Improving Communication with Residents Through One Portal

Effective communication between housing providers and residents has become more crucial than ever. Residents expect fast, consistent, and transparent communication—whether they need to report a repair, access documents, or get updates on tenancy-related issues. Unfortunately, many housing associations, supported housing providers, and student accommodation teams still struggle with communication due to outdated systems and fragmented workflows.

As someone who has worked with housing organisations of all sizes across the UK, I’ve seen firsthand how poor communication can erode tenant trust, increase complaints, and create unnecessary burden for back-office teams. One of the most powerful and practical ways to resolve these issues is by consolidating communication into a single resident portal.

The Real-Life Communication Challenges Facing Housing Providers

Manual Work and Information Silos

In many smaller housing teams, day-to-day communication with residents often happens over phone calls, scattered emails, or even walk-in conversations. While these methods may feel personal, they are difficult to track and offer little transparency. Information is often stored in spreadsheets or fragmented systems, making it challenging to get a full view of the resident’s history or current needs.

One housing officer recently shared how their team was manually copying repair requests from emails into a spreadsheet, forwarding them via email to the contractor, and then relying on phone calls to chase updates. Multiply this by dozens of properties and team members—things fall through the cracks rather quickly.

Outdated Legacy Systems

Many providers rely on legacy housing management systems that were never built for today’s digital expectations. These systems often lack modern interfaces and integrations, making it difficult to link workflows together. For instance, if your asset database doesn’t talk to your resident CRM, then any maintenance or safety updates never automatically notify the resident—leading to duplicate work or, worse, miscommunication during essential compliance checks.

In student accommodation, the tech stack is often built more for lease management and rent collection than resident experience. This has led to a patchwork of tools being introduced over time, contributing to a disjointed experience for both staff and residents alike.

Compliance Pressure and Risk Management

The regulatory bar for social and supported housing continues to rise. Whether it’s compliance with Decent Homes Standard, gas safety, or document accessibility, consistent and auditable communication is essential. Providers are expected to prove that information has not only been issued—but also that it has been clearly received and understood by the resident.

Without a central platform for two-way communication, teams end up using ad-hoc methods like SMS tools or printed letters through the post. These are difficult to track and verify, often leaving gaps when it comes to audit readiness.

Increasing Tenant Dissatisfaction

Perhaps the most important consequence of poor communication is that it leads to resident dissatisfaction. Delayed repair updates, unclear rent statements, or unanswered queries all reduce trust. In supported housing, poor information flow can jeopardise someone’s well-being and independence. In student accommodation, it reflects badly on the professionalism of the landlord or provider.

When frustration builds over time, more residents turn to formal complaints. Not only is this time-consuming for staff to manage, but it can attract scrutiny from regulators and impact funding or reputation.

What a Central Resident Portal Can Solve

One of the clearest ways to solve these communication issues is by implementing a central resident portal—a digital self-service platform that acts as a single place for residents to interact with their housing provider. Rather than introducing another tool, this approach brings systems and conversations together into one coherent platform.

• Streamlined Reporting: Residents can report repairs, anti-social behaviour, or tenancy issues using structured digital forms—ensuring the right team receives it immediately.
• Secure Messaging: A unified inbox allows for two-way communication that’s logged, timestamped, and accessible to the resident and staff.
• Document Access: Residents can view rent statements, compliance certificates, or tenancy agreements without needing to wait for a team member to send them manually.
• Status Visibility: Updates and action status (e.g., “under review”, “contractor assigned”, “completed”) ensure residents are kept in the loop, greatly reducing follow-up calls and emails.
• Audit Trail and Compliance: Automatic logs provide a full history of resident engagement, which can be used to demonstrate compliance efforts and flag gaps before audits.

Requirements for an Effective Resident Portal

Not all portals are created equal. Some simply replicate old systems with a new interface. From experience, a good resident portal should have the following characteristics:

• Integration with Core Systems: The portal should connect with your HMS, asset register, rent arrears tool, and case management process so data passes between them without duplication.
• Device Responsiveness: With the majority of residents using smartphones, the portal must work fluidly across screen sizes—without requiring downloads or high technical knowledge.
• Accessibility: The portal must meet WCAG compliance to be usable by residents with visual, cognitive, or mobility impairments. In supported housing, this is especially critical.
• Automation for Internal Teams: Repairs reported on the portal should automatically trigger contractor workflows. Identity verification should pre-fill forms. These reduce admin for staff and accelerate resolution times.
• Customisable Communication Paths: Residents should be able to specify how they want to be notified: email, SMS, or portal alerts. This allows for a more personalised and inclusive experience.

Implementation Insights from the Field

I’ve worked with housing associations and providers rolling out self-service portals completely from scratch as well as improving existing deployments. A few lessons I’ve learned along the way:

• Start Small: Choose a high-value use case like repairs reporting or rent statements for launch. This ensures fast adoption and proof of value.
• Consult Residents Early: Include them in testing and feedback loops. Especially in supported housing, co-production leads to features that actually meet needs.
• Train Internal Teams: The portal is only as good as the workflows behind it. Customer service staff and housing officers need proper onboarding so every interaction is handled effectively.
• Don’t Rely on Just Digital: While portals improve convenience, always provide alternatives for residents who are digitally excluded or have additional communication needs.

Benefits Realised by Providers

When done well, a resident portal doesn’t just reduce complaints—it transforms relationships and rebuilds trust. Housing teams have reported:

• Up to 60% reduction in inbound calls for repair updates and rent queries
• Better SLA compliance thanks to evidence-based responses and prioritised workflows
• Fewer missed appointments due to more frequent and visible notifications
• Improved resilience during periods of disruption (e.g., emergencies, staff shortages) as residents can self-manage tasks digitally

Perhaps most importantly, residents begin to feel heard. Giving them visibility and control over their interactions creates a sense of respect and partnership—this is especially vital in social and supported housing contexts, where dignity and independence underpin service delivery.

Conclusion

Digitally transforming resident communication isn’t about replacing every personal interaction or creating a faceless interface. It’s about making essential services and updates consistent, transparent, and accessible—especially in an environment where staffing is stretched and compliance pressure continues to mount.

By bringing all communication and engagement into one resident portal, housing providers can reduce operational overhead, meet regulatory requirements more easily, and most importantly, create a more responsive and trustworthy environment for their residents.

If you need help implementing technology into your organisation or want some advice — get in touch today at info@proptechconsult.uk