Housing standards and how we perform
Latest news: On 15 October 2025, the Regulator of Social Housing published its regulatory judgement of Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils. Both authorities have been awarded a C2 rating for their commitment to delivering quality housing services and for their proactive approach to improvement.
The positive outcome puts the councils in the top third of all local authorities in the UK. For more information, please visit: LDC news story / EBC news story.
The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is a government agency that aims to promote a viable, efficient, and well-governed social housing sector. In short, the RSH works to make sure that landlords:
- provide homes that are safe, warm, and well maintained
- provide homes that deliver good quality services to tenants
- hear and respond to tenants' voices.
To help achieve this they set prescribed standards, carry out checks and inspect social housing landlords to help make sure they are well-governed, financially viable, and offer value for money. They can step in to take appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered. From 1 April 2024, they have expanded powers and now carry out routine inspections of social housing landlords.
Regulatory Assurance (Action) Plan
The purpose of this document is to outline the steps that Lewes District Council (LDC) and Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) will take to further improve and enhance social landlord services following recent regulatory inspections during 2025.
Homes First Regulatory Assurance Plan (PDF, 163 KB)
Regulatory Assurance (Action) Plan - Social Landlord Services (Excel doc, 111 KB)
What are the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) Standards
The RSH has two sets of standards:
Economic standards
These are to make sure social housing landlords are financially viable and properly managed and perform their functions efficiently, effectively, and economically.
As a local authority provider, it's only the rent standard that we have to meet. This standard sets out how social housing landlords set their rents. For information about the rent standard visit Rent Standard and Guidance on GOV.UK.
Consumer standards
The main themes these focus on are:
- Keeping tenants homes safe and in a good state of repair.
- Engaging with customers in a helpful and respectful way.
- Delivering responsive services and handling complaints effectively.
- Managing neighbourhoods and tenancies in a responsible way.
The service outcomes and specific expectations that landlords must meet are set out in four revised consumer standards on GOV.UK:
- Safety and Quality Standard
- Transparency Influence and Accountability Standard
- Tenancy Standard
- Neighbourhood and Community Standard
Measuring our Performance
To accompany the new standards, the RSH set out 22 standard measures called the Tenant Satisfaction Measures, or TSMs for short.
These TSMs must be measured and reported back to the Regulator of Social Housing by all social housing landlords.
The reported TSMs summarise how well a landlord's service is operating and all landlords owning a thousand or more homes must publish this information to make this performance visible their tenants, other local residents, and partner organisations. The results can be used by tenants to help hold their landlords to account.
All of the performance information reported in the TSMs is produced in line rules and guidance issued by the Regulator of Social Housing and landlords can be asked to present evidence confirming this is the case.
Some of this information used in the TSMs is taken direct from the councils' management systems, such as reported incidences of Anti-Social behaviour, the number of complaints and key building safety information, such as the number of gas checks completed.
Other measures are based on survey questions completed by tenants. Here in Lewes and Eastbourne the councils use an external provider called Acuity to carry out phone surveys to help us understand how tenants think we are performing.
These surveys ask general questions about the housing service the councils provide, how fairly services are delivered, and how well the Councils maintain tenants' homes. Or they may ask more specific sets of questions on recent services tenants have experienced, such as:
- a repair
- major repair improvements
- a complaint made about our service
- new lettings
Acuity will only call between 9am to 8pm from Monday to Friday, and 10am to 6pm on Saturdays. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. The Acuity number is 01273 093 939 (a Brighton Area code).
If you do NOT wish to share your feedback on services we provide, let us know and we will make sure you are not contacted by Acuity.
Confidentiality and data protection
The surveys are confidential but Acuity will ask you if you are happy for them to pass on any additional details to us.
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 active consent.
Acuity holds ISO20252:2019, which is the quality standard for market research companies. For more information please see our privacy statement - Privacy Notice for Neighbourhood Housing - Homes First (PDF, 162 KB)
How Lewes District Council is performing against the standards
In Lewes District Council we have a stock of just under 3300 homes (low cost rented accommodation) which are included in a pool of tenants who our provider Acuity will contact to conduct our tenants satisfaction survey. We aim for just over 500 responses per annum for our statistics to be a meaningful representation of our tenants feedback.
How we are improving
Over the past year we have made several service improvements
We have made significant changes to our repairs service, creating area based surveyors responsible for all your property needs and separating out the administration from the practical surveying work. We are also in the process of reviewing our property maintenance contracts.
We have undertaken a survey of our tenants to update the information we hold about YOU and we will use this to ensure that our communications meet your needs and to help us provide services that meet the diverse needs of our tenants.
We have been monitoring complaints performance and have piloted a move away from a central complaints response team to responsibility sitting within the relevant service area. Ensuring that the response to complaints meets the timescales within our Complaints policy will now be handled by the Corporate Customer Service Team and the Customer Experience and Performance team within Homes First will focus on ensuring that we learn from complaints working closely with managers within each service and by recommending service improvements. We have just started a complaints process Scrutiny review with our tenants, and we hope that their recommendations will further support improvements in complaint handling.
Our neighbourhood housing team have recently taken over responsibility for the management of our homes that are within blocks to provide greater focus on safety and cleanliness. We are also now reviewing our communal gardening contract with tenants.
Please see our annual report for more information on some of the improvements made to date Tenant news, events and reports - Lewes and Eastbourne Councils
We are working on our 24 /25 annual report and will share with you more successes and some of our future plans.
Our service improvement plans are approved and monitored by TOLD (Tenants of Lewes District) and the Cabinet Member for Social Housing and Tenants
We are also working with our tenants to agree how we share information about how we're performing.
Survey questions
You can download the survey questions for Lewes District Council Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey questions 2024-25 (PDF, 147 KB)
For the coming year we will be changing these questions slightly asking for more focused feedback on your experience of key services
- Relating to your overall satisfaction
- Your views on safety and maintenance
- Your views on the repairs service
- Your views on how we handle cases of Anti-social behaviour
- Your views on how we handle complaints
- Your experience of customer service and communications
Annual summary results
Lewes District Council key housing satisfaction metrics - summary results 2024/5
Overall satisfaction with the services provided by Lewes DC remains constant at almost two-thirds (65%).
The comparison with last years figures provides the following highlights
- the provision of a safe home 78% an improvement on last year
- being kept informed about things that matter to the tenant 74% an improvement on last year
- satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair 68% an improvement on last year
- satisfaction with being treated fairly and with respect 73% remains strong.
Some measures have satisfaction levels which we will discuss with TOLD (Tenants of Lewes District) whilst changes are already being made e.g. to complaints handling we will agree further opportunities to work with tenants to improve these measures namely
- making a positive contribution to the neighbourhood
- handling anti social behaviour and complaints
- listening and acting
| Measure | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Satisfaction | 65% | 65% |
| Well maintained home | 66% | 66% |
| Safe home | 78% | 74% |
| Time taken - Last repair | 68% | 62% |
| Repairs and maintenance | 73% | 59% |
| Communal areas clean and well maintained | 56% | 56% |
| Positive contribution to neighbourhood | 58% | 61% |
| Handling of anti-social behaviour | 57% | 56% |
| Listens and acts | 58% | 55% |
| Kept Informed | 74% | 70% |
| Treated fairly and with respect | 73% | 73% |
| Complaints handling | 33% | 20% |
Downloads
Lewes District Council Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey results 2024-25 (PDF, 797 KB)
Lewes District Council Tenant Satisfaction Measures – Summary of Approach 2024/25 (PDF, 866 KB)
Complaints performance report
The following represents Lewes District Council's response to the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code for 2024/25.
The following documents have been considered by the Member Responsible for Complaints Cllr Mark Slater (Cabinet Member for Social Housing and Tenants) and TOLD (Tenants of Lewes District). Alongside these documents tenants have recently been involved in a Tenant Scrutiny review of the Complaints handling process. We will share the resulting service improvement plan once finalised which focuses on complaints processing and utilising tenant feedback.
- Statement of Lewes DC in relation to the Annual Complaints Performance Report 2024-25 (PDF, 156 KB)
- LDC complaints self assessment 2024-25 (PDF, 858 KB)
- Annual complaints report LDC 2024-25 (PDF, 219 KB)
- Landlord Report - Lewes District Council (PDF, 1 MB)
- LDC Member Responsible for Complaints (PDF, 121 KB)
Housing Management Performance Information
The following are the tenant satisfaction measures generated from our performance management information:
Complaints handling | Result 2024-25 | Result 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
Number of stage one complaints received per 1,000 homes | 61.2 | 63.8 |
Number of stage two complaints received per 1,000 homes. | 16 | 14.5 |
Proportion of stage one complaints responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales | 25.3% | 38.3% |
Proportion of stage two complaints responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales. | 17.3% | 34.0% |
Antisocial behaviour | Result 2024-25 | Result 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
Number of anti-social behaviour cases per 1,000 homes | 48% | 33.4% |
The number of hate crime cases per 1,000 homes | 1.5% | 0.6% |
Repairs to our homes | Result 2024-25 | Result 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
Proportion of homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard. | 3.79% | 5.20% |
Proportion of non-emergency responsive repairs completed within the landlord's target timescale. | 80.70% | 69.10% |
Proportion of emergency responsive repairs completed within the landlord's target timescale. | 92.95% | 91.50% |
Safety Compliance Checks of our homes | Result 2024-25 | Result 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
Proportion of homes for which all required gas safety checks have been carried out. | 98.8% | 99.5% |
Proportion of homes for which all required fire risk assessments have been carried out. | 100% | 91.80% |
Proportion of homes for which all required asbestos management surveys or re-inspections have been carried out. | 100% | 96.00% |
Proportion of homes for which all required legionella risk assessments have been carried out | 99.6% | 100% |
Proportion of homes for which all required communal passenger lift safety checks have been carried our | 100% | 100% |
When will the councils' housing services be inspected?
Both Councils are currently being inspected by the Regulator of Social Housing we will have our results in the Autumn and we will share them here and in Tenants Open Voice.
Can I complain directly to the regulator
The Regulator of Social Housing encourages tenants to make complaints direct to their landlord, as their role is not to resolve individual disputes between landlord and tenant.
If you have a complaint you can make a referral to the Regulator if you feel that as a social Landlord we are not delivering against the expectations of the regulatory code. Find more information at How to make a referral to us on GOV.UK.
How Eastbourne Borough Council is performing against the standards
In Eastbourne Borough council we have a stock of just over 3400 homes (low cost rented accommodation) which are included in a pool of tenants who our provider Acuity will contact to conduct our tenants satisfaction survey. We aim for just over 500 responses per annum in order for our statistics to be a meaningful representation of our tenants feedback
How we're improving
Over the past year we have made several service improvements.
We have made significant changes to our repairs service, creating area-based surveyors responsible for all your property needs and separating out the administration from the practical surveying work. We are also in the process of reviewing our property maintenance contracts.
We have undertaken a survey of our tenants to update the information we hold about YOU and we will use this to ensure that our communications meet your needs and to help us provide services that meet the diverse needs of our tenants.
We have been monitoring complaints performance and have piloted a move away from a central complaints response team to responsibility sitting within the relevant service area. Ensuring that the response to complaints meets the timescales within our Complaints policy will now be handled by the Corporate Customer Service Team and the Customer Experience and Performance team within Homes First will focus on ensuring that we learn from complaints working closely with managers within each service and by recommending service improvements. We have just started a complaints process Scrutiny review with our tenants, and we hope that their recommendations will further support improvements in complaint handling.
Our neighbourhood housing team have recently taken over responsibility for the management of our homes that are within blocks to provide greater focus on safety and cleanliness. We are also now reviewing our communal gardening contract with tenants.
Please see our annual report for more information on some of the improvements made to date Tenant news, events and reports - Lewes and Eastbourne Councils
We are working on our 24 /25 annual report and will share with you more successes and some of our future plans.
Our service improvement plans are approved and monitored by LET (Listening to Eastbourne Tenants) and Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness. We are also working with our tenants to agree how we share information about how we're performing.
Survey questions
You can download the survey questions for 2024 to 2025 below:
For the coming year we will be changing these questions slightly asking for more focused feedback on your experience of key services
- Relating to your overall satisfaction
- Your views on safety and maintenance
- Your views on the repairs service
- Your views on how we handle cases of Anti-social behaviour
- Your views on how we handle complaints
- Your experience of customer service and communications
Annual summary results
Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC)key housing satisfaction metrics - summary results 2024-25
Overall satisfaction with the services provided by EBC shows an improvement on last year and is now 70%
The comparison with last years figures provides the following highlights where there has been a strong improvement over the year
- being kept informed about things that matter to the tenant 74%
- being treated fairly and with respect 75%
- Tenant Satisfaction that their home is well maintained 69%
- Satisfaction with time taken to complete most recent repair 75%
Some measures have satisfaction levels which we will discuss with LET (Listening to Eastbourne Tenants) whilst changes are already being made e.g. to complaints handling we will agree further opportunities to work with tenants to improve these measures namely
- making a positive contribution to the neighbourhood
- handling complaints
- maintaining communal areas
| Measure | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Satisfaction | 70% | 69% |
| Well maintained home | 69% | 66% |
| Safe home | 75% | 74% |
| Time taken - Last repair | 75% | 69% |
| Repairs and maintenance | 74% | 63% |
| Communal areas clean and well maintained | 66% | 72% |
| Positive contribution to neighbourhood | 63% | 65% |
| Handling of anti-social behaviour | 61% | 55% |
| Listens and acts | 61% | 59% |
| Kept Informed | 74% | 72% |
| Treated fairly and with respect | 75% | 72% |
| Complaints handling | 22% | 20% |
Downloads
Eastbourne Borough Council Tenant Satisfaction Measures – Summary of Approach 2024/25 (PDF, 883 KB)
Complaints performance report
The following represents Eastbourne Borough Council's response to the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code for 2024/25.
The following documents have been considered by the Member Responsible for Complaints Cllr Peter Diplock (Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness) and LET (Listening to Eastbourne Tenants). Alongside these documents tenants have recently been involved in a Tenant Scrutiny review of the Complaints handling process. We will share the resulting service improvement plan once finalised which focuses on complaints processing and utilising tenant feedback.
EBC Complaints Self-Assessment 2024-25 (PDF, 860 KB)
Annual complaints report EBC 2024-25 (PDF, 207 KB)
EBC Member Responsible for Complaints (PDF, 121 KB)
Performance Management Information
Complaints handling | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
Number of stage one complaints received per 1,000 homes | 64.2 | 52.9 |
Number of stage two complaints received per 1,000 homes. | 14.3 | 10.5 |
Proportion of stage one complaints responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales | 21.4% | 38.80% |
Proportion of stage two complaints responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales. | 26.5% | 50% |
Antisocial behaviour | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
Number of antisocial behaviour cases per 1,000 homes | 49 | 33.8 |
The number of hate crime cases per 1,000 homes | 1.7 | 1.1 |
Repairs to our homes | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
Proportion of homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard. | 6.07% | 5% |
Proportion of non-emergency responsive repairs completed within the landlord's target timescale. | 74.5% | 69.8% |
Proportion of emergency responsive repairs completed within the landlord's target timescale. | 87.52% | 88.50% |
Safety Compliance Checks of our homes | Result 2024/25 | Result 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
Proportion of homes for which all required gas safety checks have been carried out. | 98.35% | 99.10% |
Proportion of homes for which all required fire risk assessments have been carried out. | 100% | 100% |
Proportion of homes for which all required asbestos management surveys or re-inspections have been carried out. | 100% | 99.60% |
Proportion of homes for which all required legionella risk assessments have been carried out | 93.83% | 98.50% |
Proportion of homes for which all required communal passenger lift safety checks have been carried our | 100% | 100% |
When will the councils' housing services be inspected?
Both Councils are currently being inspected by the Regulator of Social Housing we will have our results in the Autumn and we will share them here and in Tenants Open Voice.
Can I complain directly to the regulator
The Regulator of Social Housing encourages tenants to make complaints direct to their landlord, as their role is not to resolve individual disputes between landlord and tenant.
If you have a complaint you can make a referral to the Regulator if you feel that as a social Landlord we are not delivering against the expectations of the regulatory code. Find more information at How to make a referral to us on GOV.UK.
