Trend report: tenant satisfaction

The survey, which took place between March and May 2022, was commissioned by DLUHC to establish baseline metrics for future government reforms in social housing.

In terms of landlords, residents were near-equally satisfied with ALMOs (67 per cent), non-profit landlords (66 per cent) and local authority landlords (65 per cent), with dissatisfaction levels at 17 per cent, 19 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Those living in a house had higher satisfaction levels and lower dissatisfaction levels than those in a flat. Shared owners had far greater satisfaction than renters, at 82 per cent and 67 per cent respectively, with dissatisfaction only five per cent for shared owners, compared to 19 per cent for renters.

The resident survey, which received a total of 5,004 responses split between 2,561 over the telephone and 2,443 online, also discovered that satisfaction varied significantly based on resident demographic.

A total of 70 per cent of men were satisfied in contrast with 65 per cent of women, but more markedly 69 per cent of white respondents responded positively to the survey as opposed to just 57 per cent of ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities).

A total of 25 per cent of ethnic minority respondents reported dissatisfaction with the overall service provided by their landlord.

By age, satisfaction levels were notably higher among older residents, at 74 per cent for those aged 65 to 74 and peaking at 83 per cent for those aged 75 years and older. In contrast, dissatisfaction was far higher from those aged between 25 and 54, at around 22 per cent, with the next highest levels of dissatisfaction being the 55-64 age bracket at 17 per cent. Eighteen to 24-year-olds had the least strong opinions on their landlords, with 18 per cent stating they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their service. It is noted that there was the lowest respondent base for the 18 to 24-year category, with 391 respondents.

The country responded relatively similarly by region, apart from in London.

The North East had the highest satisfaction at 74 per cent, while London’s 55 per cent satisfaction score was a whole 12 percentage points less than the second-lowest, the West Midlands (67 per cent). A 27 per cent dissatisfaction level from London was again far above the next figure of 19 per cent from the East of England, with the rest of the country ranging from there to the North East’s low figure of 13 per cent.

Respondents were also asked their view on the maintenance of their property, with 65 per cent satisfied and 21 per cent dissatisfied. The most common reasons for dissatisfaction were mould, damp and condensation (55 per cent), home insulation (33 per cent) and ventilation (23 per cent). Similarly to overall satisfaction levels, older residents had the highest satisfaction: 86 per cent for those aged 75 years or over, and 76 per cent for those aged 65 to 74 years. Meanwhile, those aged 25 to 54 had the highest dissatisfaction.

A total of 82 per cent of residents were satisfied that their home was safe to live in, while eight per cent were dissatisfied. A range of reasons were cited for dissatisfaction, with mould, damp and condensation (56 per cent) the leading factor, while insulation (20 per cent) and ventilation (19 per cent) were also regularly cited.

Rates of anti-social behaviour were high overall, with 26 per cent of residents reporting being affected in the previous 12 months. There was a clear link between anti-social behaviour and the age of resident, with younger residents being affected more than older residents. A total of 36 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds reported such incidences, whereas 14 per cent of people aged 75 or older and 21 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds were affected. Although those aged 75 or over were affected by the least anti-social behaviour, they were the group most likely to inform their landlord about it (82 per cent).

In contrast, only 63 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds informed their landlord. Just under one-third of respondents affected by anti-social behaviour did not tell their landlord about it, with 40 per cent of these citing that they did not feel the landlord would do anything about it and 24 per cent not believing it was the landlord’s responsibility.