90% of social housing residents unaware of Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), survey reveals

Key Findings:

• Lack of Awareness: A significant 90% of residents are unfamiliar with TSMs and 66% were unsure how their housing provider measures satisfaction. This lack of awareness suggests a missed opportunity to strengthen tenant engagement and enhance the impact of the measures designed to improve housing services.

• Perceived Service Changes: Only 10% of tenants noticed positive changes from their housing provider in the past year, while almost 45% reported a decline in satisfaction.

• Communication Preferences: The survey revealed a strong preference for digital communication, with 70% of respondents wanting updates via email, and 31% preferring text notifications. Currently, only 45% receive email updates and 17% receive text notifications.  

   

“The findings reveal that many tenants feel a disconnect with their landlord – with most unaware of how their satisfaction is being measured and few seeing positive changes over the past year. Tenants aren’t just looking for reactive solutions, they want to feel heard, engaged, and confident that their housing provider understands their challenges and is proactively working to address them,” commented Deborah Matthews, Managing Director for Social Housing at MRI Software. “This isn’t just about repairs and maintenance activities; it’s about building trust and a long-term relationship that goes beyond transactional values. Social housing providers are implementing steps to meet the TSM standards, but it’s essential for residents to feel part of the process.” 

One avenue for improvement is technology adoption. By investing in smarter technology and digital communication channels, housing providers can engage with tenants through their preferred methods and platforms, making interactions much more convenient and accessible. Additionally, leveraging data-driven insights to understand patterns in tenant satisfaction, safety concerns, and service expectations can help providers proactively address issues before they escalate. 

“By creating a transparent communication loop, housing providers can not only improve satisfaction scores but encourage stronger, more trusting relationships with their tenants. Technology has a huge part to play in this; however, it needs to be outcome-focused and demonstrate a clear improvement in service,” added Deborah. 

With Tenant Satisfaction Measures now a regulatory requirement, proactive communication, consistent engagement, and leveraging technology to understand and meet residents’ evolving needs could transform housing associations from service providers into trusted partners within their communities.

About the Resident Voice Index^TM

The Resident Voice Index™ (RVI) is a long-term project that anonymously gathers the views of social housing residents in the UK. Developed by MRI Software, the RVI surveys are designed to provide policymakers and housing providers with insights they can use to improve neighbourhoods and communities. Stay up to date with the Resident Voice Index at https://residentvoiceindex.com/.