Housing Diverse Needs Strategy FAQs

What is the Housing Diverse Needs Strategy?

The strategy will set out how we better understand and respond to the different needs and circumstances of residents who use our housing services.

It will help us identify and remove barriers; improve accessibility and make sure our services are fair, safe and responsive.

What do you mean by diverse needs?

Everyone's circumstances are different. Some residents may need additional support or a different way of accessing our services.

This could be because of:

• a disability or health condition
• language or communication needs
• caring responsibilities
• financial pressures
• difficulty accessing or using digital services
• other circumstances that may make it harder to access housing services or manage a tenancy

Needs can also change over time.

What if I need extra support to use housing services now?

You do not need to wait for the strategy to be completed to tell us about your needs.

If you need additional support or a reasonable adjustment when using our services now, please let us know. We already have a Reasonable Adjustment Policy and Vulnerable Residents Policy as part of our housing policies.

Why are you developing the strategy?

We want to understand residents better so that we can provide services that meet their needs.

We already have policies covering areas including reasonable adjustments and vulnerable residents. The Diverse Needs Strategy will provide a broader approach to understanding the different circumstances that can affect how residents use housing services and where barriers may exist.

The strategy is also part of our wider work to improve housing services.

Who is the strategy for?

The strategy is focused on understanding and responding to the diverse needs of residents who use our housing services.

It will also help our housing teams consider individual needs when they communicate with residents, design services and provide support.

How will you know what residents need?

We'll use research and engagement with residents, staff, community groups and partner organisations to build a better understanding of people's needs and experiences.

Listening to residents is an important part of how we improve housing services. Our wider Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement programme provides different ways for residents to share their views and help shape services.

How will the strategy make a difference?

What we learn will help us identify where improvements are needed.

This could help us make our services and communications more accessible, remove barriers and improve how we respond to individual circumstances.

The aim is to make it easier for residents to access the services and support they need.

How can I help shape housing services?

There are different ways for council tenants and leaseholders to get involved, from completing surveys to joining groups and taking part in estate walkabouts.

Visit our Tenant and Leaseholder Engagement pages to find out how you can get involved.

How does this fit with our other housing work?

The Diverse Needs Strategy forms part of our work to improve housing services and complements our wider housing strategies, policies and improvement activity.

Our Housing Strategy 2025-2034 includes improving the quality, standard, safety and accessibility of homes and housing services as one of its priorities.