Social housing tenants - accessing information: research report

1. Summary

1.1 In 2024, the Scottish Government (SG) commissioned TPAS Scotland (TPAS) to carry out a thematic study with the aim of researching and reporting on the accessibility of information and literature aimed at tenants.

1.2 TPAS has been supporting tenants’ groups and landlords for over 40 years, providing services that help upskill tenants to become involved in a range of housing issues, and supporting landlords in making this happen.

1.3 The basis of this research comprised a series of discussion groups with tenants and officers, which took place during spring 2024, via Teams. In addition, a survey was issued to a random sample of landlords to capture additional information.

1.4 From these discussion groups, we were able to collate a range of documents that landlords provide to their tenants, and to capture the views of tenants on how accessible this information is.

1.5 During this research, examples of good practice have been identified, including instances of tenants being part of editorial panels for newsletters, and some landlords creating a “tenant approved” badge to display on their publications.

1.6 A number of landlords have produced Easy Read documents, which are free of jargon and with simple clear images, however it should be noted these are not easy to produce due to the experience required to develop these, and the fact that original publications must be written in a way that allows straightforward translation to Easy Read. Landlords should still be encouraged to consider how they can create good quality documents that are accessible for their tenant base.

1.7 In recent years, landlords have increased their use of digital information sharing, either on websites, social media or via on-line meetings. These often increase accessibility for tenants, and for many landlords, they are a cost-effective way of producing and disseminating information.

1.8 Landlords’ websites should contain up to date information on the organisation, governing body/committee, and staff. The websites reviewed as part of this research were accessible, with the option to translate or read aloud the text. It should be noted that this was a visual review and not a compliance audit to check if sites were fully accessible in accordance with regulations.