To tackle social housing stigma, staff must look at their own language and behaviour

Nearly half (45%) said they had faced discrimination or prejudice because of where they live. Some said it had held them back in their careers (17%), or in forming relationships (14%). Perhaps most strikingly, 43% felt their landlord had contributed to that stigma.

It’s been eight years since the Grenfell Tower fire, a tragedy that exposed, in the starkest terms, what can happen when residents’ voices are ignored. Since then, calls for change have grown louder. Some of that momentum has found an outlet in new regulation.

These standards are welcome, but they should be seen as a starting point. Our findings offer a clear call to action: stigma must be addressed, and that starts with those of us who manage social housing.

At L&Q, we’ve been working to meet that challenge for some time. In 2023, we published A Partnership of Equals, a report which emphasised the need to move away from a top-down approach and give residents greater influence over how services are delivered. It highlighted the value of co-production, and named stigma – and the paternalism that often underpins it – as a barrier to trust.

“Our findings offer a clear call to action: stigma must be addressed, and that starts with those of us who manage social housing”

More recently, we’ve taken part in the Stop Social Housing Stigma campaign’s Pioneer Traveller project. This prompted us to look inward at our culture, our language and our processes, and ask whether we were helping to reduce stigma or inadvertently reinforcing it.

Our first step was a resident-led workshop last November. Residents, frontline colleagues and senior leaders came together for honest conversations about stigma, repairs and the way we work. Blue-sky thinking led to ideas that were both imaginative and practical. What began as a sketch on a flip chart became the foundation for a targeted action plan.

Guided by the journey-planner framework, we’re improving how we work across several areas. We’re introducing specialist training for repairs operatives, focusing on empathy and respectful communication. We’re reviewing support and training for other frontline teams, updating contractor codes of conduct, improving communication about repairs and strengthening how we record residents’ additional needs.

Language has also been key. Through resident-led surveys and focus groups, we’ve explored how certain words land, and how language can either affirm dignity or undermine it. These insights are guiding a campaign to promote more inclusive communication across the organisation, both internally and externally.

While some actions haven’t been straightforward, they’ve helped us reflect more deeply on our culture, what drives us and how we can become truly resident-centred.

As this work progressed, a few lessons became clear.

First, tackling stigma cannot be a side-project. It’s a cross-cutting issue that affects everything from service design and communication, to how we treat people in their homes. Anti-stigma work must be woven into major change programmes and embedded in everyday practice.

Second, size is not a barrier. Every organisation can make space for reflection, listening and resident-led change. Driving change in a large organisation like L&Q comes with challenges, from aligning with existing programmes to ensuring proposals avoid unintended consequences. Smaller organisations may take a different approach that is equally worthwhile.

We’ve also learned that not every issue raised under the banner of stigma fits into one box. Some are cultural and about how we think, speak and behave. Others are about service: what we do and how we do it. Both matter, and both require different tools.

“Not every issue raised under the banner of stigma fits into one box. Some are cultural. Others are about service. Both matter, and both require different tools”

Language carries weight. Words can reinforce stereotypes or dismantle them. Moving away from deficit-based terms – those that imply need, weakness or passivity – is a small but powerful way to reshape public narratives and how residents see themselves.

It’s also not just what changes that counts, but how change is made. Well-intentioned efforts can fall short if they’re not approached with care, humility and a willingness to be challenged.

Finally, an ongoing question for us is: How will we know if it’s working? Will residents actually feel the difference? Measuring cultural change is difficult, especially when it is gradual or intangible. Much of this work was underway before we started the journey planner, yet residents weren’t feeling the benefits.

These are questions we must keep asking, and ones we’re exploring through evaluation methods co-developed with residents to better understand what progress looks and feels like.

For L&Q, the journey planner has been about moving from intention to implementation. Tackling stigma means interrogating the norms that shape our language, systems and assumptions, particularly about what’s ‘reasonable’ and ‘acceptable’. That’s not always comfortable work and, in a large organisation, cultural change takes time. 

While there’s no quick fix for stigma, there is a path forward. It starts with listening, grows through learning, and takes shape through deliberate, sustained action. When knowledge is shared and action follows, that’s when change will ripple outward.

We hope others will join us on this journey to build a sector where every resident is valued, respected and free from stigma.

Rosie Ward, resident involvement manager, L&Q, and Isobelle Connor, research and policy manager, Peabody