Research and analysis

Stakeholder survey results 2023 (accessible version)

Published 27 June 2023

Applies to England

Introduction

The Regulator of Social Housing has carried out a stakeholder survey, with fieldwork completed in March and April 2023.

We have sought the views of registered providers and other stakeholders on a range of issues.

We will use the results to inform

• our performance monitoring
• continuous development of our operational approach
• our corporate planning

Our last stakeholder survey was published in 2022.

In 2022 we changed the methodology we use in our survey to better reflect best practice. This included the addition of ‘neutral’ or ‘not applicable’ options for questions with choice scales.

Key findings

The number of stakeholders responding to the survey continues to rise with 435 responses received this year, up from 409 in 2022.

As in previous years, the majority of responses were from registered providers however there has been an increase in the number of tenants taking part. This change in profile can have an impact on overall scores, even where individual stakeholders are no more or less satisfied.

Regulatory framework

• The results remain positive, with at least seven in ten respondents agreeing that:

a) Our approach is co-regulatory

b) The regulator meets its objectives to be proportionate and minimise interference

c) The regulatory framework and our approach to regulation are consistent with our objectives on both economic and consumer regulation.

Delivery and practice

• Over three quarters of respondents agreed that our approach to regulation is risk-based and assurance-based, and that this approach is reflected in their experience of being a regulated RP or how they understand RPs are regulated.

• Of those stakeholders that had engaged with us, the vast majority continue to report that our requests for information and/or evidence are clear and that our regulatory staff are knowledgeable about the nature and complexity of the sector. Large PRPs were the most positive, with 93% agreeing.

The regulator

• 76% of respondents said that they find RSH publications very or somewhat useful.

• 76% agreed that we take action where possible to ensure that confidence in the sector is maintained, and access to finance on competitive terms continues.

• 77% agreed that we take appropriate action in line with our current remit.

• Looking ahead, 84% were aware of our proposal plan for implementing the Social Housing Regulation Bill, and 78% of respondents were confident that we will deliver the regulatory changes set out in the Bill.

• For information sharing, direct contact by letter or email remains the most preferred method followed by the website and stakeholder events.

Perceptions by stakeholder group

• Large private registered providers and local authority registered providers were generally the most positive across the results whilst other stakeholders were positive overall. Private registered providers were the most positive about us meeting our objectives.

• Looking at the breakdown of registered providers, in general for-profit registered providers were the most positive. 82% of for-profit registered providers agreed that we are meeting our objectives and 86% agreed that our regulation is risk-based and assurance-based, and that this is reflected in their experience of being a registered provider.

Responses

435 stakeholders completed the survey, 26 more than in 2022.

Over three quarters of respondents (336, 77%) were registered providers, including local authority registered providers. This compares to 81% in 2022, with a greater number of individual tenants completing the survey this year (32 took part in 2022). This change in profile can have an impact on overall scores, even where individual stakeholders are no more or less satisfied.

Other stakeholders who responded include: lenders, investors, or credit rating agencies, government departments, individual tenants, tenant organisations, and trade bodies.

Which of these stakeholder groups best describes your organisation?	Responses	Proportion of responses
Large Private Registered Provider	154	35%
Small Private Registered Provider	141	32%
Individual tenant	42	10%
Local Authority Registered Provider	41	9%
Government department	14	3%
Lender, investor or credit rating agency	10	2%
Tenant organisation	9	2%
Trade body	5	1%
Other individual	3	1%
Other	16	4%

Profile of registered provider respondents

Of the registered providers that responded, 154 were large private registered providers (PRPs) (>1,000 units), and 141 were small PRPs (<1,000 units).

A further 41 responses were from local authority registered providers (LARPs), an increase from 28 LARP responses in 2022. We have separated out LARPs in our analysis.

72% of provider respondents classified themselves as housing associations (the same proportion as in 2022), 28 were almshouses, 18 for-profit providers and 6 were ALMOs.

How many homes does your provider own?

Number	Total
<1,000 units	141
1,000-9,999 units	88
10,000-29,999 units	41
30,000-49,999 units	13
50,000+ units	12
Local authority	41

What type of provider is your organisation?

Type	Total
Housing association	243
Local authority	41
Almshouse charity	28
For-profit provider	18
Arms-length management organisation	6

Section 1 - Regulatory framework

Question 4

To what extent do you agree that: a. the regulator’s approach is co-regulatory b. the regulator meets its objectives to be proportionate and minimise interference c.the regulatory framework and our approach to regulation are consistent with our objectives on economic regulation d.the regulatory framework and our approach to regulation are consistent with our current objectives on consumer regulation

Question 4 responses

Section	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
a	21	49	24	4	3
b	23	49	20	6	3
c	25	50	20	3	2
d	22	52	20	3	3
Overall	22	50	21	4	3

• Overall, 72% of respondents agreed with these statements, with 7% disagreeing.
• In 2022, these were 79% and 5% respectively.
• Large PRPs were the most positive across the statements (79%), followed by small PRPs (70%) and LARPs (67%).

Section 2 - Delivery and practice

Question 5

To what extent do you agree that: a. our approach to regulation is risk-based and assurance-based? b. this approach is reflected in your experience of being a regulated RP or how you understand RPs are regulated?

Question 5 responses

Section	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
a	24	52	18	3	3
b	23	52	19	3	2
Overall	23	52	19	3	3

Question 5 by stakeholder group (% agree)

Type	a	b
Large PRP	85	84
Small PRP	72	74
LARP	78	68
Other	66	66

• Overall, 76% of respondents agreed with these statements.
• 19% of respondents were neutral and only 6% dissatisfied.
• By stakeholder group, large PRPs were the most positive (85%).

Section 2 - Delivery and practice (RPs only)

Question 7

When we request information and/or evidence from you, how clear do you find our request?

Question 7 responses

%
Very clear	47
Somewhat clear	41
Neutral	9
Not very clear	3
Not clear at all	1

Question 7 by stakeholder group

Organisation type	Very clear	Somewhat clear	Neutral	Not very clear	Not clear at all	Total
Large PRP	54	40	3	1	1
Small PRP	44	36	14	6	0
LARP	28	59	10	3	0

• Overall, 87% of registered providers were very or somewhat clear about the information or evidence requested. Just 4% of respondents felt it was not clear.

• Just two registered providers (0.6%) felt requests were ‘not clear at all’.

Question 8

From engaging with our regulatory staff, how knowledgeable are they about the nature and complexity of the sector?

Question 8 responses

%
Very knowledgeable	50
Somewhat knowledgeable	35
Neutral	10
Requires improvement	4

Question 8 by stakeholder group

Type	Very knowledgeable	Somewhat knowledgeable	Neutral	Requires improvement	Total
Large PRP	54	39	3	4
Small PRP	47	30	18	5
LARP	44	35	18	3

• 85% of registered providers agreed that the regulator’s staff are knowledgeable about the nature and complexity of the sector.
• Large PRPs were the most positive with 93% agreeing.
• LARPs and small PRPs had high proportions of ‘neutral’ responses, which may reflect the different levels of engagement experienced by these groups.

Section 2 - Delivery and practice (Non RPs only)

Question 10	Have you engaged with RSH staff in the past year, for example at an event, in a meeting, by email or phone call?
Question 11	In your experience, how knowledgeable are our staff about the nature and complexity of the social housing sector?

Question 11 responses

%
Very knowledgeable	78
Somewhat knowledgeable	16
Neutral	6
Requires improvement	0

• 67% of non-registered provider respondents had engaged with RSH staff in the past year.
• Of those, 94% agreed that the regulator’s staff are knowledgeable about the nature and complexity of the sector. The remaining respondents were ‘neutral’.

Section 3 - The regulator

Question 13

Please indicate how useful you find the following publications:

Publication	Very useful	Somewhat useful	Neutral	Not very useful	Not at all useful
Annual report and accounts [footnote 1]	26	45	23	4	3
Codes of practice	54	33	11	1	1
Consumer regulation review	48	35	13	3	1
Fees statement	15	42	38	3	2
Global accounts	29	31	31	7	2
Quarterly survey	30	45	19	4	1
Regulating the standards	50	37	10	3	1
Regulatory judgements/notices	45	37	13	3	1
Sector risk profile	55	29	12	2	2
Statistical data return	29	48	15	5	2
Value for money reports	30	44	20	4	1

Publication	Percentage very or somewhat useful
Annual report and accounts	71
Codes of practice	87
Consumer regulation review	84
Fees statement	58
Global accounts	60
Quarterly survey	75
Regulating the standards	87
Regulatory judgements/notices	82
Sector risk profile	84
Statistical data return	78
Value for money reports	75

Question 14

To what extent do you agree or disagree that we take action where possible to ensure that confidence in the sector is maintained, and access to finance on competitive terms continues?

Question 14 responses

%
Strongly agree	28
Agree	48
Neutral	20
Disagree	3
Strongly disagree	1

Question 14 responses by stakeholder group

Type of organisation	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Total
Large PRP	34	48	13	4	1
Small PRP	19	49	29	3	0
LARP	29	54	12	2	2
Other	31	43	22	3	0

• Overall, 76% of respondents agreed with this statement with only 4% disagreeing.
• Agreement has fallen slightly since 2022 (79%), however this is due to a higher proportion of ‘neutral’ responses.
• Large PRPs and LARPs had the highest agreement (82% and 83% respectively).

Question 15

Are you aware of our proposed plan for implementing the Social Housing Regulation Bill, which we set out in Reshaping Consumer Regulation: Our Implementation Plan?

Question 15 by stakeholder group

Group	Yes	No
Large PRP	94	6
Small PRP	78	22
LARP	88	12
Other	76	24
Overall	84	16

• Overall, 84% said that they were aware of the regulator’s proposed plan for implementing the Social Housing Regulation Bill, as set out in our Reshaping Consumer Regulation implementation plan.
• Awareness ranged from 94% amongst large PRPs to 76% amongst other stakeholders.

Question 16

How confident are you that we will deliver the regulatory changes set out in the Social Housing Regulation Bill?

Question 16 responses

%
Very confident	27
Somewhat confident	51
Neutral	17
Not very confident	5
Not at all confident	1

Question 16 by stakeholder group

Type	Very confident	Somewhat confident	Neutral	Not very confident	Not at all confident	Total
Large PRP	33	51	11	4	1
Small PRP	14	57	24	5	1
LARP	51	37	5	7	0
Other	28	47	20	5

• Overall, 78% of respondents were very or somewhat confident that the regulator will deliver on the regulatory changes set out in the Social Housing Regulation Bill.
• Just three respondents (0.7%) were ‘not at all confident’.

Question 17

To what extent do you agree or disagree that we take appropriate action in line with our current remit?

Question 17 responses

%
Strongly agree	24
Agree	53
Neutral	19
Disagree	3
Strongly disagree	0

Type of organisation	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Total
Large PRP	32	53	11	3	1
Small PRP	16	55	28	2	0
LARP	24	63	7	5	0
Other	23	48	22	24	4

• Overall, 77% of stakeholders agreed with this statement. Just two respondents strongly disagreed.
• The highest level of agreement was amongst LARPs (88%), followed by large PRPs (84%).

Question 18	Which of the following do you find helpful in getting information about the requirements of our standards, publications and any other news?	% Very or somewhat helpful
	Letter/email	92
	Website information/alert	79
	Stakeholder event	69
	Trade press article/column	69
	Twitter/LinkedIn	34

Question 18 responses

Method	Very helpful	Quite helpful	Neutral	Not very helpful	Unhelpful	Total
Letter/email	63	29	7	1	0
Website information/alert	39	40	15	5	1
Stakeholder event	34	35	25	4	2
Trade press article/column	21	49	21	6	4
Twitter/LinkedIn post	10	24	43	17	6

• Direct contact by letter or e-mail remains the communication method found most useful by stakeholders.
• Views were more mixed on social media, with only 34% finding Twitter or LinkedIn posts very or somewhat helpful and 4% finding this method of communication unhelpful.
• These findings are broadly in line with 2022.

1. Accounts added to this question in 2023, previously has been ‘Annual Report’ only. ↩