Understanding tenants’ needs “is our core business, it’s what we’re here for and what we do,” says Sue Lewis, assistant director of supported housing and neighbourhood safety at 37,000-home Together Housing. Sarah Davis, senior policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), echoes this, stating “social landlords are about more than bricks and mortar, they’re very much about the communities in which they operate”. 

Few in the social housing sector would disagree with this.

But how well do social landlords really understood their needs of their most vulnerable tenants and how should they define who is vulnerable and who is not?