Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs): operational guidance for housing associations

The guidance

The guidance has been developed following feedback from our members and has drawn on expert input from providers of different sizes and regions through an expert working group.

The guidance is not a legal document, but it is designed as a tool to support providers with interpreting the requirements of the Policy Statement.

We hope this guidance will offer practical advice and assistance on how the Policy Statement should be implemented, for the benefit of both housing associations and residents.

As the requirements come into effect, we will update the guidance further. We would really appreciate any feedback you have on this iteration, and how useful it is for your organisation.

Please email us with any thoughts or feedback using the contact details below.

STAIRs Operational Guidance – revisions

1 October 2026

After feedback from members, we have made a small number of revisions to the STAIRs Operational Guidance.

These mainly relate to the suggested publication scheme which now includes reference to the government’s Policy statement - GOV.UK and places greater emphasis on organisations developing their own policies in line with the Policy Statement.

We have clarified that the suggested included information is for organisations to consider including within their own policies.

We plan an update to this guidance next year following the introduction of Chapter 2 and the publication of guidance from the Housing Ombudsman Service.