On Friday 6th March, Community Researchers from two Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects shared their findings from research into how Tower Hamlets can become a safer and more connected place, and how renting can be made better for young people in East London.

1. A Safer Place to Live,
A Better Place to Rent
Participatory Action Research findings launch:
share learning and create a strategy for action
6 March 2020

2. Jim Minton, Chief Executive of Toynbee Hall

4. Making Tower Hamlets
safer and more connected

5. Who are the Community Researchers?
30+ community researchers
Aged 22-79
12 languages/dialects
Bangladeshi - 35%
No university education

6. My Motivation

7. Co-designed research focus
Initial survey
224 surveys (quantitative &
qualitative questions)
7 interviews
Over 20 group workshops
The research process

8. Findings
Do people feel safe?
1. The importance of connection and relationships
2. Trust and relationships with authorities
3. Poverty and structural causes

9. Finding: do people feel safe?
Felt unsafe on at least a few occasions per week
Didn’t feel part of a community
Drug dealing (69%), substance misuse (27%), knife
crime (39 %).
“Tower Hamlets could be seen as the nice borough it is,
if it was safer and more people helped others”

10. 1. Being connected within communities
1) Parental support (56% voted for this as solution):
"Increasing the confidence of families in discussing taboo
subjects with young people, such as sex, drug use, dealing.”
“Ensuring families who are struggling have help at an early stage
and without the fear of losing their children if they admit they
are struggling.”
“Services for young people and adults to spend time together
would be very beneficial.”

11. 1. Being connected with communities
2) Connected with neighbours
“Although we speak to our immediate neighbours, most
others on our square wouldn't know me if they bumped
into me”.
“I don't really know my neighbours, common space is
often lacking”.

12. 2. Trust and relationships with authorities
1) Trust
“I don't feel safe around police … because they also harass
innocent people”.
“Not helped at all from council … they don't listen”.
17% 15%
12%
51%
42% 40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Police Counncil Housing
association
Satisfaction Rates
Satisfied Neither satisfied or dissatisfied Dissatisfied

13. 2. Trust and relationships with authorities
2) Communication
“The police and council know what is going on around
dealing and begging and choose not to take action. This
is because they know it will only move the problem
elsewhere. Leaves those affected abandoned”.
“The information/poster … about how to report anti-
social behaviour in Tower Hamlets … is very text heavy
and over complicated”.

14. 3. Poverty and structural causes
“I feel like most anti-social behaviour has poverty at its
root cause. Young people dealing drugs, begging. So
really it makes me sad that people are living in
poverty”.
“ASB is complex - lack of money, housing, homelessness,
economic, access to health services, cut in benefits”.

15. Social action

16. Tower Hamlets Scrutiny
Committee
Tower Hamlets Cohesion
Plan 2020-2025
Meeting with Community
Safety Commissioner
Progress so far

17. Initial ideas:
1. Community self-organizing
2. Better communication from authorities
3. Collaborative approach with institutions
Action phase (March 2020 – Feb 2021)

18. Making renting better
for young people in East
London

19. Who are our researchers?
19 Community Researchers

20. My motivation

21. The research process
22 training sessions
Co-designed focus & methods
80 surveys
14 interviews
Co-analysed results

22. Findings
Overview: What problems are young people facing in
sustaining good homes in East London?
1. Moving in: pressure, risk
2. Making a home: price, quality, and churn
3. Moving out: eviction and deposit
4. Relationships with landlords & letting agents

23. “Everything is so unstable and so short-
term, how could you ever really hope to
build anything?”
Are young people finding and sustaining
good homes in East London?

24. 1. Moving in : Pressure to sign
9%
7%
41%
43%
Did you feel under pressure to sign a contract or pay a deposit?
The contract
The deposit
Both - the deposit and contract
No

25. “Most estate agents rush people into signing
contracts without having time to consider
options”.
“They put so much pressure on you
to sign all the documents and pay
the money, but when you move in
they take so long to respond about
any issues”

26. “I lived in London for years subletting because it was so
hard to get accommodation without 6 months payslips or
a guarantor”.
“The problem was the sub-renting landlord would not
give the house owners contact details. It wasn’t my
landlord, it was just person who was subletting me a
room. She didn’t want to gave me deposit back.”
Settling for riskier living arrangements

27. Receiving the right documentation and
information
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
How To Rent Guide Tower Hamlets Private
Renters Charter
Up-to-date gas and
electricity certificates
Numberofrespondents
Were you provided with the following at the start of your
tenancy?
Yes No

28. “My room is twice the size of the bed, you can barely
move in there.”
“The flat has no living space. Just our bedrooms, the
bathroom and a kitchen that can only comfortably hold
one person at a time”
“Incredibly poorly kept and feel like the people renting it
to us hates us”.
2. Making a home: price and quality

29. Raising issues
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1 -
Completely
dissatisfied
2 3 4 5 -
Completely
satisfied
Numberofrespondents
If you raised concerns with your accommodation, were you
satisfied with how your landlord and/or letting agent
responded?

30. 3. Moving out: top movers!
0
5
10
15
20
25
Never Once Twice Three
times
Four
times
Five
times
Six
times
Seven
times
Eight
times
How many times have you moved house within the
last 5 years?

31. “[We were] evicted because the landlord wanted
to sell the property but we never received a
Section 21 notice.”
“Usually people moving rental houses count on
that (deposit) to pay the next deposit. Last time I
waited almost 2 months.”
Eviction and deposit return

32. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Provided in
my native
language
Provided
over the
phone
More
opportunities
to speak to
advisers
face-to-face
Written in a
clearer way
Provided in
video format
Other
Numberofrespondents
How could information about your rights and raising
issues with your landlord/letting agent be made more
accessible to you?
Accessing information and advice in a
suitable way

33. Relationships with landlords
Some had positive relationships…
Others experienced illegal practices
Slow return of deposits
Lack of response to issues raised
A feeling that they were disliked or dismissed

34. Relationships with letting agents
Pressure selling
Guarantor requirements
Restrictions on who can access homes – no
students, no zero hour contracts etc
Unresponsive to requests for repair or maintenance
from renters

35. Some ideas for solutions and next steps
“The ability to find places
more in advance.”
“Better services which show
available housing for young people
perhaps? Many houses we wanted
were for families.”
“Guarantor checks – three times
total rental income – restricted
choice, even when it is reasonably
affordable.”
“A reviewing platform like Trustpilot or Google
Reviews but for accommodation would be great.”
“Landlord be vetted by the
Council or an independent
body; shown recent fire and
safety checks of both the flat
and the building before
signing a contract.”
“Version of the contract to
have a look over before the
face to face meet where the
contract gets signed.”

36. Rachel Blake, Tower Hamlets Deputy Mayor

37. Panel discussion

38. Participatory Action Research findings launch:
share learning and create a strategy for action
Research@toynbeehall.org.uk