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Regulator to measure landlords on repairs and safety performance as new tenant satisfaction measures revealed
Social landlords are set to be measured on five main themes, including repairs and building safety, as the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) unveils its plans for new tenant satisfaction measures.
In a consultation launched today, the English regulator has outlined its plans for a new Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard as part of a series of changes it is implementing following the Social Housing White Paper.
The RSH is proposing 22 different tenant satisfaction measures (see full list below), covering five main themes:
- Keeping properties in good repair
- Maintaining building safety
- Effective complaints-handling
- Respectful and helpful tenant engagement
- Responsible neighbourhood management
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Under the current proposals, 10 of these acts will be measured by landlords directly, while the remaining 12 will be measured via landlords carrying out tenant perception surveys.
Landlords with more than 1,000 homes will be expected to run a survey every year, while landlords with fewer than 1,000 homes would have the option of running it every year or every two years.
Larger landlords would have the option of surveying only some of their tenants, while others will be expected to survey all of their tenants.
All social landlords will be expected to publish their performance on tenant satisfaction to their tenants each year. Landlords with more than 1,000 homes will be expected to submit their data to the regulator, with the RSH publishing the results each year.
Plans to introduce new tenant satisfaction measures were first announced in November last year as part of the government’s post-Grenfell Social Housing White Paper.
It is part of a wider broadening of the remit of the RSH, which will see it regulate consumer issues, such as disrepair, alongside the current governance and financial viability standards.
The regulator said it will publish the consultation results in summer next year, ahead of the new rules coming into force in April 2023.
The first year of tenant satisfaction measures data will be published in autumn 2024.
Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the RSH, said: “Our proposed tenant satisfaction measures aim to give clear and comparable data about the quality of services tenants in social housing receive. We want them to be a valuable source of information for tenants, local communities and landlords, as well as forming part of the wider picture that informs our consumer regulation.
“By consulting now, we can take into account the views of tenants, landlords and other stakeholders to refine the final measures and also allow time for local authorities, housing associations and other social housing providers to prepare for their implementation.”
Proposed tenant satisfaction measures
The regulator is proposing 22 tenant satisfaction measures, covering five main themes. Ten of these would be measured by landlords directly, and 12 by landlords carrying out tenant perception surveys. They are as follows:
Measured by landlords directly:
- Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard
- Repairs completed within target timescale
- Gas safety checks
- Fire safety checks
- Asbestos safety checks
- Water safety checks
- Lift safety checks
- Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord
- Complaints relative to the size of the landlord
- Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales
Measured by doing tenant perception surveys:
- Overall satisfaction
- Satisfaction with repairs
- Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair
- Satisfaction that the home is well maintained and safe to live in
- Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenants’ views and acts upon them
- Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them
- Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect
- Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean, safe and well-maintained
- Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods
- Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour
- Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints
- Tenant knowledge of how to make a complaint
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