Customer involvement

We have five geographical customer-led Local Area Focus Groups. The purpose of these groups is to consider local issues and to work with Gentoo to suggest areas where attention could be focused and our services improved for the local communities. The Local Area Focus Groups meet every two months and anyone living in the area is welcome to attend.

If you are interested in joining your Local Area Focus Group then please contact your local Community Partnership Coordinator.

If you would like to know more about what Gentoo does, then you may be interested in our regular Information and Knowledge sessions. These events are open to anyone and provide an opportunity for customers to hear from Gentoo about specific services and current issues affecting the housing sector. To find out when the next event is being held please go to our Calendar.

We encourage our customers to get involved and help us to maintain our estates and neighbourhoods. We hold regular Rate Your Estate activities where customers actively inspect our estates, identify issues and report these back to the local Gentoo staff.

We also encourage other community initiatives such as Love Where You Live, general estate tidy ups and gardening competitions.

If you are interested in being involved in Rate Your Estate or other local community initiatives, then please contact your local Community Partnership Coordinator.

See the Rate Your Estate results in our performance section. 

Volunteering is a great way for you to develop skills, gain experience and give something back. We encourage all of our staff, corporate partners and the community to give their time to activities that help make a difference to people’s lives.

You can get involved in a wide range of volunteering projects.

A residents’ association is an orgainsation formed by a group of people from a specific geographical community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for the local community. Gentoo will work in a partnership arrangement with residents’ associations who are active in the communities in which we have properties.

If you are interested in setting up a residents’ association in your area, or would like to join an existing residents’ association, then please contact your local Community Partnership Coordinator.

The Ustoo Customer Scrutiny Group is a group of volunteers who independently scrutinise the services Gentoo provides. The group chooses what topics need scrutinising, based on performance and customer feedback and the Group will ensure that decisions have been made with customer needs and aspirations at their heart.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a member of the Ustoo Customer Scrutiny Group then please contact Jo Noble by emailing jo.noble@gentoogroup.com or call 0191 525 2852.

Gentoo customers help us to inspect our void properties to ensure that we continue to provide good quality housing to new or transferring customers.  Customers regularly inspect our empty (ready to let) properties to ensure we are offering a good standard of accommodation.  If you would like to get involved in inspecting our void properties please contact the customer and community team.

The Genfactor is the city’s renowned talent contest organised annually by Gentoo. The competition is an opportunity for young people living in Sunderland to showcase their talents, build confidence and grow. 

The amount of talent that has come out of the Genfactor since its launch has been incredible, with many homegrown artists supporting the contestants along the way. 

See finalists, photos from previous years and find out more.