Consultation outcome

Tenant satisfaction measures: what we are proposing and how to have your say - summary (accessible version)

Updated 21 September 2022

Applies to England

1. About the consultation

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. Among other things, the system 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.

We are now at the point where we want to know what people think about the tenant satisfaction measures we are proposing.

This document summarises our proposals and tells you how to share your views on them with us. Another document, Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures, has a more detailed look at our proposals and the thinking behind them. That document is our statutory consultation document.

Will this apply to me?

We are proposing that the tenant satisfaction measures would 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 (e.g. Maintaining building safety - below) would also cover shared ownership homes.

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 for their tenants.

• give us an idea of which landlords might need to improve things for their tenants.

The white paper says landlords should keep properties in good repair, maintain the safety of buildings, handle tenants’ complaints effectively, engage with tenants helpfully and with respect, and take a responsible role in managing their neighbourhood.

It suggests possible tenant satisfaction measures designed to see how well landlords are meeting these expectations. It is now our job to build on these suggestions and decide how to make tenant satisfaction measures a reality.

What’s happened so far with tenant satisfaction measures, and what we plan to happen next

1.	Nov 2020	Government published The charter for social housing residents – social housing white paper
2.		We started developing our proposed tenant satisfaction measures and standard (associated requirements)
3.		We discussed our proposals with a small group of stakeholders, including tenants, to help shape them
4.	Now	We invite landlords, tenants and anyone with an interest in social housing to give their views about our proposals
5.	March 2022	We use the responses to help us make the standard and measures work as well as possible for tenants, landlords and us
6.	Summer 2022	We publish the consultation responses and the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard and requirements
7.	1 April 2023	Our new requirements come into force and landlords start collecting data for tenant satisfaction measures
8.	Summer 2024	Landlords 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 white paper stated that we need to design the measures carefully.

Looking at each measure on its own, it needs to be clear what it is saying about the landlord. Tenants should also be able to use it to compare landlords.

Looking at all the measures together, they should also work together to show how well a landlord is doing in some key areas.

We are interested in your opinion on whether our current proposals for the measures would achieve these goals.

How will tenant satisfaction measures work?

Coming up with what to measure is only one part of our work on tenant satisfaction measures.

We also need:

• a standard that requires landlords to collect and publish the information needed for the measures
• a set of requirements that tells landlords how they should collect and publish the information, so that different landlords’ information is consistent and can be compared.

We are interested in what you think about the standard and requirements we are proposing.

Tenant perception surveys

Surveying tenants may be the best or only way to get an idea of many of the things we are trying to measure. At the same time, we do not want to ask landlords to carry out surveys that are so long that tenants do not want to take part in them.

We are interested in your views on whether the set of tenant perception survey questions we are proposing here is right for the job.

More detailed information

These documents have more detail about the tenant satisfaction measures, the need for them, and related things that are happening.

• Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures – Regulator of Social Housing
• Reshaping consumer regulation: our principles and approach – Regulator of Social Housing
• The charter for social housing residents – social housing white paper – Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

2. How to share your views

You can find our consultation questions below.

If you would like to answer any of our consultation questions, please respond online.

We need to hear from you by 3 March 2022.

Other ways to respond

If you cannot use the website, you can also email or post your responses.

Please only respond to the consultation once. For example, if you respond online, you do not need to email us your responses as well.

Email: consultation@rsh.gov.uk. Please write “Tenant Satisfaction Measures” in the subject line.

Post:

Tenant Satisfaction Measures
The Regulator of Social Housing
Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries team
Level 2
7–8 Wellington Place
Leeds LS1 4AP

Please make it clear which questions you are responding to, and include:

• your name
• a contact email address (if possible)
• whether you are responding on behalf of an organisation and, if you are, the name of the organisation whether you are a social housing tenant or shared owner, a social housing landlord or someone else.

Your privacy

Please do not share any information in your response which you would not be happy for us to make publicly available. Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be published or disclosed in accordance with access to information regimes.

We intend to publish an analysis of the responses we receive and anonymised responses (responses where we will remove any information that could identify the respondent). We will also publish a list of everyone who has responded who has told us that they are happy for their name to be published on that list. If you would like your name to appear on the list, please say this in your response. Please see our privacy notice for information about how we process and protect personal data.

Alternative formats

If you need the information in this document in a different format please:

• Email: enquiries@rsh.gov.uk

• Call: 0300 124 5225

• Write to us.

3. The proposals: Our thinking

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.

You might find it helpful to keep these five principles in mind when thinking about our proposals and responding to the consultation.

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.

4. The proposals: The tenant satisfaction measures

We are 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.

You can read the full definitions of the proposed tenant satisfaction measures in Annex 2 and Annex 3 of Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures.

Tenant satisfaction measures	How measured
RP - Keeping properties in good repair
RP01: Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard	Measured by landlords directly
RP02: Repairs completed within target timescale	Measured by landlords directly
TP02: Satisfaction with repairs	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
TP03: Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
BS Maintaining building safety
BS01: Gas safety checks	Measured by landlords directly
BS02: Fire safety checks	Measured by landlords directly
BS03: Asbestos safety checks	Measured by landlords directly
BS04: Water safety checks	Measured by landlords directly
BS05: Lift safety checks	Measured by landlords directly
Electrical safety checks [footnote 1]	Measured by landlords directly
TP04: Satisfaction that the home is well maintained and safe to live in	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
Respectful and helpful engagement
TP05: Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
TP06: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
TP07: Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
NM Responsible neighbourhood management
NM01: Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord	Measured by landlords directly
Percentage of communal areas meeting the required standard [footnote 1]	Measured by landlords directly
TP08: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean, safe and well maintained	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
TP09: Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
TP10: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour	Measured by doing tenant perception surveys
Effective handling of complaints
CH01: Complaints relative to the size of the landlord	Measured by landlords directly
CH02: Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales	Measured by landlords directly

TP01: Overall satisfaction - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

Taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the service provided by your landlord?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Keeping properties in good repair

TP02: Satisfaction with repairs - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should 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 repairs service you have received to your home from your landlord over the last 12 months?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

TP03: Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should 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 would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

We have thought about some other ways of wording this survey question, focusing on issues like the quality of the repair or how easy it was to arrange. We think the version above is clear, easy to understand, and covers the issues that matter most to tenants.

RP01: Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard - measured by landlords’ management information

This measure would 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 would 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 would have to make these target times public.

It would only measure non-emergency repairs requested by tenants. Emergency repairs and repairs planned by the landlord would not be included.

We thought about some similar measurements that could be useful, like the average number of days to complete a repair, or the percentage of repairs appointments that take place as planned. We think the version above is transparent, robust, and makes it easy to compare different landlords.

Shared ownership homes would not be included in these four tenant satisfaction measures as repairs to these homes are the shared owner’s responsibility, not the landlord’s.

Maintaining building safety

TP04: Satisfaction that the home is well maintained and safe to live in - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

Thinking specifically about the building you live in, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord provides a home that is well maintained and safe for you to live in?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

The phrase “Thinking specifically about the building you live in” is to make sure people are thinking about things to do with their building, and not about the safety of the neighbourhood more generally.

BS01: Gas safety checks - measured by landlords’ management information

This measure would 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 would 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 would 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 would 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 would be based on the percentage of homes in buildings where the communal passenger lifts have had all the necessary safety checks.

Measures BS01–BS05

We are proposing that these five measures should be based on the number of individual homes that are covered by relevant safety checks. Not all homes require all checks.

We thought about basing these measures on the number of buildings or the number of checks. But a single check could affect one household or many, so we do not think these measures would be as clear or make as much sense for tenants as the ones we are proposing.

Landlords’ responsibilities go beyond safety checks. For example, they must also act on the results of the checks to maintain a good standard of safety. We thought about whether to include actions like these in measures BS01–05, but we believe this would make them too complex and less clear.

Respectful and helpful engagement

TP05: Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the extent to which your landlord listens to your views and acts upon them?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

It looks at one part of how landlords communicate with tenants: when the landlord is responding to a tenant. Measure TP06 looks at another part of this picture.

TP06: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way your landlord keeps you informed about things that matter to you as a tenant?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

It looks at one part of how landlords communicate with tenants: when the landlord provides information. Measure TP05 looks at another part of this picture.

There are other ways landlords and tenants interact. For example, some tenants review or oversee their landlord’s decisions. Only a small number of tenants normally choose to work with their landlords like this, though, so we do not think a tenant perception survey is the right way to learn about these parts of the picture.

TP07: Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

“My landlord treats me fairly and with respect.”

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they “agree” or “strongly agree”.

Responsible neighbourhood management

TP08: Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean, safe and well-maintained - measured by: tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

Do you live in a building with communal areas, either inside or outside, that you share with other people who live in the building?

If yes, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you that your landlord keeps these communal areas clean, safe and well-maintained?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

TP09: Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

Thinking about what your landlord does to improve your neighbourhood as a place to live, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the extent to which your landlord makes a positive contribution to your neighbourhood?

We are also interested in what you think about an alternative version of this question:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your neighbourhood as a place to live?

Either way, this measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Our preferred version of the question makes sure we are measuring things landlords are actually responsible for. On the other hand, tenants might not always know what their landlord does or is responsible for around their neighbourhood.

Also, landlords that own entire estates, including local shops and other amenities, can probably make a bigger contribution to the neighbourhood than landlords that only own a few homes. This might make it more difficult to compare different landlords using this measure.

The alternative version of the question is easier to understand, but not everything in a tenant’s neighbourhood is the way it is because of their landlord, so it might not be the best way to measure landlords’ performance.

Another option is not to ask about satisfaction with neighbourhoods in the tenant perception survey. In that case, we could use other measures like TP08, TP10 and NM01 to understand how well landlords contribute to their neighbourhoods.

TP10: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Not every tenant will have raised a formal anti-social behaviour case with their landlord, but we still propose putting this question to everyone.

We could have proposed asking tenants this question after they report an anti-social behaviour case (a ‘transactional survey’). Asking the question in the tenant perception survey instead means that people who have not formally reported any anti-social behaviour can still have their say. It also avoids this measure being based on the views of a small number of people.

NM01: Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord - measured by: landlords’ management information

This measure would be based on the number of anti-social behaviour cases opened for each 1,000 homes the landlord owns. Anti-social behaviour cases would also include cases related to domestic abuse and hate crime.

We could have proposed basing this measure on anti-social behaviour complaints or reports. We proposed basing it on anti-social behaviour cases instead, to avoid confusion.

Measuring reports could cause confusion when there are several reports of the same incident; cases are a clearer measure. The word “complaints” could cause confusion because in other measures like CH01–CH02 and TP11–TP12, it means complaints about the landlord, while here it would mean complaints to the landlord about anti-social behaviour.

Effective handling of complaints

TP11: Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your landlord’s approach to complaints handling?

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Not many tenants may have made a formal complaint to their landlord recently, but we think many tenants will still have important views on this question.

We could have proposed asking tenants this question after they make a formal complaint (a ‘transactional survey’). Asking the question in the tenant perception survey instead means that people who have not made a formal complaint can still have their say. It also avoids this measure being based on the views of a small number of people.

TP12: Tenant knowledge of how to make a complaint - measured by tenant perception survey

We are proposing that all tenant perception surveys should include this question:

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “I know how to make a complaint to my landlord if I am not happy with the service I receive.”

This measure would be based on the percentage of tenants who say they “agree” or “strongly agree”.

CH01: Complaints relative to the size of the landlord - measured by landlords’ management information

This measure would be based on the numbers 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 would 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.

5. The proposals: 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 proposing a new standard that describes what we expect and require of landlords when it comes to tenant satisfaction measures.

Among other things, this standard would require landlords to collect and send us their tenant satisfaction measures results.

Our proposed standard says that 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 would expect

You can read our proposed standard, in full, in Annex 1 of Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures.

6. The proposals: Landlords’ responsibilities

Tenant perception surveys

Our current proposals mean that landlords would be responsible for running tenant perception surveys to collect data for tenant satisfaction measures TP01–TP12.

Landlords with 1,000 or more homes would have to run the survey every year. Landlords with fewer than 1,000 homes would have the option of running it every year or every two years.

Landlords could decide to survey all their tenants (a ‘census survey’). Landlords with many homes would also have the option of surveying only some of their tenants. Landlords who choose this option would have to follow rules we set about how many tenants they survey and how to randomly select who gets surveyed. We are proposing rules that mean the results would be similar to what they would be if they surveyed all tenants.

Landlords would be allowed to run the survey by post, by phone, face to face, online, or however is best for their tenants. They would 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.

They would be allowed to include their own questions as well as the 12 required ones.

Landlords would 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 would 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 would need to check their survey results to make sure they are accurate.

When they publish their tenant satisfaction measures results, landlords would also have to report how they carried out their tenant perception survey, including how many responses they had.

Protecting privacy

Any information tenants provide to help their landlords calculate their tenant satisfaction measures results would be covered by privacy and data protection laws. Landlords would 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 current proposals mean that all social housing landlords would have to publish their performance on tenant satisfaction measures to their tenants every year.

Only landlords with 1,000 or more homes would also have to submit their data to us.

Landlords would be responsible for making sure they have calculated the results accurately.

All landlords would have to report the results of the tenant satisfaction measures for their whole organisation. If they see that it is useful for their tenants, landlords could also decide to publish the results for specific neighbourhoods, specific local authorities or other groups of homes.

7. The proposals: 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 plan to 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 draft guidance about how landlords provide tenant satisfaction measures information to us, and how we will use it, in Annex 4 of Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures.

Our impact assessments

Consultation questions 18 and 19 ask whether you agree with the conclusions in our draft Regulatory Impact Assessment and our draft Equality Impact Assessment.

The draft Regulatory Impact Assessment looks at the costs and benefits of introducing tenant satisfaction measures for us, for landlords and for tenants. The draft 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 draft assessments to inform our proposals.

You can read the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment in Annex 6 of Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures. You can read the draft Equality Impact Assessment in Annex 7.

8. Consultation questions

You are encouraged to answer as many questions as possible, but you do not have to respond to every question. If you are responding by email or post, please make it clear which questions you are responding to.

Question 1 A

Do you agree that the proposed Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard sets clear expectations for registered providers?

Answer

• Agree.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures standard section above
• Consultation document pages 25–29

Question 1 B

Do you agree that the proposed Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard supports the regulator in ensuring that the tenant satisfaction measures provide tenants with greater transparency about their landlord’s performance (one of the aims of the tenant satisfaction measures in the white paper)?

Answer

• Agree.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures standard section above
• Consultation document pages 25–29

Where we are asking for your views about the tenant satisfaction measures (consultation questions 2–12), you are welcome to give general views on the scope of tenant satisfaction measures and/or the detailed definitions of individual tenant satisfaction measures themselves set out in full in Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Technical Requirements - Annex 2 of Consultation on the introduction of tenant satisfaction measures.

Question 2

We are proposing to introduce two tenant satisfaction measures about timeliness of repairs (RP02 Repairs completed within target timescale and TP03 Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair). Do you agree that both RP02 and TP03 should be used to measure timeliness of repairs?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Keeping buildings in good repair section above
• Consultation document pages 35–38

Question 3

There are four proposed tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Keeping Properties in Good Repair (RP01 Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard, RP02 Repairs completed within target timescale, TP02 Satisfaction with repairs and TP03 Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair). Overall, do you think they give a well-rounded view of performance under this theme?

Answer

• Yes.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

Please tell us if you have any comments on any of the individual tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Keeping Properties in Good Repair.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Keeping buildings in good repair section above
• Consultation document pages 35–38

Question 4

Do you agree with the proposal to use the individual homes for which the relevant safety checks have been carried out as the basis for the following Maintaining Building Safety tenant satisfaction measures: BS01 Gas safety checks, BS02 Fire safety checks, BS03 Asbestos safety checks, BS04 Water safety checks and BS05 Lift safety checks?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Maintaining building safety section above
• Consultation document pages 39–42

Question 5

There are six proposed tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Maintaining Building Safety (BS01 Gas safety checks, BS02 Fire safety checks, BS03 Asbestos safety checks, BS04 Water safety checks, BS05 Lift safety checks and TP04 Satisfaction that the home is well maintained and safe to live in). Overall, do you think they give a well-rounded picture of performance under this theme?

Answer

• Yes.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

Please tell us if you have any comments on any of the individual tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Maintaining Building Safety.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Maintaining building safety section above
• Consultation document pages 39–42

Question 6

Do you agree with the proposal that TP11 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints is measured by a perception survey?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Effective handing of complaints section above
• Consultation document pages 43–46

Question 7

There are four proposed tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Effective Handling of Complaints (CH01 Complaints relative to the size of the landlord, CH02 Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales, TP11 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of complaints and TP12 Tenant knowledge of how to make a complaint). Overall, do you think they give a well-rounded picture of performance under this theme?

Answer

• Yes.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

Please tell us if you have any comments on any of the individual tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Effective Handling of Complaints.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Effective handing of complaints section above
• Consultation document pages 43–47

Question 8

There are three proposed tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Respectful and Helpful Engagement (TP05 Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them, TP06 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them and TP07 Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect). Overall, do you think they give a well-rounded picture of performance under this theme?

Answer

• Yes.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

Please tell us if you have any comments on any of the individual tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Respectful and Helpful Engagement.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Respectful and helpful engagement section above
• Consultation document pages 47–49

Question 9

For the tenant satisfaction measure relating to satisfaction with the neighbourhood, we have presented a lead proposal and an alternative option. Do you agree with the lead proposal that TP09 is Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods?

Answer

• Yes – I agree with the lead proposal for TP09 which is Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods.
• No – I prefer the alternative option for TP09 which is Satisfaction with your neighbourhood as a place to live – please explain.
• No – I don’t agree with either option – please explain and tell us your suggestion for an alternative tenant satisfaction measure.
• I don’t think there should be a tenant satisfaction measure about satisfaction with the neighbourhood in the suite of tenant satisfaction measures – please explain.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Responsible neighbourhood management section above
• Consultation document pages 49–53

Question 10

Do you agree with the proposal that TP10 about satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour is measured by a perception survey?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Responsible neighbourhood management section above
• Consultation document pages 53 & 54

Question 11

There are four proposed tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Responsible Neighbourhood Management (NM01 Anti-social behaviour cases relative to the size of the landlord, TP08 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean, safe and well-maintained, TP09 Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods and TP10 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling of anti-social behaviour). Overall, do you think they give a well-rounded picture of performance under this theme?

Answer

• Yes.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

Please tell us if you have any comments on any of the individual tenant satisfaction measures under the theme of Responsible Neighbourhood Management.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Responsible Neighbourhood Management section above
• Consultation document pages 49–54

Question 12A

Please tell us your views on the number of tenant satisfaction measures by selecting one of the following options:

Answer

• There are too many tenant satisfaction measures in the suite – please explain.
• There is the right number of tenant satisfaction measures in the suite.
• There are too few tenant satisfaction measures in the suite – please explain.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures section above
• Consultation document pages 32 & 55

Question 12B

Do you think there are any tenant satisfaction measures that should be added to or removed from the final suite of tenant satisfaction measures?

Answer

• Yes – please tell us what they are and why.
• No.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures section above
• Consultation document pages 32 & 55

Question 12C

Overall, do you think the suite of tenant satisfaction measures works well as a whole in providing rounded information to tenants about their landlord’s performance?

Answer

• Yes – please explain.
• Partially – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.
• No – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.
• Don’t know.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures section above
• Consultation document pages 32 & 55

Question 13

Chapter 9 of the consultation document covers some general requirements that apply to all tenant satisfaction measures, which are addressed in more detail in Annex 2 Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Technical Requirements. These include how providers should collect and report the tenant satisfaction measures, the types of homes that should be included, as well as the time period over which data should be reported. Do you agree with these proposals?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Landlords’ responsibilities section above
• Consultation document pages 56–60

Question 14

We propose to allow providers to choose the most appropriate survey collection method (e.g., postal, by phone, online etc.) to obtain data for the tenant perception measures TP01–TP12. Do you agree with this proposal?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures section above
• Consultation document page 64 & 65

Question 15

Chapter 10 of the consultation document covers some requirements that apply to the tenant satisfaction measures which are tenant perception measures (TP01–TP12). These requirements are addressed in more detail in Annex 3 Tenant Satisfaction Measures: Tenant Survey Requirements. The requirements include survey type, survey timing, response options and who is to be surveyed. Do you agree with these requirements?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain and provide any alternative suggestions where relevant.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - the tenant satisfaction measures section above
• Consultation document pages 61–67

Question 16

We propose to tailor our tenant satisfaction measure requirements for registered providers that own fewer than 1,000 relevant homes. This includes not requiring them to submit tenant satisfaction measure data to the regulator, allowing them to collect and report tenant satisfaction measures annually according to a reporting year other than 1 April to 31 March and allowing them to undertake a census tenant perception survey. Do you agree with this approach?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Protecting privacy and Reporting results sections above Consultation document pages 68–70

Question 17

Chapter 13 of the consultation document covers our proposed guidance about the submission of information to the regulator in relation to the tenant satisfaction measures, which is set out in more detail in Annex 4. This includes generally not using tenant satisfaction measure information as a source of regulatory intelligence in isolation, but rather as information we may take into account alongside other sources. Do you agree with this proposed approach?

Answer

• Agree – please explain.
• Disagree – please explain.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Making use of the measures section above
• Consultation document pages 72 & 73

Question 18

Do you agree with our conclusions in the draft Regulatory Impact Assessment?

Answer

• Yes – please give details. You are invited to include evidence to support your view.
• No – please give details. You are invited to include evidence to support your view.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Our impact assessments section above
• Consultation document page 74

Question 19

Do you agree with our conclusions in the draft Equality Impact Assessment? The regulator particularly welcomes views on whether the proposals will have a positive or negative impact on people who share one or more protected characteristics (as set out in the Equality Act 2010).

Answer

• Yes – please give details. You are invited to include evidence to support your view. Please do not provide any personal sensitive information in your response.
• No – please give details. You are invited to include evidence to support your view. Please do not provide any personal sensitive information in your response.

For information to help you answer this question, see:

• This document - Our impact assessments section above
• Consultation document page 74 & 75

Question 20

Finally, if you have anything else that you would like to tell us about the proposals relating to the tenant satisfaction measures, including the detailed requirements set out in Annexes 2 and 3, please tell us.

9. 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.

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

If you want to respond to this consultation, see the How to share your views section above.

If you have a more general query:

Email: enquiries@rsh.gov.uk

Call: 0300 124 5225

Post to:

Regulator of Social Housing
Level 2
7–8 Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP

Thank you for taking the time to read this summary and share your responses to our proposals. Your opinions are important to us.

1. These measures were proposed in The charter for social housing residents – social housing white paper, but 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. ↩ ↩²