Social landlords are beginning to turn the tide on declining tenant satisfaction, according to the latest report from Housemark, but the organisation warns against unrealistic expectations.
New data from Housemark’s June 2025 Pulse survey reveals that social landlords in England are reversing years of declining tenant satisfaction, but senior analysts at the organisation warn that aiming for 90% satisfaction is “unrealistic” for most providers in the short term.
Early findings from its Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) analysis – published last month – and supported by the latest performance results collected through the Pulse survey, show a modest improvement of around one percentage point in overall tenant satisfaction since 2023/24.
While this signals a “positive turn” for the sector, Housemark cautions that progress must be based on “consistent service improvements” rather than over-ambitious target setting.
The warning comes as some organisations consider setting 90% satisfaction targets in response to new regulatory scrutiny. However, Housemark notes that perception scores can be affected by survey methods, day-to-day sentiment, and performance incentives, as well as reflecting genuine service enhancements.
Jonathan Cox, chief data officer at Housemark, said: “Getting to 90% is possible, but only for those already performing at a very high level. Our experience shows that genuine service improvements typically increase satisfaction by just two to three percentage points a year. For most landlords, a more realistic goal is to aim for 80% by 2027 or 2028 and use that as a marker of meaningful progress, not perfection.
“It’s encouraging to see the tide starting to turn after a prolonged period of declining satisfaction. The figures from our June Pulse survey suggest the sector is beginning to rebuild trust, and that’s an achievement in itself. But to keep that momentum going, landlords need to focus on the basics – getting repairs right, keeping tenants informed, and listening to feedback. Quick wins won’t deliver long-term gains.”
Key findings
Housemark’s June 2025 Pulse survey draws on data supplied by 142 social housing providers across the UK and reflects data collected during the month of May 2025.
Other key findings from survey include:
- Tenant satisfaction (perception) has improved slightly, with a median of 74.5% – up around one percentage point
- Satisfaction with repairs (transactional) continues to rise, reaching a median of 89.7%
- Responsive repairs volumes fell by 9.6% month-on-month as landlords focus on service quality and completions
- New anti-social behaviour (ASB) cases rose by 13% in May, reflecting typical seasonal trends
- Re-let times worsened, rising by 12.8% to a median of 45.6 days for standard lets
- Gas safety compliance remained stable at 99.93%, while EICR compliance held at 99.65%
- Complaint resolution rates remain strong, with 95.3% of formal complaints resolved within timescales
- Arrears improved, with ‘true’ current tenant arrears falling to a median of 2.56%
- Voluntary staff turnover rose slightly to 0.7%, while sickness absence fell to 3.4%
Image credit: ama_mia/Shutterstock
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