Stephen Day returns to the Housing Sector Podcast with an extraordinary update from Royal Artillery Quays in Woolwich.

Residents say they have spent years raising concerns about serious fire-safety and construction defects, including missing fire doors and failures in internal fire compartmentation. Yet Stephen says the evidence they have repeatedly presented has been denied, dismissed or ignored.

In this episode we discuss the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the Building Safety Regulator, London Fire Brigade, the Ombudsman and the wider system residents are expected to rely upon when something goes wrong.

Stephen also explains why residents raised more than £4,000 themselves to commission independent fire-engineering advice, why he believes public statements made about their evidence must now be withdrawn, and why the proposed Hillsborough Law could become highly significant.

But the wider question is bigger than Royal Artillery Quays.

How many residents are living in potentially unsafe buildings who simply do not have the time, money, knowledge or confidence to spend years fighting the organisations that are supposed to protect them?

And why does the system so often appear to focus on the person raising the alarm rather than the alarm itself?

Right to reply will be offered to those criticised or named during this discussion.

#HousingSector #BuildingSafety #RoyalArtilleryQuays #Greenwich #RoyalBoroughOfGreenwich #FireSafety #BuildingSafetyCrisis #Leasehold #Grenfell #HillsboroughLaw #SocialHousing #ResidentVoice #Accountability #HousingCrisis

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Housing has already seen more than 40 events, conferences and awards in 2026 — and the year isn’t over yet.

In this audio version of my latest Housing Sector blog, I ask a simple question: are residents seeing enough measurable value from the sheer scale of the housing events circuit?

When housing associations tell us they must account for every pound, while rents and service charges continue to rise and basic services remain under pressure, it is reasonable to scrutinise the cost of conferences, memberships, travel, accommodation, awards and staff time.

Events can have value. But where are the outcomes?

#Housing #SocialHousing #HousingSector #HousingAssociations #Tenants #Residents #ServiceCharges #ResidentEngagement #Accountability #Transparency #UKHousing

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In this episode of the Housing Sector Podcast, I’m joined by Joanne — known on TikTok as @aunty.jo — for an open and honest conversation about why more tenants are turning to social media to talk about the reality of their housing experiences.

Joanne originally created her platform around community support and healing, but after speaking to hundreds of people she began to recognise the same housing problems appearing again and again: residents feeling ignored, overlooked, frightened to speak up and unsure where to turn for help. Her response has been to use her voice and her growing TikTok platform to encourage tenants to support one another and share their lived experience.

We talk about complaints, repairs, temporary accommodation, contractors, service charges and the exhaustion that comes from repeatedly chasing organisations for answers. We also discuss why residents often end up raising their concerns publicly after private emails and phone calls have failed — only to be told on social media to go back and contact the same customer service channels that have already ignored them.

TikTok has opened up a very different type of resident engagement. Search housing on the platform and you quickly find tenants talking openly about disrepair, communication failures, service charges and the struggle to get basic problems resolved. These conversations are often far removed from the carefully managed resident panels, conferences and engagement events that dominate much of the traditional housing sector.

Joanne and I discuss whether housing providers are really listening to those voices — particularly the difficult, outspoken and frustrated residents who may not fit neatly into the sector’s preferred model of engagement. Sometimes the feedback organisations most need to hear is the feedback they least want to hear.

There is also practical advice for residents. Joanne’s message is simple: don’t give up, reach out for support and document everything. Keep photographs, emails, dates and records, speak to people you trust and connect with other residents who understand what you are experiencing.

And there is a message for senior leaders in housing associations and councils: get out into your communities, speak directly to tenants, listen to what they are actually saying and take action. Reports, statistics and satisfaction scores can only tell you so much. Sometimes you need to speak to the people living with the consequences of the decisions being made.

This is a conversation about tenant voice, accountability, lived experience and why residents supporting residents could become an increasingly important part of the housing conversation.

Follow Joanne on TikTok: @aunty.jo
Follow Housing Sector on TikTok: @housing.sector

Website: housingsector.co.uk

If you have a housing story you think needs to be heard, get in touch.

#HousingSector #HousingSectorPodcast #TikTok #HousingTikTok #TenantVoice #Tenants #Residents #SocialHousing #HousingAssociation #CouncilHousing #ResidentEngagement #HousingRepairs #ServiceCharges #Accountability #HousingCrisis

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