How to Improve Your Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)

Published: November 2025

Since the Regulator of Social Housing introduced Tenant Satisfaction Measures, every housing provider in England has been required to collect, report and act on tenant satisfaction data. TSMs cover areas from overall satisfaction and repairs handling to complaint management and respectful treatment. The results are public, comparable across the sector, and increasingly scrutinised by boards, tenants and the media.

For many providers, the question is no longer whether TSMs matter but how to move the needle. Here are practical strategies that are delivering results across the sector.

1. Make repairs reporting effortless

Repairs satisfaction is one of the most influential TSM categories. Long phone queues, unclear timelines and poor communication during the repairs journey all drag scores down. Giving tenants the ability to report repairs online or through a mobile app, with real-time status updates, dramatically improves the experience. Tenants can submit a repair in minutes rather than waiting on hold, and they can check progress at any time without calling in.

2. Give tenants control of their account

Tenants who can view their rent balance, check transaction history and make payments at a time that suits them feel more in control of their tenancy. This sense of autonomy directly correlates with higher satisfaction scores. A self-service portal that works on any device removes the friction of office hours and phone-based processes, meeting tenants where they already are.

3. Streamline communication

Poor communication is a recurring theme in low TSM scores. Tenants want to know what is happening and when. Automated notifications for repairs updates, payment confirmations and account changes keep tenants informed without adding to your team's workload. When tenants are kept in the loop proactively, complaint volumes tend to fall and satisfaction rises.

4. Simplify onboarding for new tenants

First impressions matter. A smooth sign-up experience sets the tone for the entire tenancy. Automated onboarding workflows that guide new tenants through document signing, key collection and account setup ensure nothing is missed and reduce the burden on your housing teams. Providers using structured onboarding processes consistently report higher early-tenancy satisfaction.

5. Make it easy to provide feedback

If the only way tenants can give feedback is through a formal complaint, you are missing the early warning signs. Providing accessible digital channels for feedback, whether through in-app surveys, quick satisfaction ratings or simple contact forms, allows you to identify issues before they escalate and demonstrate that you are listening.

6. Use data to prioritise

TSMs are not just a reporting obligation; they are a diagnostic tool. Providers achieving the biggest improvements are those using engagement data from their digital channels alongside TSM results to identify patterns. If your portal analytics show a spike in repairs queries but low self-service completion, that tells you where to focus. A good admin dashboard with usage statistics gives you this visibility in real time.

The digital connection

What ties all of these strategies together is digital capability. Providers with a modern tenant portal that offers self-service access, mobile-friendly design, automated workflows and clear communication are consistently outperforming those relying on traditional channels. The evidence from across the sector is clear: digital self-service is one of the most effective levers for improving TSM scores.

If you want to understand where your digital offering currently stands, our free Digital Engagement Health Check benchmarks your tenant experience against best practice in under three minutes.