Why do tenants from ethnic minority backgrounds often choose not to engage with their registered providers?

Who knew tenant engagement would stir up such a passion for me? Over the past four years of being an involved tenant, every day has been a day of learning. What started as a willingness to put my hand up has become something that drives me to keep asking questions, pushing boundaries, and seeking ways to make the tenant voice heard where it matters most.

When I first became involved, I knew one thing for certain: if I was going to do this, I wanted to do it properly. As elected chair of my scrutiny panel at Black Country Housing Group, I felt a responsibility not just to show up, but to lead well. That meant learning — and lots of it. I threw myself into every opportunity I could find. If there was a conference, a webinar, or a training session on tenant engagement, I was there.

It was during this period that I first came across Tpas. My landlord introduced me to them as part of a training exercise, when our tenant group was deciding whether to continue our membership. Tpas stood out to me immediately. Their values aligned with what I wanted to be part of — real, meaningful tenant engagement that could drive change rather than tick boxes.

That connection grew stronger when I began working with Tpas as an associate. For me, that was a proud moment. It felt like a recognition not just of my involvement, but of my commitment to making engagement more inclusive and impactful. One of the first things I wanted to do was bring forward ideas for webinars. My aim was simple: to create spaces where tenants, especially those whose voices are often unheard, could share their experiences openly. 

I noticed that very few ethnic minority tenants were actively involved, and when I spoke to those who were, a pattern emerged. They consistently told me how difficult it was to be meaningfully engaged

One of my ideas was to run a webinar for ethnic minority tenants, focusing on their engagement with housing providers. I had noticed that very few ethnic minority tenants were actively involved, and when I spoke to those who were, a pattern emerged. They consistently told me how difficult it was to be meaningfully engaged. Whether through a lack of opportunities, barriers of culture and language, or simply not feeling included in the room, the message was the same: something wasn’t working.

That experience highlighted something crucial to me. Engagement is not just about who shows up — it’s about who feels able to show up, speak up, and be heard. It’s about who has the confidence that their contribution will be valued. And it’s about whether landlords are creating the right conditions for tenants from all backgrounds to take part. As the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and Housing Ombudsman (HO), consistently emphasised the importance of engagement and listening to tenants, it was clear that a demographic of tenants was not receiving this information, therefore how could they be a part of the conversations.

Tpas, from their side saw that engagement was low from ethnic minority tenants, so my observation aligned with theirs. This is why they commissioned the report ‘Is There a Seat at the Table: Ethnic Minority Voices in Tenant Engagement.’

I proposed the report be based around the question, ‘Why do tenants from ethnic minority backgrounds choose to or not to engage with their registered provider?’ I drafted the survey questions, facilitated the focus groups and meet with various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and most importantly, wrote the report myself.

In a world increasingly driven by data and evidence, reports are more than just documents filed away in digital folders. Done well, they are instruments of change, and that is the purpose of this report. It takes individual voices, experiences, and concerns, and turn them into something structured, credible, and impossible to ignore.

The findings of this report are not just timely; they are deeply significant.

>>See also: Top 30 Housing Champions 2025

The report provides evidence-based insights that show people from diverse backgrounds have less of a say in how landlords are run. That needs to change.

The report has been designed to help our sector shape decisions, influence policy, and, ultimately, improve outcomes for individuals and communities alike.

For tenants, this is powerful. It means that what they say is not just anecdotal, but part of a bigger picture that can guide real change. For lots of people living in social homes, this has never been the case.

It has been amazing to see both Westminster and the sector embracing the report, looking into their engagement strategies and mainly having the conversations needed for change to happen

From building trust, to delivering equitable outcomes on services from inclusive engagement. It’s a reminder of why engagement matters. It shows that tenants time, their energy, and their voices are not used in vain.

Last month I launched my report in parliament, calling for the sector to commit to mandating cultural competency training, more robust demographic data collection and a focus on building community cohesion.

It has been amazing to see both Westminster and the sector embracing the report, looking into their engagement strategies and mainly having the conversations needed for change to happen.

This is just the start of the journey for this work. So read the report, start havung those uncomfortable conversations, embed the recommendations into your engagement strategies and let’s see some changes.

Kai Jackson is special membership projects lead at Tpas, chair of the scrutiny panel at Black Country Housing Group and one of Housing Today’s Top 30 Housing Champions