Did you know the government is introducing a new requirement called the Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs). STAIRs is designed to make it easier for social housing residents to access information about their home, their landlord, and how services are run.
Because STAIRs will apply to all housing associations, including Southern Housing, we’re starting work now to understand what information residents find most useful and how we can prepare. Over the coming months, we’ll be using our Engagement HQ platform and resident workshops to hear your views. This will help us make sure future information is clear, easy to find, and genuinely helpful to residents.
What STAIRs Means
STAIRs will be introduced in two stages:
- By October 2026: landlords must publish key information about how services are run such as repairs performance, complaints, spending, and senior leadership roles.
- From April 2027: residents will have a legal right to request certain information in writing, and landlords must respond within set timescales.
These changes aim to improve transparency across social housing and ensure residents have access to the information they need.
What we’ve done so far
In February 2026, we sent a survey asking residents what type of information they might request under the new STAIRs requirements. This will help us prepare and understand the topics residents are most likely to ask about once the new rules begin.
In March, we held resident workshops to gather more detailed feedback on what information matters most and how we can support residents in accessing it.
If you’d like to keep up to date with this work, check out our STAIRs project page.