Tenant Satisfaction Measures - Summary of RSH requirements (accessible)
Updated 21 September 2022
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About tenant satisfaction measures
The Regulator of Social Housing is creating a new system for assessing how well social housing landlords in England are doing at providing good quality homes and services. In addition to introducing revised consumer standards, this will involve a set of tenant satisfaction measures that social housing landlords must report on. People will be able to use these measures to understand how well landlords are doing.
This document presents the final set of TSMs and a summary of the regulator’s requirements for them. Another document presents a summary of the key areas of feedback we received in the consultation and sets out our decision on the final TSM Standard and accompanying documents. This is called the Consultation on the introduction of Tenant satisfaction Measures Decision Statement.
Why are these changes happening?
In 2020, the government published The charter for social housing residents: social housing white paper, which sets out ways to improve things for people living in social housing.
Some of these are for the Regulator of Social Housing to do. Our document Reshaping consumer regulation: our principles and approach describes the steps we are taking.
One of those steps is bringing in a set of tenant satisfaction measures.
These measures should:
- let tenants see how well their landlord is doing
- give us an idea of which landlords might need to improve things.
Will this apply to me?
The tenant satisfaction measures will cover all kinds of rented social housing in England where the landlord is registered with us (a ‘registered provider’). Some, but not all, of the tenant satisfaction measures will also cover shared ownership homes.
How we developed the tenant satisfaction measures and what happens next with them
| 1. Nov 2020: Government published The charter for social housing residents – social housing white paper |
| 2. We started developing our tenant satisfaction measures and TSM standard (our requirements for the TSMs) |
| 3. We discussed our proposals with a range of stakeholders, including tenants, to help shape our tenant satisfaction measures |
| 4. December 2021–March 2022: We invited landlords, tenants and anyone with an interest in social housing to give their views about our proposals |
| 5. March–September 2022: We used the responses we received to help us make the TSM Standard and the measures work as well as possible for tenants, landlords and for us |
| 6. September 2022: We publish the new tenant satisfaction measures, the TSM Standard and our requirements for the TSMs |
| 7. 1 April 2023: Our new requirements come into force and landlords start collecting data for tenant satisfaction measures |
| 8. Summer 2024: Landlords with 1,000 or more homes will send us their first year of tenant satisfaction measures data |
| 9. Autumn 2024: First year of tenant satisfaction measures data is published. |
What are we trying to achieve?
Tenant satisfaction measures are intended to make landlords’ performance more visible to tenants, and help tenants hold their landlords to account.
The Social Housing White Paper stated that we need to design the measures carefully.
Looking at each measure on its own, it should be clear what it tells you about the landlord. Tenants should also be able to use it to compare landlords.
Looking at all the measures together, they should also work as a package to show how well a landlord is doing in some key areas.
How will tenant satisfaction measures work?
Coming up with what to measure has only been one part of our work on tenant satisfaction measures. We have also published:
- a TSM standard that requires landlords to collect, process and publish the information needed for the measures
- a set of requirements that tells landlords how they must collect and publish the information, so that different landlords’ information is consistent and can be compared
- guidance about the submission of TSM information to the regulator and how we will use the data we receive.
More detailed information
More detail about the tenant satisfaction measures and our TSM requirements can be found in the following documents on our on this consultation webpage:
- TSM Standard
- Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Technical Requirements
- Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Tenant Survey Requirements
- Guidance about the submission of Tenant Satisfaction Measures data to the regulator.
Our approach
We want the changes we are making to:
- make a meaningful difference to tenants
- be possible for landlords to carry out
- be something we can regulate.
To help achieve this, we think that as far as possible, all the tenant satisfaction measures should be relevant, accurate, responsive, deliverable and linked to our objectives.
Relevant
The tenant satisfaction measures should provide relevant information. This means:
- letting tenants see how their landlord is performing
- telling us about how well landlords are meeting relevant standards.
Accurate
The measures should be well defined and it should be possible to double-check the results. They should make it possible to compare different landlords, and should make it difficult for landlords to make themselves look better than they really are.
Responsive
The measures should only measure things the landlord is actually responsible for. They should not accidentally encourage landlords to do anything that makes things worse for their tenants.
Deliverable
The measures should not be too expensive or complicated to put into practice, either for us or for landlords.
Linked to our objectives
There should be a clear link between the measures and the objectives we are trying to achieve as a regulator. The data we ask landlords to provide should help us to meet those objectives.
The tenant satisfaction measures
There are 22 tenant satisfaction measures, covering five themes. Ten of these will be measured by landlords directly, and 12 will be measured by landlords carrying out tenant perception surveys.
You can read the full definitions of the tenant satisfaction measures in Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Technical Requirements, which you can find on this consultation webpage.
| Measured by landlords directly | TP - Measured by doing tenant perception surveys | |
|---|---|---|
| TP01: Overall satisfaction | ||
| RP - Keeping properties in good repair | ||
| RP01: Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard | TP02: Satisfaction with repairs | |
| RP02: Repairs completed within target timescale | TP03: Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair | |
| TP04: Satisfaction that the home is well maintained | ||
| BS - Maintaining building safety | ||
| BS01: Gas safety checks | TP05: Satisfaction that the home is safe | |
| BS02: Fire safety checks | ||
| BS03: Asbestos safety checks | ||
| BS04: Water safety checks | ||
| BS05: Lift safety checks | ||
| Respectful and helpful engagement | ||
| TP06: Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them | ||
| TP07: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them | ||
| TP08: Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect | ||
| CH - Effective handling of complaints | ||
| CH01: Complaints relative to the size of the landlord | TP09: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling complaints | |
| CH02: Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales | ||
| NM - Responsible neighbourhood management | ||
| NM01: Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord | TP10: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained | |
| TP11: Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods | ||
| TP12: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour |
There are two additional measures that were proposed in The charter for social housing residents – social housing white paper, which are:
- Electrical safety checks
- Percentage of communal areas meeting the required standard.
The government is reviewing these areas separately at the moment. We will decide on the next steps for these measures when the government has finished its work. We will ask for views about any proposals we make for these measures at a later date.
Overall satisfaction
| TP01: Overall satisfaction |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the service provided by your landlord? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
Keeping properties in good repair
| TP02: Satisfaction with repairs |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Has your landlord carried out a repair to your home in the last 12 months? |
| If yes, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall repairs service from your landlord over the last 12 months? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP03: Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Has your landlord carried out a repair to your home in the last 12 months? |
| If yes, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the time taken to complete your most recent repair after you reported it? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP04: Satisfaction that the home is well-maintained |
|---|
| Measured by a tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord provides a home that is well-maintained? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| RP01: Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of a landlord’s homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard. This is a government document describing conditions that social homes should meet. |
| RP02: Repairs completed within target timescale |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of repairs the landlord has done within the target time they have set for themselves. As part of this measure, landlords will have to make these target times public. |
| This will measure both emergency and non-emergency repairs requested by tenants. Repairs planned by the landlord will not be included. |
Shared ownership homes will not be included in these five tenant satisfaction measures as repairs to these homes are the shared owner’s responsibility, not the landlord’s.
Maintaining building safety
| TP05: Satisfaction that the home is safe |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Thinking about the condition of the property or building you live in, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord provides a home that is safe? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
Safety checks
The following five measures will be based on the number of individual homes that are covered by relevant safety checks. Not all homes require all checks.
| BS01: Gas safety checks |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of homes that have had all the necessary gas safety checks. |
| BS02: Fire safety checks |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of homes in buildings that have had all the necessary fire risk assessments. |
| BS03: Asbestos safety checks |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of homes in buildings that have had all the necessary asbestos management surveys or re-inspections. |
| BS04: Water safety checks |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of homes that have had all the necessary legionella risk assessments. Legionella is a bacteria that can make people ill if it gets into water supplies. |
| BS05: Lift safety checks |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of homes in buildings where the communal passenger lifts have had all the necessary safety checks. |
Respectful and helpful engagement
| TP06: Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord listens to your views and acts upon them? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP07: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord keeps you informed about things that matter to you? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP08: Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following? “My landlord treats me fairly and with respect.” |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they agree. |
Effective handling of complaints
| TP09: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Have you made a complaint to your landlord in the last 12 months? |
| If yes, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your landlord’s approach to complaints handling? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| CH01: Complaints relative to the size of the landlord |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the number of complaints the landlord receives for each 1,000 homes they own. |
| CH02: Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of complaints the landlord responds to within the times set by the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. All social housing landlords have to follow this Code. |
The Housing Ombudsman is an independent organisation that tenants can ask to look at complaints about social housing landlords. Find out what the Complaint Handling Code says.
Responsible neighbourhood management
| TP10: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean and well-maintained |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: Do you live in a building with communal areas, either inside or outside, that your landlord is responsible for maintaining? |
| If yes, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord keeps these communal areas clean and well-maintained? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP11: Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord makes a positive contribution to your neighbourhood? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| TP12: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour |
|---|
| Measured by: tenant perception survey |
| All tenant perception surveys must include this question: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour? |
| This measure will be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are satisfied. |
| Not every tenant will have reported a formal anti-social behaviour case to their landlord, but we require landlords to ask this question of everyone being surveyed. |
| NM01: Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord |
|---|
| Measured by: landlords’ management information |
| This measure will be based on the number of anti-social behaviour cases opened for each 1,000 homes the landlord owns, including the number of cases that involve hate incidents. |
The tenant satisfaction measures standard
The Regulator of Social Housing sets standards that all social housing landlords must meet. In certain circumstances where a landlord does not meet one of these standards, we may take action.
We are introducing a new standard that describes what we expect and require of landlords when it comes to tenant satisfaction measures.
Among other things, this standard will require landlords to collect and publish their tenant satisfaction measures results.
Landlords must publish their results every year in a way that tenants can easily access and understand.
It also goes into more detail about:
- when landlords should collect and send us the information
- the accuracy and quality of information we will expect.
You can read the TSM Standard, in full, on this consultation webpage.
Landlords’ responsibilities
Tenant perception surveys
Landlords will be responsible for running tenant perception surveys to collect data for tenant satisfaction measures TP01–TP12.
Landlords with 1,000 or more homes will have to run the survey every year. Landlords with fewer than 1,000 homes will have the option of running it every year or every two years.
Landlords will be able to survey all their tenants (a ‘census survey’). Landlords with many homes will also have the option of surveying only some of their tenants. Landlords who choose this option will have to follow rules we have set about how many tenants they survey and how to randomly select who gets surveyed. Our rules mean that the results will be similar to what they would be if they surveyed all tenants.
Landlords will be allowed to run the survey by post, by phone, face to face, online, or however is best for their tenants. They will have to:
- say at the start of the survey roughly how long it will take to complete
- let tenants know that the survey will be used for tenant satisfaction measures
- include the 12 tenant perception survey questions exactly as we have written them.
Landlords will be allowed to include their own questions as well as the 12 required ones.
Landlords will be responsible for making sure their survey results are meaningful. This includes getting enough responses and avoiding carrying out surveys in ways that might stop certain groups of tenants from taking part.
Landlords will need to check whether the mix of people who responded is similar to the mix of people living in their homes. If they see a big difference, they will need to check their survey results to make sure they are accurate. In order to be able to do this, landlords will need to have up to date information on the characteristics of their tenants such as their age, gender, ethnicity etc.
When they publish their tenant satisfaction measures results, landlords will also have to report how they carried out their tenant perception survey, including how many responses they had and any other issues that may affect the results.
Protecting privacy
Any information tenants provide to help their landlords calculate their tenant satisfaction measures results will be covered by privacy and data protection laws. Landlords will be responsible for making sure they (and any companies they employ to work with the information) are following these laws.
This is important, not just because of the law, but because tenants need to be comfortable giving honest answers to tenant perception surveys. Protecting tenants’ privacy and confidentiality helps with this.
Reporting results
Our requirements mean that all social housing landlords will have to publish their performance on tenant satisfaction measures for their tenants every year.
Landlords with 1,000 or more homes will also have to submit their data to us.
Landlords will be responsible for making sure they have calculated the results accurately.
All landlords will have to report the results of the tenant satisfaction measures for their whole organisation. If they think that it is useful for their tenants, landlords will also be able to publish the results for specific neighbourhoods, specific local authorities or other groups of homes.
Making use of the measures
How we will use the measures
To understand what sort of job landlords are doing for their tenants, we will look at tenant satisfaction measures data alongside other sources of information. This will help us with our regulation of social housing.
The measures might help us spot areas where we need to follow up with a particular landlord to make sure they are meeting our standards.
What we will make public
We will publish the results of tenant satisfaction measures for all landlords with 1,000 or more homes.
These results will come out once a year.
You can read our guidance about how landlords provide tenant satisfaction measures information to us, and how we will use it, on this consultation webpage.
Our impact assessments
The Regulatory Impact Assessment looks at the costs and benefits of introducing tenant satisfaction measures for us, for landlords and for tenants.
The Equality Impact Assessment looks at what effects introducing the measures might have on members of groups that are protected by equality laws.
We have used these assessments to inform our requirements. You can read both of these documents on this consultation webpage.
About us
The Regulator of Social Housing regulates registered providers of social housing in England. We want the social housing sector to be viable, efficient, well governed, and able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs.
Registered providers of social housing include:
- housing associations, co-operatives and other non-profit organisations
- profit-making organisations
- local authorities.
We regulate social housing in two main ways.
- Economic regulation: helping to make sure registered providers of social housing are financially viable, properly managed and provide value for money.
- Consumer regulation: helping to make sure social housing tenants have quality, well managed housing, and can hold their landlords to account.
We set standards for all registered providers of social housing. In certain circumstances, we may take action if a provider breaches these standards.
Contact us
Email: enquiries@rsh.gov.uk
Call: 0300 124 5225
Write to:
Regulator of Social Housing
Level 2
7–8 Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP