Satisfaction with large social landlords in England improved in 2025/26, but residents in low-cost home ownership reported a lower median score than low-cost rental tenants, according to regulator data.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) analyzed 356 landlord submissions covering April 2025 through March 2026. Landlords surveyed almost 500,000 tenants, including more than 458,000 low-cost rental tenants and just under 34,000 shared owners. The median landlord score for low-cost rental satisfaction rose to 74.2% from 71.8% in 2024/25. Across all low-cost rental survey responses, 73% said they were very or fairly satisfied overall.
Low-cost home ownership residents had a median score of 49.8%. The RSH said 30% of shared owners were dissatisfied with their landlord’s overall service; the 49.8% score applies to the broader low-cost home ownership group.
Landlords completed 82.9% of non-emergency repairs within their target times in 2025/26, compared with 77.3% in 2023/24. The median score tenants gave landlords for repair timeliness rose to 73.0% from 67.4%. The completion measure counts finished work; landlords also reported more than 1.2 million repairs still in progress at year-end.
The RSH’s 2024 National Tenant Survey found that tenants’ experiences with repairs and maintenance were among the strongest influences on how they rated landlords overall. The regulator pointed to higher repair and maintenance spending after inflation and landlords’ focus on service delivery as possible context for the rise, without saying those factors caused it.
Landlords recorded nearly 320,000 stage-one complaints. They answered 85.5% within the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code’s timescales, but the median landlord score for complaint handling was 37.4% among low-cost rental tenants who said they had complained.
Landlords with at least 1,000 homes must report annually using 12 tenant-perception measures and 10 management-information measures. The RSH said the results inform its regulatory work but do not determine a judgment on their own. “The challenge now is to continue turning that insight into tangible improvements for residents,” said Kate Dodsworth, the RSH’s deputy chief executive. The regulator intends to publish the statistics each autumn.
