What motivates tenants?

Knowing what really matters to tenants – to find out, the HOWOGE Tenants' Council is planning its first survey this summer. All tenants of the housing company aged 18 and over will be interviewed. No tenants' council has ever conducted such a survey before, explains Ragnar Frey, who has been a volunteer member of the Tenants' Council for a year. The survey is primarily intended to shed light on the perception of the Tenants' Council and its work. Furthermore, the Tenants' Council hopes to gain insights into tenant satisfaction, says Frey.

Anonymity and data protection

It is particularly important to the members of the tenant council that the survey is anonymous and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about individual people. This means that all responses will be treated confidentially and securely. To ensure this, the team commissioned an external expert to conduct the survey: "We deliberately chose a professional service provider to implement the survey technically. This way, we can ensure that data protection is guaranteed at all times," explains the tenant council representative.

In this way, the members, who all work on a voluntary basis as representatives of the tenants' interests, also receive support in evaluating and managing large amounts of data.

Participate and help shape

The survey is planned for mid-year. Once launched, tenants will be directed to the survey via a special link on the tenant council website. HOWOGE, which is happy to support the project, will also announce the launch on its social media channels.

Of course, participation is voluntary and not mandatory, Frey emphasizes. However, anyone who would like to help shape their living environment in the future can influence the survey and set the agenda. The number of questions is manageable and specifically addresses tenants' opinions. Some questions are only relevant to certain groups – depending on how the previous question was answered. The questions are primarily designed as "how" questions with response scales and free-text fields.

“We hope for strong participation in the summer”

The Tenants' Council hopes for a lively turnout. "The more people participate, the more accurate the picture we will get of the tenants' concerns and wishes." "For many tenants, it's also an opportunity to express their views without the hesitation of writing directly to the Tenants' Council or HOWOGE," adds the Tenants' Council member, citing the motivation for participation.