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Three major landlords to trial AI-powered app for residents
Residents of three housing associations in Oxfordshire will try out an AI-powered app as part of a government-funded pilot to improve tenant and landlord engagement.
Three major landlords to trial AI-powered app for residents #UKhousingAt least 2,400 people living in Clarion, Sovereign Network Group (SNG) and Soha Housing properties will get access to Neya Local Connection over the next 12 months.
The platform, built by Neya and Neighbourly Lab, allows users to join or start local groups, organise events and ask neighbours for support.
It won Clarion’s William Sutton prize for connected communities last year and went live for the first time in Oxford last month.
The three landlords will roll the technology out more widely after receiving nearly £120,000 from the government’s Social Housing Innovation Fund this month.
They said the app is “designed to encourage informal, everyday interactions that can build confidence and trust while creating pathways into more formal engagement opportunities with landlords over time”.
Tenants of the three housing associations will make up a joint steering group, which will decide the priorities of the scheme and evaluate what works well.
The project will also focus on ensuring groups that are currently underrepresented in tenant engagement are encouraged to take part.
It will be reviewed halfway through and at the end of the year-long programme to assess the impacts both on how connected residents feel to their community and their trust in their housing provider.
Kate Still, chief customer officer at Clarion, said: “Our Five New Giants report identified connection and trust as defining opportunities for social housing and a chance to build communities where residents feel empowered, supported and genuinely at home.
“This pilot is a direct response to that challenge, using the power of innovation to create the conditions for neighbours to connect, relationships to form and communities to grow stronger.”
Richie Rumbelow, director of customer experience at SNG, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Clarion, Soha Housing, Neighbourly Labs and Neya on this innovative programme.
“Working together allows us to test new ways of strengthening trust, amplifying residents’ voices and supporting communities to connect in ways that feel meaningful to them.”
Emma Langstaff, head of resident experience and organisational learning at Soha Housing, added: “Our vision is to create vibrant, sustainable and resilient communities.
“This pilot, and the partnerships it brings, support this vision, supporting resident empowerment, connection and belonging across all of our neighbourhoods.”
Nineteen other pilots aimed at empowering social housing tenants will also take place over the next year using funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The government said each initiative will be tested to see which are most successful, so learnings can be spread more widely across the country.
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