Supporting London’s Social Housing Providers to deliver Resident First Retrofit

For resident‑first retrofit to become the standard in London, Social Housing Providers need practical, informed resources developed and tested in partnership with their peers and Londoners.

Our Resident First Retrofit Toolkit

Last month, Warmer Homes London and the Young Foundation launched our Resident First Retrofit Toolkit, at a digital gathering of over 50 retrofit professionals from our 27 social housing partners.

Each resource and tool in the toolkit has been actively created with input from the Strategic Partnership and our Resident Advisory Group, who you can learn more about here. At the launch, attendees were walked through the development process and explored how partners can begin using the tools. They also heard directly from a member of Resident Advisory Group, on what resident-first retrofit means to them. 

The toolkit combines data insights, communication strategies and engagement planning into a single, practical resource. Delivery officers receive effective engagement resources informed by real-world insights. Residents in London benefit from a consistent strong approach to engagement, rooted in local knowledge. 

Our Social Housing Fund Strategic Partnership is England’s largest by size of grant, and provides a platform for Social Housing Providers to collaborate, identify and scale solutions, with the support of Warmer Homes London. Through facilitating pan-London learning and working collectively, we can embed the skills and tools London needs to break down barriers and scale up retrofit delivery capital wide. 

Our Resident First Retrofit Toolkit

As the toolkit is a user-centred resource, our Retrofit Strategy and Services team will work closely with the Strategic Partnership to help them make best use of the resources. This includes creating opportunities for the partnership at workshops to have an open dialogue and receive support on their individual circumstances. 

Prior to the roll-out of the toolkit to the entire partnership, the toolkit was tested with a small cohort of early adopters from the partnership. This model of feedback will continue, through the creation of a small implementation group whose insights will allow us to iterate and ensure the tools continue to meet the practical needs of those delivering every day. 

Following an initial period embedding the toolkit into the partnership, the toolkit later this year will become an available open-source resource for those delivering resident engagement in London and across the country. 

We are grateful to our delivery partners and the residents who have given their time throughout development and testing of the toolkit, to make sure the resources reflect their lived experiences.