Shaping a more dignified future for social housing

Posted on 27th November 2025

Shaping the sector through research and honest conversations

November has been a month of listening, learning and contributing to important sector discussions. Our research continues to generate conversations about what dignity, trust and decency should look like in social housing. We also had the chance to share our thinking at two key events.

Speaking at HACT’s Community Investment Conference

At the HACT Community Investment Conference, we spoke about how trust and dignity sit at the heart of our grant-making. The session brought people together who are rethinking how support works. Anthony Morrow and Marie-Claire Wattison from Sanctuary delivered a standout talk on trauma-informed approaches. They had a clear message: people should feel they matter. It sounds obvious, yet in practice it is still far from the norm.

The day left us hopeful. More organisations are moving away from programmes that aim to “fix people” and towards relationships that give people agency. Being part of that shift continues to shape our research and the way we support Stonewater customers and their communities.

Challenging compliance through social housing research at Homes UK

Later in the month, our Chief Executive, Aileen Edmunds, took to the Tenant Voice and Housing Quality stage at Homes UK. She asks a critical question: what does a decent home actually mean? She challenged the sector to look beyond regulatory tick-boxes. Too many residents move into properties that meet standards on paper but lack basic essentials like flooring, an issue our research highlighted last year. That work has since been cited in the government’s decent homes consultation, proving the sector is listening.

Aileen calls for purpose-led decisions, not box-ticking. A decent home isn’t just about bricks and compliance. It’s where people feel safe, loved and able to thrive. We need to lead with purpose, make decency the baseline (not the aspiration), and recognise our shared responsibility to support people to live well.

Building momentum for change

Both events showed the same thing. The sector is ready for honest conversations about dignity, quality and trust. The future of our communities won’t be built on programmes designed to fix people. It’ll be built on relationships that believe in them. We’re proud to play our part in making that shift happen.