Barking and Dagenham’s Housing service is carrying out an ambitious programme of tenancy visits as part of its ‘Behind Every Door’ initiative, with plans to visit all 16,500 council tenants over the next two years. 

The visits are designed to strengthen housing management and ensure residents are getting the right support, while also helping the council maintain homes to a high standard. 

The programme focuses on three key areas;  

• Proof: verifying tenant identity and occupancy,
• Person: identifying vulnerabilities and safeguarding concerns, and
• Property: assessing property conditions to help prevent costly disrepair issues. 

So far, almost 2,000 visits have been completed. As a result of these visits, households have been identified across different levels of support need. 

The visits are already making a positive difference for residents. Eleven tenants who are in large properties have expressed an interest in moving to smaller homes, including one fully adapted three-bedroom property with specialist accessibility features that could now be better matched to a family in need. Housing officers have also made a number of referrals to Community Navigators to help residents access additional support services. 

The initiative has also helped prevent evictions. Of 24 households referred by the Rents team, and already facing eviction action, five households were successfully engaged through targeted visits, leading to sustainable arrangements being agreed. In one case, a tenant cleared their rent arrears of £13,000 in a single payment. 

Visiting Officers are also identifying repair issues, including cases involving damp and mould, helping ensure problems are dealt with earlier and homes remain safe and well maintained.  

The programme is also helping the council tackle tenancy fraud, with nine cases referred to the Council’s Audit service for further investigation into suspected sub-letting. 

Councillor Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Housing, Adult Social Care and Health, said: “The Tenancy Update Visits programme is about making sure our tenants are safe, supported and living in homes that are well maintained. These visits give us the opportunity to speak directly with residents, understand their circumstances and provide help where it’s needed most. 

“They also help us protect valuable council housing by identifying issues such as subletting, tackling repairs early and ensuring homes are being used in the right way. This is a proactive approach that benefits both residents and the wider community.” 

Residents are being contacted by their housing officer to arrange visits and more information on the progress of the programme will be made available on the council’s website.