What can housing associations do to support community cohesion?

Cohesion lies at the core of strong, safe and resilient communities. For housing associations – anchored in place – it is more than just an abstract concept. Keeping people together is daily work that shapes the quality of life in our communities.

Maintaining cohesion in a constantly changing environment takes time and effort. In recognition of this, and in response to events in 2025 that unsettled the sense of cohesion and togetherness in some communities, the NHF convened a series of roundtables that took place in the autumn of 2025 to discuss community cohesion and our sector’s role in supporting it.

It’s clear from those conversations that cohesion in communities has a relationship with wider societal events. The proliferation of social media as a medium through which to connect to one another and to source news, means communities need not be geographically limited. What happens in one part of the country, or indeed the world, can impact on what happens locally, as well as how people feel locally. Other factors that also impact on a sense of cohesion include the housing crisis, cost of living pressures, and the impact of financial pressures on local and community organisations which may have to reduce or close services.

Our members’ experiences of community cohesion

Today we’re publishing a summary of the roundtable discussions, focusing on the key themes and the next steps we’ll be taking to continue to support this work.

Some of the key themes that arose from our discussions were:

• The impact of challenges to cohesion on staff and residents.
• Tensions within communities fuelled by the scarce availability of social housing.
• The importance of strong partnership working.
• The work members and partners are doing to respond to challenges in their communities.

Support for NHF members

Our members collectively support around six million residents and put them at the heart of everything they do. That reach necessitates a strong sense of responsibility and provides a unique opportunity. Housing association staff who are working within communities are often the first to notice when something is going wrong for residents and are therefore often first to intervene before these situations reach crisis point.

The NHF will continue to support members in their efforts by:

• Building on our ongoing commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Providing a new dedicated webpage with further advice, support and information.
• Providing regular political updates.
• Seeking to influence the government’s thinking on cohesion.
• Developing a policy position paper on how social housing is allocated.

As always, in changing times our sector’s key strengths – including resilience, strong local connections and a clear sense of social purpose – enable us to continue delivering good homes and services to those who need them.

We hope our members find this paper helpful, and if you’d like to send any further thoughts to us on this topic please email Bethan Buck. Please do keep an eye out for further updates as we move through 2026.

Finally, my thanks to all those members who contributed to the roundtable discussions.