CORS survey April 2020 responses report – overview
Updated 14 May 2021
Applies to England
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Coronavirus has profoundly affected the whole of the country and we know that registered providers of social housing have been working hard to continue to deliver important services to keep tenants safe whilst also protecting their staff.
We welcome the intensive efforts of providers to support their tenants and recognise that this has involved some very difficult choices for organisations and their staff.
To ensure that we have up-to-date information about how providers are coping with some of the current challenges they face, we have introduced a temporary monthly survey covering key areas on tenant safety.
We asked private registered providers with 1,000 or more homes, local authority social landlords and those providers with fewer than 1,000 homes which have a high proportion of supported accommodation to respond to the first survey. The response rate was good (93%) and we are grateful to all the providers that responded.
The sector is generally reporting that despite the impact of coronavirus it is still managing to maintain adequate levels of service delivery in the areas surveyed.
This includes in care and support settings where providers are reporting maintaining safe staffing levels and essential services. This is testament to the hard work and agility of providers and their staff in prioritising tenant safety at this time.
There are common themes to the issues facing many providers, including access to properties, concerns about the availability of PPE, the robustness of the supply chain, and risks to safe staffing levels in accommodation with care and support services.
A handful of providers have reported experiencing specific challenges in some areas. Most have found their own solutions, but we have been in touch with a small number to discuss the challenges.
In general, providers are reporting that, whilst emergency repairs and critical safety checks are being carried out, backlogs of routine repairs and less critical safety checks are building up.
We will repeat this survey for the period to 15 May; with returns due by 22 May, and will publish our analysis of the responses shortly afterwards. However, if providers believe tenant safety is threatened or viability is under strain, they should not wait for the survey but should speak to their key contact, or our Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries team on enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or 0300 124 5225. Providers with fewer than 1,000 homes should use our dedicated email address SmallProviders@rsh.gov.uk