Our approach to collecting feedback for the Tenant Satisfaction Measures

We have run surveys for many years, as well as having many other ways of listening to residents’ views. This helps us to understand what matters most to residents and influences where we focus on making improvements.

We build the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) into our regular surveys. As the TSMs are now a regulatory requirement for all social landlords in England, it means we, and our tenants, will be able to compare how we perform against others.

We will also be able to track changes in performance over time. Importantly, the TSMs inform the Regulator of Social Housing about how we are complying with the Regulatory standards for landlords.

Who do we ask?

Not all our residents are included within the TSMs as they only apply for our Low Cost Rented Accommodation (LCRA) and our Low Cost Home Ownership (LCHO).

Survey participants are selected at random, making sure that there is a representative sample by age group and region.

How do we survey?

We use a specialist research partner, Acuity Research & Practice, to conduct our satisfaction surveys via telephone, online and through the post.

Of the 2,625 responses for Low Cost Rental Accommodation, 2,336 were by telephone, 9 via the internet and 280 by post.

Of the 181 responses for Low Cost Home Ownership, all were by telephone.

When do we survey?

For our Low Cost Rented Housing, we survey monthly and the results cover the period 14/04/2023 to 13/03/2024. For our Low Cost Home Ownership, it was a single survey conducted 29/02/2024 to 07/03/2024.

What do we ask?

We ask a set of questions set out by the Regulator of Social Housing, which have to be asked in a specific order and use specific wording to enable comparison to other landlords. The regulator’s guidance is here.

Download the questions we used in our Low Cost Rented Accommodation and Low Cost Home Ownership

Download the questionnaire we used in our Low Cost Rented Extra Care housing

Further details about how the surveys are conducted

Full information of how we conduct the surveys to gather Tenant Satisfaction Measures is detailed in the tables below.

Regulatory Requirement for Publishing Methodology	Low Cost Rented Accommodation	Low Cost Home Ownership
Summary of achieved sample size	2,625 responses	181 responses
Timing of survey	Rolling survey approach (monthly) - 14/04/2023 to 13/03/2024	One off - 29/02/2024 to 07/03/2024
Collection methods	Postal, online and telephone	Postal, online and telephone
Sample method	Random stratified with quotas	Random stratified with quotas
Any weighting applied to generate the reported perception measures (including a reference to all characteristics used to weight results)	Unweighted	Unweighted
The role of any named external contract(s) in collecting, generating, or validating the reported perception measures	Acuity Research & Practice collected the information and generated and validated the results	Acuity Research & Practice collected the information and generated and validated the results
The number of tenant households within the relevant population that have not been included in the sample frame due to exceptional circumstances	Not applicable	Not applicable
Reasons for any failure to meet the required sample size	Not applicable	Not applicable
Type and amount of any incentives offered to tenants to encourage survey completion	N/A	N/A
Any other issues likely to impact on the tenant perception measures reported	N/A	N/A

	Population		Surveys
	Number	%	Number	%
LCRA	34891	96	2625	94
LCHO	1282	4	181	6
Grand total	36173		2806

Low Cost Rented Accommodation

	Population		Surveys
Gender	Number	%	Number	%
Female	19212	55	1469	56
Male	15591	45	1122	43
Not Known	80	0	34	1
Other	4	0	0	0
Prefer Not To Say	1	0	0	0
Transgender	3	0	0	0
Grand total	34891		2625

	Population		Survey
Disabled	Number	%	Number	%
N	33440	96	2286	87
Y	1399	4	75	3
Unknown	52	0	264	100
Grand total	34891		2625

	Population		Surveys
Ethnicity	Number	%	Number	%
Any Other Asian Background	134	0	3	0
Any Other Black Background	67	0	0	0
Any Other Ethnic Group	257	1	7	0
Any Other Mixed Background	58	0	2	0
Asian Or Asian British Bangladeshi	17	0	0	0
Asian Or Asian British Chinese	93	0	0	0
Asian Or Asian British Indian	228	1	10	0
Asian Or Asian British Pakistani	105	0	1	0
Black Or Black British African	350	1	13	0
Black Or Black British Caribbean	530	2	33	1
Mixed White & Asian	45	0	1	0
Mixed White & Black African	85	0	5	0
Mixed White & Black Caribbean	168	0	8	0
Not Known	1730	5	584	22
Other Ethnic Group Arab	25	0	0	0
Refused	167	0	11	0
White British	28613	82	1887	72
White Eastern European	72	0	3	0
White Irish	487	1	29	1
White Other	540	2	19	1
White: Gypsy Or Irish Traveller	4	0	1	0
No Data	1116	3	8	0
Grand total	34891		2625

Low Cost Home Ownership

	Population		Survey
	Number	%	Number	%
Female	814	63	113	62
Male	436	34	59	33
Not Known	32	2	9	5
Grand total	1282		181

	Population		Survey
	Number	%	Number	%
Any Other Ethnic Group	61	5	6	3
Asian Or Asian British Indian	2	0	0	0
Black Or Black British Caribbean	1	0	0	0
Not Known	1177	92	170	94
White British	40	3	5	3
White Other	1	0	0	0
Grand total	1282		181

	Population		Survey
	Number	%	Number	%
Extra Care	113	9	0	0
Home Ownership North And Central	703	55	108	60
Home Ownership South	457	36	73	40
Rented South West	9	1	0	0
Grand total	1282		181

Rationale for choice of survey method (for tenant perception measures)

For our TSM resident satisfaction surveys, we predominantly used a telephone-based survey approach. This decision was primarily informed by the demographics of our resident population and our desire to maximise response rates.

The majority of our resident satisfaction surveys are conducted in this manner (excluding care home residents), as we believe that a telephone-based method enhances response rates and minimises potential barriers associated with other methods.

Utilising telephone surveys has historically enabled us to promote higher levels of engagement and maximise accessibility. In particular, by contacting tenants at different times and days of the week, and by giving tenants the option of having a call-back arranged, it allows tenants to complete the survey at a time which is convenient for them. Online/digital surveys can also be sent to tenants at their request if they prefer to complete the survey this way. Speaking to residents directly allows us to clarify any queries, and provide assistance, ensuring that residents feel supported throughout the process.