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Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)

Executive Summary

Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) were introduced by the government in April 2023 to provide a consistent and transparent way of assessing how satisfied tenants are with their homes and housing services. These measures are overseen by the Regulator of Social Housing and allow landlords like St Albans City & District Council to monitor performance, identify areas for improvement, and compare results with other providers.

In 2024/25, 18% of tenants responded to our satisfaction survey. The results showed positive movement in key areas including complaint response times and safety compliance. However, satisfaction with repairs, communication, and maintenance remains a clear priority. These insights are directly informing our service planning, resident engagement, and improvement activity for the year ahead.

Our Approach

How do we collect feedback from tenants? Toggle accordion

To ensure independence and fairness, we work with MEL Research — a specialist company commissioned to carry out the tenant satisfaction survey on our behalf.

Surveys are sent to all tenants to make sure everyone has the chance to take part. MEL distributed the surveys by post and online, and included a freephone number so tenants could respond by phone if preferred.

How many tenants did we speak to? Toggle accordion

For 2024/25, the survey was sent to all 4,673 tenants living in council-managed homes at the time. We received 833 completed responses, representing 18% of our tenants. We are very grateful to all residents who took the time to share their feedback.

An 18% response rate gives us results with a margin of error of ±3% at the 95% confidence level. This means that if we surveyed every tenant, the results would likely fall within 3% of those reported here. This exceeds the Regulator of Social Housing’s minimum standards for statistical reliability.

The results have been weighted by age and property type, based on Council records. (This is a change from 2023, when we used tenure type and property type for weighting).

Please note that responses based on smaller groups — such as tenants who have recently used a specific service — may have a wider margin of error.

How do we compare? Toggle accordion

This is the second year of collecting Tenant Satisfaction Measures, which means we can now compare this year’s performance with last year’s. These comparisons are shown in the results tables on this webpage and help us to identify trends and service improvements.

We also use the data to benchmark our performance against other housing providers. All social landlords are required to publish their results, and the Regulator of Social Housing will also release national comparison data. This helps tenants considering mutual exchanges or new tenancies to make informed choices.

What did the results tell us? 

The results have informed a new departmental action plan and two targeted improvement plans for 2025/26 — one for complaint handling and one for responsive repairs. All actions will be monitored by residents through the Tenant & Leaseholder Forum and by councillors through the Housing & Inclusion Committee.

Some key findings from the 2024/25 survey include:

  • 82% of tenants who felt their home was safe were satisfied overall, compared to just 12% of those who did not feel safe.
  • Only 13% of tenants who said their home was not well maintained reported being satisfied overall. In contrast, 88% of those who felt their home was well maintained were satisfied with the Council’s housing services.
  • Overall satisfaction dropped from 66% to 19% among tenants who were not satisfied with their local area.
  • Performance on emergency repairs was strong, with 97.4% completed on time.
  • 100% compliance was maintained across all major safety checks, including fire, asbestos, water, and lifts.

Non-emergency repairs completed within 28 days fell from 84.73% in 2023/24 to 79.3% in 2024/25.

Further Insight

Analysis of unweighted data provided additional insight that will shape future engagement:

  • Satisfaction levels tend to increase with tenant age and length of tenancy.
  • Male tenants reported higher satisfaction than female tenants (64% vs. 57%).
  • Satisfaction was highest among tenants in bungalows (65%), followed by houses (60%), flats (58%), and maisonettes (43%).
  • Tenants receiving housing benefit reported higher satisfaction (68%) than those not receiving benefit (56%).

The areas scoring highest overall were tenant safety and feeling treated fairly and with respect.

Looking ahead, a new resident engagement platform will launch in summer 2025 to support better communication and information sharing. Resident feedback remains central to service improvement, and progress will continue to be monitored through performance reporting, future surveys, and resident forums.

To find out more or get involved in shaping services, please visit the Resident Engagement page or contact the Housing Services Team.

Tenant Satisfaction Measures - 2024-25 Toggle accordion

Measure

Reporting method/expression

Total

4814 Dwellings

Complaints relative to the size of the landlord- St.1

Per 1,000 dwellings

41.8

Complaints relative to the size of the landlord- St.2

Per 1,000 dwellings

10.6

Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales   St.1

per 1,000 dwellings

79.60

Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales   St.2

per 1,000 dwellings

72.50

ASB cases relative to the size of the landlord

Per 1,000 dwellings

18.7

Hate crimes reported relative to the size of the landlord

Per 1,000 dwellings

0.2

Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard

Percentage

2.6%

Repairs completed within target timescales

  

a) Non emergency Repairs (28 days)

Percentage

79.3%

b) Emergency repairs 24 hours

Percentage

97.4%

Gas safety checks

Percentage

99.7%

Fire safety checks

Percentage

100%

Asbestos safety checks

Percentage

100%

Water safety checks

Percentage

100%

Lift safety checks

Percentage

100%

Tenant Satisfaction Measures - 2023-24 Toggle accordion

Measure

Reporting method/expression

Total

4899 Dwellings

Complaints relative to the size of the landlord- St.1

Per 1,000 dwellings

13.88

Complaints relative to the size of the landlord- St.2

Per 1,000 dwellings

4.69

Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales   St.1

per 1,000 dwellings

77.94

Complaints responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales   St.2

per 1,000 dwellings

60.87

ASB cases relative to the size of the landlord

Per 1,000 dwellings

15.1

Hate crimes reported relative to the size of the landlord

Per 1,000 dwellings

1.63

Homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard

Percentage

2.39%

Repairs completed within target timescales

  

a) Non emergency Repairs (28 days)

Percentage

84.73%

b) Emergency repairs 24 hours

Percentage

98.17%

Gas safety checks

Percentage

99.55%

Fire safety checks

Percentage

100%

Asbestos safety checks

Percentage

100%

Water safety checks

Percentage

98.95%

Lift safety checks

Percentage

100%

SADC Tenant Perception Survey 2024-25 Toggle accordion

 

Measure

St Albans 2024-25

TP01 Overall satisfaction with the landlord

54%

TP02 Satisfaction with repairs

55%

TP03 Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair

49%

TP04 Satisfaction that the home is well maintained

50%

TP05 Satisfaction that the home is safe

58%

TP06 Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them

43%

TP07 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them

48%

TP08 Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect

58%

TP09 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling complaints

21%

TP10 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained

44%

TP11 Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods

43%

TP12 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour

43%

SADC Tenant Perception Survey 2023-24 Toggle accordion

Fieldwork 14/12/2023 - 14/2/2024

Measure

St Albans 2023-24

TP01 Overall satisfaction with the landlord

62%

TP02 Satisfaction with repairs

59%

TP03 Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair

53%

TP04 Satisfaction that the home is well maintained

57%

TP05 Satisfaction that the home is safe

65%

TP06 Satisfaction that the landlord listens to tenant views and acts upon them

43%

TP07 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps tenants informed about things that matter to them

51%

TP08 Agreement that the landlord treats tenants fairly and with respect

64%

TP09 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling complaints

25%

TP10 Satisfaction that the landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained

41%

TP11 Satisfaction that the landlord makes a positive contribution to neighbourhoods

49%

TP12 Satisfaction with the landlord’s approach to handling anti-social behaviour

43%