing development of Four Million Homes reflects residents’ views and concerns.
While the training is aimed at social housing residents, staff are welcome to participate to understand the training content and encourage residents to sign up.
