2023 Tenant satisfaction measures

What are the Tenant Satisfaction Measures?

Kingston Council is preparing for the new Housing Regulatory Standards that will come into effect April 2023 in the form of Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM). The TSM are designed to see how well landlords are doing at keeping properties in good repair, and help tenants hold their landlord to account.

Why are they taking place?

The TSM’s form part of a huge overhaul of social housing regulations and aims to bring in a more tenant – focused system. All registered social housing landlords in England will have to collect and report on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures as it is a regulatory requirement.

What steps have Kingston Council taken?

 Kingston Council have commissioned Acuity, a market research company who specialise in the social housing sector, to carry out surveys with their tenants.  The survey is a general satisfaction survey (perception survey) asking residents what they think about their home and the Housing Services provided by Kingston Council. The questions are based on the new Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing from April this year. 

Who are Acuity?

Acuity Research & Practice (Acuity) provide tenant satisfaction surveys and benchmarking services, helping housing providers to improve services and engage with their residents through an understanding of satisfaction, performance and profiling data. They have been providing consultancy services to the social housing sector for over 25 years

Who will be contacted?

Each quarter Acuity will be contacting a random sample of residents by telephone, email, SMS text message or post inviting them to take part in the survey, with the aim of achieving around 250 responses. 

What number to look out for?

If you received a call or a text from Acuity the number displayed will be a UK telephone number 01273 093939, which is a Brighton Area code. 

What happens next?

The information gathered will highlight areas where service improvements are required. Further analysis will be done in areas of low satisfaction and improvement measures taken will be publicised on our website housing pages.

When will Acuity call, text or email our residents?

Acuity only make calls between the hours of9:00am and 8:00pm Monday to Friday and between the hours of 10.00am and 6:00pm on Saturday. Interviewers allow the telephone to ring for a minimum of 25 seconds, or until a voice mail system kicks in, to ensure customers with mobility issues are given sufficient time to get to the phone

What telephone number is displayed?

If a tenant receives a call from Acuity the number displayed is 01273 093939, which is a UK Brighton Area code. If the resident sees a missed call from this number and calls back, they will hear a recorded message informing them that someone from Acuity tried to call them to complete a survey for their landlord. This is to reassure tenants that the calls are genuine. 

Is the survey confidential and anonymous? 

The survey is strictly confidential and if a tenant request the results, they can be given back to Kingston Council anonymously without their name being attached

Is the survey in line with data protection and what about quality standards?

All the calls are recorded for training and quality purposes. Acuity is a company partner member of the Market Research Society and is registered with the Information Commissionaires Office, and in line with the Data Protection Act is not permitted to release any details to any other organisation. Under the Data Protection Act Acuity is not permitted to release any information that would allow an individual to be identified without their prior active consent to do so. Acuity also holds ISO20252:2019, which is the quality standard for market research companies.

Who should I contact at Kingston Council or Acuity if I have a query that is not addressed here?

If you have any queries about any of the survey, please contact Heather Metivier at Acuity (01273 287114 or( acuity@arap.co.uk) or Kingston Council at involvedinhousing@kingston.gov.uk

Want to know more about Acuity?

Acuity Research & Practice Limited, www.arap.co.uk. All research projects are carried out in conformity with ISO20252:2019 and