Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements consultation

In May, the former Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Governmnent (MHCLG), launched a consultation on a direction to the Regulator of Social Housing on new Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs).

We have now submitted our full sector response to the consultation. Our response has been shaped by the views of our members, following engagement through webinars, roundtables and guidance from our Customer Experience and Housing Management National Group and Network.

What are the proposed Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements?

The STAIRs aim to introduce a new standard that will require social landlords to be transparent with their residents and share data about the management of their homes.

This commitment was first proposed by the Social Housing White Paper and brought forward by the Social Housing Regulation Act. We know that our members are committed to improving transparency and accountability by strengthening their relationships with their residents.

What does the STAIRs consultation propose?

The consultation proposes the introduction of Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs), which would:

Enable residents to request information about their home’s management.There will be specific requirements about how these requests are processed, including a timeframe to respond within.
Require housing associations to proactively publish information via a publication scheme. The consultation also outlines how complaints about the scheme would be addressed.

Our consultation response

Our response has been shaped by the views of our members, following engagement through webinars, roundtables and guidance from our Customer Experience and Housing Management National Group and Network. NHF members can read the full response using the link below.

If you have any questions about our consultation response or our wider Social Housing Regulation Act work, please get in touch using the contact details below.

We’ll be updating this page once we have a response from the government on our submission to this consultation.

Government's response

On Tuesday 30 September 2025 the government published their directions to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH).

By October 2026 housing associations will have to meet the requirement around proactive publishing of information, and by April 2027 they will have to meet the requirement relating to responding to requests. We’re pleased the government has recognised the need for a phased approach in their response.

The government has also given greater flexibility to landlords, aiming to balance clear expectations on publishing information with flexibility to decide what will work best for their residents.

Read the government’s full response here.

Next steps

The RSH has now been directed by MHCLG to set STAIRs and will consult on its implementation. The Housing Ombudsman is also expected to consult on changes to the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, ahead of the introduction of STAIRs. We'll be submitting full responses to these consultations on behalf of the sector and will be in touch with more information in due course.

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Who to speak to

Jo Allen, Head of Member Relations

socialhousingreg@housing.org.uk