Listening to our younger customers

A group of young peer researchers from Hyde, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing and Clarion Housing has published its recommendations to strengthen youth participation in housing policy and practice.

Young Residents in Partnership supports young people to carry out research based on lived experience, with the aim of strengthening youth voice and leadership in housing associations and across the wider housing sector.

Its Recommendations in Action Impact Report 2024-25 (PDF, 3.7MB) makes six recommendations:

1. Define young people as separate stakeholders in housing policy
2. Create a youth voice representation structure, with clear goals and ambitions
3. Train housing association colleagues to be more inclusive of young people
4. Use housing associations’ influence across the sector to embed youth voice into practice and policy
5. Improve communications with young people through an age-specific communications strategy
6. Work with other organisations to educate young people on their housing options and rights.

Young people are often overlooked in decision making because they aren’t always leaseholders or tenants, and aren’t recognised as stakeholders in policy and governance. This project aims to ensure their voices are better represented in decisions shaping housing services and neighbourhoods.

Hyde customer, Ethan McCormick, said: “I hope this project inspires housing associations and the wider housing sector to think of young people's voices and opinions, and that it leads them to start including young residents in policy and decision making.”

Andy Hulme, Group Chief Executive of the Hyde Group, said: “We welcome the recommendations of the Young Residents in Partnership Report and hope the sector will take them on board; we’ll certainly be looking to implement them at Hyde.

“Young people often have unique perspectives and we feel it’s crucial their voices are heard, to inform changes to housing policy and practice and encourage housing associations to adjust their ways of working. This will help us to build stronger communities and deliver better outcomes for future generations of customers.”

Iris Bos, Youth Research Officer, Partnership for Young London, said: “Peer research is a powerful method for youth voice representation. Seeing this co-production and collaboration in action sets an example of how we can all collectively and meaningfully amplify young people’s voices.”

You can read the Young Residents In Partnership Impact Report (PDF, 3.7MB) and watch a video about the research.