I am a social housing tenant living in North Kensington with mobility and sensory disabilities. I’m also tone deaf which makes it very difficult for me to hear everyday sounds such as phones, doorbells and crucially smoke, carbon monoxide and fire alarms.

Following the tragic fire at Lakanal House in 2009 where six people sadly died, many social landlords installed fire alarms in their tenants’ homes. When the contractor installed mine I asked him to test it while I removed my hearing aids as well. After all, I was hardly likely to be wearing them in the middle of the night. Guess what… I couldn’t hear anything!

Later, aids were provided and installed by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to alert me to a fire including a vibration cushion for under my pillow and a strobe light in my bedroom, potentially saving my life in the event of a fire or smoke.

It’s great to know Fire Services across the country are willing to come and install smoke alarms for vulnerable people as part of a broader fire safety visit. It’s a completely free service which I was immensely grateful for.

Based on my experience, I believe that data sharing between organisations could be one way of improving outcomes, as in my case LFB stated that I would need to inform my landlord myself.

But for tenants who live with disabilities and health issues, dealing with their social housing landlord and contractors can prove challenging. Through better data sharing, all contractors can be aware of tenants’ mobility and health needs so that when they visit, they don’t simply walk away from the property thinking the tenant isn’t at home.

Many landlords encourage their tenants to go online when reporting repairs. But a lot of tenants find it difficult to report problems online and prefer speaking to someone. Health and mobility information should be collected alongside data about the condition of homes. This information needs to be accurate if it is to be shared with visiting contractors.

Otherwise, as I have experienced, contractors come to your home with no prior knowledge about health / mobility needs. If it’s happening to me, it must surely be happening to other tenants.

Perhaps it is time for all social housing residents to be included in what is often referred to as the ‘Golden Thread’ of information. Every tenant, including those living with health and mobility issues, should be able to see for themselves just how safe and well-maintained their home is.

The pandemic changed how landlords and tenants interacted. Rebuilding face-to-face relationships will take time. Having a housing officer working your patch who you can get to know and trust can make a big difference.

Housing officers should show understanding and empathy in understanding the needs of residents. But in trying to help them, they should avoid coming across as prying because a lot of tenants are quite proud and may dislike being quizzed about their health.

I have always urged housing officers, to ask tenants “What can I do for you?” rather than ask “What is wrong with you?”

The key to improving how tenants living with disabilities can interact with landlords and contractors is good communication and better data. Listen to what tenants are saying about themselves and their homes. And ensure records are updated and kept secure.

It’s also important to ensure those records remain accessible then housing officers leave, IT systems are updated, or when housing associations merge.

Finally, dedicated Health and Disability Forums are key to engaging tenants. Landlords should be mindful of the needs of attendees and should provide specialised support such as by providing readable documents in braille or ensuring transport so they can attend meetings safely. If meeting online on Zoom or Teams, landlords should help those who struggle to afford unlimited broadband. That’s what accessibility in practice means.