Housing with Care: a report on our findings Autumn/Winter 2025

The report presents the findings from Healthwatch Coventry’s Enter and View visits to 11 Housing with Care schemes across Coventry, carried out during autumn and winter 2024–25. Housing with Care is a supported living model in which people rent their own self‑contained homes while receiving care delivered separately by Coventry City Council, allowing tenants to retain independence and full tenancy rights rather than living in a registered care home. 

Healthwatch Coventry gathered feedback from 109 tenants, 34 staff members and 5 family members or carers, alongside structured observations of the buildings and environments. Overall, experiences were largely positive, with around 80% of tenants rating their care and support as good or excellent. Many tenants described respectful, kind relationships with staff and valued the balance between independence and reassurance, often describing their accommodation as “home” and staff as “like family”. 

The report found that care and support generally met people’s needs, particularly around personal care, medication support and help with daily living. However, some tenants raised concerns about inconsistencies in staff familiarity, communication, and practical aspects of care, such as support following falls and clarity about what staff are permitted to do. There was confusion among some tenants about risk assessments, lifting policies and first‑aid responses, which sometimes resulted in anxiety or long waits for emergency assistance. 

Activities were highlighted as an important contributor to wellbeing, and over three‑quarters of tenants reported taking part in them. While many enjoyed activities on offer, such as chair exercises and social events, tenants frequently requested a wider range of options beyond quizzes and bingo, including outings, karaoke and more physically engaging activities. Limited staff time and resources were identified as barriers to delivering more varied activity programmes, particularly as the tenant population becomes younger and more diverse. 

Communication and inclusion were generally rated positively, with most tenants feeling sufficiently informed. However, the report identified accessibility issues such as noticeboards positioned too high, a lack of large‑print information, inconsistent verbal communication, and limited translated materials for tenants who do not speak English as a first language. These issues sometimes led to isolation, particularly for tenants with sensory impairments or limited confidence in asking for information. 

Food and nutrition emerged as an area of mixed experiences across schemes. Although most tenants used on‑site cafés or restaurants at least occasionally, there were concerns about affordability, inconsistent opening hours, limited vegetarian and culturally appropriate options, and reliance on family or carers when catering was unavailable. These variations had a direct impact on choice, nutrition and independence, particularly for tenants who could not cook for themselves. 

The physical environments of the schemes were generally clean, warm and welcoming, but some required improvements. Issues included worn carpets, unclear signage, poorly marked disabled parking bays, single lifts that caused access problems when out of service, and inadequate ventilation, particularly in flats where smoking occurred. While tenants valued their personal living space, communal areas in some schemes appeared tired or poorly maintained. 

Safety and security were largely a source of reassurance for tenants and families, particularly due to on‑site staff and emergency call systems. Nevertheless, concerns were raised about responses to falls, security of mobility equipment, and policies that tenants felt were inconsistent or difficult to understand. 

The report concludes that Housing with Care in Coventry provides a safe, supportive and largely positive living environment that supports independence, recovery and long‑term wellbeing. However, it identifies opportunities for improvement through relatively simple changes, particularly around communication, activities, food provision, environmental maintenance, and clarity about care responsibilities. A set of themed recommendations is provided for providers and commissioners to strengthen personalisation, inclusion, consistency and quality of life for tenants, with Healthwatch Coventry committed to monitoring progress and sharing findings with partners including the Care Quality Commission.