Housing 2024: Delegates told TSMs give ‘very little insight’ into social landlords’ services

During the ‘The new consumer regulation regime: what have we learnt so far?’ session, Mr Ratcliff said: “I’m definitely a TSM sceptic. I’m not going to use any very rude words to describe them, [but] I think my main problem with them is that they just provide very little insight. 

“They don’t tell you how good your services are, there’s a whole range of other things that are going to affect the scores and there’s a risk that it’s going to massively crowd out a whole load of useful activity that could be happening.”

The SNG officer believes that organisations could be focusing on the measures instead of thinking how services and culture can be improved.

Mr Ratcliff also highlighted that easy-read versions of the TSMs can not be used, which impacts specific groups, such as those with learning difficulties. To use them, landlords must carry out a capacity assessment with people that need to use them. 

“And then if you do it, you’re not allowed to include the easy read anyway,” he said. 

Inside Housing previously raised this issue with the regulator after speaking to a specialist provider.

Mr Ratcliff said he had two positive things to add about the TSMs, that the scores will be improved by empowering tenants. 

“If you really wanted to get this number up, I don’t think you do it by improving your services… you do it by making people happier.

“I think you make people happier by empowering them, by giving them control over their lives. And so this could mean that people who nefariously want to game their scores actually think, ‘I want to invest in community empowerment’. 

“I want the people living in the communities where we work to have control of things and really invest in that, which I think would be a positive outcome,” he explained. 

He said TSMs will also bring a focus on shared ownership, which “badly needs it”. Housemark’s research on the TSMs showed that shared owners were considerably less satisfied than social tenants. 

Mr Ratcliff said he had seen one landlord rated 13% overall by shared owners, while he expects the average in London to be 20%. He said at SNG, the difference in satisfaction rates between shared owners and social tenants is 40%. 

“Shared ownership has got a really important role to play in terms of driving supply and providing people with a route into homeownership, but there are too many people in the sector who just say, ‘It’s a fantastic product, there’s nothing wrong with it.’ It can’t be a fantastic product with 20ish levels of satisfaction,” he said.

He added TSMs could provide a “real driver and momentum to do some things to address the challenges”. 

Jahanara Rajkoomar, director of customer service at Gateway Housing Association, highlighted that scores in urban areas may not be as good as elsewhere. She said “to be fair to our London people”, there is “something about the TSMs in terms of urban locations and more rural areas”. 

She added: “The kind of challenges that our customers have when they are living in urban areas, the kind of homes that they have are different homes, the kind of estates that they live in are different homes, and then also there are other things going on for them in that locality, their personal lives. 

“All of that has an impact in terms of those results.” 

On how the Regulator of Social Housing is going to use the data, John Harris, chair of Cornwall Housing Tenants Forum, said it should use it to monitor the amount of talent participation and involvement, “our key role in decision-making”.

“There isn’t enough broad tenant involvement as there should be, and I think TSMs could well highlight this fact,” Mr Harris said.