The Tenant Journey Offered New Perspectives on Everyday Life
What is it really like to live at ByggVesta? In the project “The Tenant Journey,” tenants shared their everyday experiences, dreams, and challenges — a journey that led to new insights, tools, and relationships to build on.
Personas are fictional characters that represent typical living situations and help put a face to different needs.
(Image: Collage of property photos and AI-generated people)
When Home Becomes the Starting Point
What does daily life truly look like for our tenants? What dreams, needs, and challenges shape life at home – and how can the landlord better respond to them, both in the present moment and over time?
For designer Hanna Landström, this became the heart of the Tenant Journey project – an initiative from ByggVesta Property Management aimed at strengthening the relationship with its tenants. With a background in industrial design, concept development, and public environments, Hanna is used to working closely with human needs.
What’s most meaningful to me is truly understanding the user. In this project, it was about people’s homes, something both deeply personal and important. That made the work very personal for me, says Hanna.
48 In-Home Interviews with Tenants
Over the spring, Hanna met with 48 tenants in Stockholm, Linköping, and Malmö. These in-depth interviews took place in the tenants’ homes, around kitchen tables, on balconies, and in living rooms, and touched on everything from practical details to feelings about safety, service, and future plans.
– When you get invited into someone’s home, the conversations become so much more genuine. We heard about frustrations and dreams, but above all, we saw a deep sense of engagement. Many tenants wanted to continue contributing and be involved in shaping their living environment, Hanna explains.
Team members from property management joined many of the meetings. Almost everyone took part in at least one interview, which made the insights feel even more real and urgent.
Bringing Tenant Needs to Life with Personas and Journeys
To collect impressions and make the insights more tangible, several tools were developed. One of the most important was personas: fictional characters representing typical tenant scenarios, such as an international student, a young couple, or older residents who’ve lived in the same building for years.
– Personas help us put faces to different needs and life situations. That makes it easier to understand what truly matters day to day and to make more empathetic, well-informed decisions, says Hanna.
Along with customer journeys, which map out how tenants experience their relationship with ByggVesta over time, these tools created a clearer picture of both strengths and areas for improvement in the tenant-landlord relationship.
Workshops That Sparked New Thinking
To deepen the understanding further, a joint workshop was held with staff from property management and customer service. Using quotes and stories from the interviews, participants reflected on everyday life in the buildings and shared their experiences and ideas.
– Even though we interact with tenants every day, the workshop gave us a chance to see the relationship from a new angle. The conversations were both eye-opening and inspiring, Hanna notes.
From Insight to Action
The outcome of the project is much more than a static report. The knowledge gathered is now a living resource within the organization. The tools can be used in everyday work as well as in long-term planning, such as when developing new housing projects. For example, personas can help assess how different household types might experience a new layout, or make communication clearer for international students.
– Needs change over time. That’s why it’s important to treat these insights as something living, something we continue to evolve together with our tenants, Hanna concludes.
Following the project, Hanna was hired as UX / Community Manager at ByggVesta, where she now works to turn insights into tangible improvements and development.
Andreas Siltberg, Head of Property Management at ByggVesta, summarizes the project:
– Sitting down with tenants in their living rooms gave us an authentic view of life in our buildings. Their stories help us make better decisions and improve how we manage our properties. The Tenant Journey isn’t a completed project, it’s something we’ll keep building on together with our residents.”
