Social housing satisfaction rises, but the averages need careful reading
The Regulator of Social Housing’s 2025/26 headline report, published on 5 November 2026, gives residents and housing professionals a fresh basis for discussing service quality in England.
For low-cost rental accommodation, the median landlord’s overall satisfaction score rose from 72% in 2024/25 to 74% in 2025/26. That is a two-percentage-point change, not proof that every landlord improved. The analysis covers large landlords with at least 1,000 homes.
Repairs and complaints tell different parts of the story
Across the sector, 83% of non-emergency repairs were completed within landlords’ target timescales. The report also records that 86% of more than 319,000 stage-one complaints received responses within the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code timescales. A timely response is not the same as a resolved problem.
The regulator cautions that survey methods and the profile of each landlord matter when interpreting results. These measures should be considered alongside other evidence rather than used as a simple league table.
What residents can ask
Start with your own landlord’s published results. Ask how the repair timetable is measured: does the record show when the issue was first reported, when work began and when the job was completed? If a problem returns, keep a dated record rather than assuming an earlier completion entry describes its present condition.
When a landlord cites an improved satisfaction score, ask what changed in the service. Better appointment communication, fewer missed visits and clearer follow-up responsibilities are concrete explanations that residents can assess against their experience. An average is a starting point for that conversation, not a replacement for it.
What housing teams can take from the figures
Keep survey feedback, repair records and complaint outcomes connected. A response sent on time may still leave a resident uncertain about the next visit or the person responsible for arranging it. Tracking that handover can reveal a practical improvement that a headline percentage will miss.
For boards and managers, ask for explanations of movement in the figures before treating it as evidence of success or failure. Compare like with like, look at persistent problems and check whether the improvement is visible in individual service records.
Source: Regulator of Social Housing, Tenant Satisfaction Measures 2025/26: Headline Report, published 5 November 2026. Checked 8 November 2026.