Consumer Standards

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) introduced new regulatory consumer standards for social housing providers from 1st April 2024.

 

There are four Consumer Standards and we’ve included links to each of the standards in full:

*This includes the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)

We welcome the new Consumer Standards, as they aim to provide you with greater rights and protections and help to improve the safety and quality of social housing and the service you receive overall.

 

Our Consumer Standards Improvement Plan

Here's how we've approached the new Consumer standards:

  • Used feedback from customers and staff to identify any areas for improvement.
  • Shaped our Customer Commitment, using your feedback, so you know what to expect from us.
  • Developed a Consumer Standards Improvement plan to capture any actions needed, so we can track progress. No areas of non-compliance were identified.
  • Shared our self-assessments and the improvement action plan with our Group Customer Services Committee for discussion and challenge. They’ll be monitoring how well we’re performing against our improvement plan.

We’re aiming to deliver our improvement actions over the next 12 months.

 

Safety and Quality Standard

This standard is about making sure we provide safe and good quality homes and landlord services to you.

We’ll be:

  • Improving how we diagnose repairs to help us complete more ‘right first time’ and make it easier to report a repair online.
  • Reviewing our repairs service to understand what’s working well and what we need to improve.
  • Completing the backlog of repairs in our East region.
  • Training for staff and contractors to help us better respond and resolve reports of damp, mould, and condensation.
  • Using our learning from damp, mould, and condensation cases to inform future investment in our homes.
  • Carrying out Surveys to check the condition of our homes to make sure they’re of good quality, safe and well maintained.

 

Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard

This standard is about making sure we’re open with you, treat you with fairness and respect, so you can access services, raise complaints when you need to, influence decision making and hold us to account.

We’ll be:

  • Launching ‘My Muir’, an online self-service portal, so you can check you rent statement, raise Anti-Social Behaviour issues, see repairs updates and much more.
  • Keeping customers information up to date to help shape the services we deliver – ensuring they’re accessible, meeting changing and diverse needs.
  • Launching new ways to contact us in 2024, including WhatsApp, two-way texting and our My Muir online portal
  • Agreeing with you when and how we’ll keep you updated about follow-up actions from your complaint – and make sure we resolve them.

 

Neighbourhood and Community Standard

This standard is about making sure we engage and work with other partners such as the Local authority or police, so that you can live in a safe and well-maintained neighbourhood and feel safe in your home.

We’ll be:

  • Developing neighbourhood plans to tell you how we’re investing in your area and working with partners to in help maximise quality of life.
  • Engaging with you in Neighbourhood Walkabouts to increase communication and staff visibility.
  • Reviewing our approach to ASB including the introduction of a Good Neighbourhood Policy and Procedure to help tackle noise nuisance.

 

Tenancy Standard

This standard sets out how we should rent homes, making sure we do so fairly and how we look after and end tenancies, supporting you to live in your home.

 

We’ll be:

  • Delivering our tenancy wellbeing visits to help make sure your safe and well in your home.
  • Reviewing our Allocations and Lettings and Tenancy Management policy.

 

 

Keeping you up to date

We’ll use our website and magazine to keep you updated on how we are doing which includes our performance with the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

 

Do you want to get more involved?  

If this information has made you think about what we do and how we do it, you might want to tell us about it. Give us feedback to let us know your thoughts or get involved and make your voice heard.

 

Our lead contacts for...

  • Consumer Standards compliance and complaints - Jackie Perry, Executive Director Customer Experience.
  • Health and Safety - Nik Evans, Assistant Director of Property Services.