The Importance of Engaging with Residents

Effective resident engagement is vital for both social and private landlords. By building positive relationships based on trust, communication and shared responsibility, landlords can create safer homes, healthier environments and more empowered tenants.

Fire Safety

Educating residents about fire safety has always been one of our top priorities. According to the Government’s Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics for England, in the year ending September 2024, 22,738 accidental home fires were reported: a striking reminder that house fires are an existing issue across the country. While many residents are aware of common causes of house fires such as unattended cooking, other hazards often go unnoticed in everyday appliances, wiring, ageing equipment and routine habits.

In November, the Government launched this year’s Fire Kills campaign, designed to raise awareness of fire risks within the home and highlight the importance of having working smoke alarms. As part of this campaign, the government has developed the following resources:

• Online Home Fire Safety Check: a quick, digital self-assessment that helps residents identify potential fire risks in their home.
• Bedtime Checklist: a free download that encourages simple nightly habits for residents that significantly reduce fire risks.

Damp & Mould

As part of Damp & Mould Action & Awareness Week, Aico conducted independent research exploring how residents respond to damp and mould issues. From 500 surveyed UK households, 21% of residents reported a lack of confidence in reporting cases of damp & mould, influenced by factors such as uncertainty around rights, fear of eviction and challenges contacting landlords. These findings reinforce the need for transparent, supportive communication. Aico’s resident research paper can be downloaded here.

Resident engagement should include every member of the household, not just adults. Teaching children about safe home habits early helps create a lifelong foundation of awareness and responsibility. Building on the success of our Fire Safety Children’s Activity Book, we have launched a new learning resource focused on damp and mould. Packed with colouring pages, puzzles, word searches and spot-the-difference challenges, it makes an important topic fun and memorable.

The Damp & Mould Activity Book introduces two engaging, kid-friendly characters:

• Linky: Our friendly, knowledgeable home safety hero.
• Mouldie: The grumpy, trouble-causing character who represents mould.

The Damp & Mould Children’s Activity Book can be downloaded here.

Education & Engagement

Resident engagement events are a powerful way to connect directly with tenants to listen, learn and offer support. Resident engagement days can take a range of forms, including:

• Fire and damp & mould prevention workshops
• Energy efficiency coaching
• Product and app demonstrations
• Feedback and Q&A sessions

It is important that the engagement events are designed with the resident in mind: they need to be interactive, accessible and family-friendly. Activities could include:

• Prize draws
• Family fun such as picnics, craft tables, sports days
• Gift bags including merchandise and learning material

A great example of a recent resident engagement day was hosted by Phoenix Community Housing, which you can read about here.

Even with limited resources, landlords can still empower residents by directing them to free, impartial advice. Organisations such as Citizens Advice and TPAS (Tenant Participation Advisory Service) offer valuable guidance on housing, rights, safety and wellbeing. Citizens Advice is a British independent organisation specialising in confidential information and advice to assist people with legal, debt, consumer, housing and other problems in the UK. TPAS is a not-for-profit organisation which has been representing members since 1988, championing tenants in social housing across England.

How Aico Can Help

In October 2025, Awaab’s Law was introduced, meaning social housing landlords must now act within a strict timeframe when damp or mould is reported by the resident. HomeLINK’s Case Management System helps landlords maintain compliant by improving oversight, responsiveness and consistency across housing stock.

The Resident App further supports engagement by providing personalised guidance and digital tools for residents. Data from linked alarms and environmental sensors (including carbon monoxide, temperature and humidity) helps residents and landlords understand home health and take proactive action.

Learn more about how HomeLINK can help with resident engagement here.