Tenant Satisfaction Measures are a recent regulatory mandate imposed by the Regulator of Social Housing, in which DDC must conform. The primary objective is to empower social housing tenants in holding their landlords to account.
Starting on April 1, 2023, organisations providing social housing, including us, are obligated to commence the collection of performance data in critical areas like maintenance, safety inspections, and grievance handling. This data will be gathered through our normal performance gathering method and also new tenant perception surveys to gauge tenants' experiences.
Tenant Satisfaction Measures can be traced back to the government's 2020 Social Housing White Paper, specifically the Charter for Social Housing Residents. The enforcement of these standards falls under the purview of the Regulator of Social Housing.
The implementation of Tenant Satisfaction Measures will necessitate the following actions from Dover District Council:
- Commence the collection and reporting of performance data in alignment with the Tenant Satisfaction Measures starting on April 1, 2023.
- Annually submit our performance results against the Tenant Satisfaction Measures to the Regulator of Social Housing, commencing in June 2024.
- Annually disclose our performance outcomes concerning the Tenant Satisfaction Measures, encompassing how we adhere to the regulator's stipulations, starting from September 2024.
- Ensure that the data we gather is accurate, reliable, valid, and serves as a transparent representation of our performance in relation to the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
2023 Tenant Perception Survey
2023's Tenant Survey took place over the summer. A paper copy of the survey was sent to every household, we also digitally sent opportunities to complete the survey via direct email, Keep me posted bulletins, Facebook, via the phone, in person at existing visits and also at one of our 13 summer 'meet the team' events.
The Regulator required us to survey at least 531 residents, both tenants and shared ownership residents, and we received a total of 704 responses. Thank you to all the tenants who responded, we really appreciated your time and effort to achieve this.
Prize winners!
To maximise the opportunity to speak to as many residents as possible, Dover District Council agreed to run a prize draw.
Cllr Brivio, Portfolio Holder for Social Housing, Port Health, Skills and Education, selected the winners at random from the survey respondents that entered the prize draw.
Calvin Stothart, from Eythorne won the £200 prize, with his brother Anthony accepting the prize on his behalf. Anthony said, "Wow, Calvin will be absolutely over the moon. Thank you!"
Below left are the DDTCG with Cllr Pam Brivio selecting the prize winners, and right, Anthony Stothart, accepting the top prize.
Other prize winners included a resident in Ash Grove, Elvington winning the £100 prize and a resident in Molland Close, Ash receiving the £50 prize.
Thank you to everyone who participated and look out for next years competition.