STAIRs stands for the Social Tenants Access to Information Requirement scheme.
Introduced by the UK Government, this new standard is designed to make social housing more transparent. It gives tenants of housing associations – including Sensible Housing Co-operative – the right to request and receive important information about how their landlord operates and manages their homes.
You can find all the information we publish under this scheme on this page.
What does this mean for tenant members?
For members of a housing co-operative, this information is already available to you because our tenant members act as both the landlord and the tenant. We collectively own and manage our homes, making decisions together through meetings rather than answering to an external company.
Our tenant members set service standards, help develop our policies and shape our organisation. Our Management Committee, who make all decisions affecting how our organisation is run, is made up entirely of tenant members.
The biggest change for us is that we are now required to publish this information on our website. It means that tenant members and others have another way to access information about things that matter to you – such as how we manage repairs, keep homes safe, make decisions, and monitor our performance.
From October 2026 We’ll publish key information about how we manage homes and services – including repairs, safety checks, and performance.
From April 2027 You’ll be able to ask for specific information about your housing, and we’ll respond within 30 days.
STAIRs is similar to Freedom of Information (FoI) rules used by councils and is being extended to housing providers. The aim is to make social housing more open, transparent, and accountable – and to give tenants better access to information that affects them.
Information we publish
Our STAIRs Policy contains a publication scheme which shows what information we currently hold and will publish on our website, against the categories specified by the Regulator of Social Housing.
If there is a gap because we don’t hold that type of information, we aren’t required to create it in order to meet the requirements. We’ll start to publish new information as and when it’s created such as meeting minutes, agendas and reports.
We have organised our information into the following sections.
How we are run
This information shows who runs our organisation, how decisions are made, and how tenant members are involved.
- Governance Structure and Decision Making
- Committee Meeting Minutes and Agendas
- General Meeting Minutes and Agendas
- Member Engagement Policy
- Members Handbook
Our performance
This information shows how well we are doing to meet our regulatory targets.
How we spend money
This information shows how we spend the income we receive from rents and service charges.
- Annual Accounts – published on FCA Mutuals Register
- Service Charge Breakdown
Property management and building safety
This information includes plans for keeping homes physically safe, functional, and up to modern standards.
- Repairs & Maintenance Policy
- Asset Management Strategy
- Quarterly Performance Report to Management Committee
Housing management policies
This information focuses on the day-to-day rules, operational policies, and practical guidelines affecting your tenancy.
- Anti-Social Behaviour, Hate Incidents And Domestic Abuse Policy
- Anti-Social Behaviour, Hate Incidents and Domestic Abuse Case Management Procedure
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments and Additional Needs Policy
- Rent Arrears and Tenancy Sustainment Policy
- Rent Arrears Management Procedure
- Waiting List and Property Allocations Policy
- Waiting List and Property Allocation Procedure
Complaints
This section brings together all our information on complaints. We want to hear from you if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you’ve received. Every year we carry out a review of any complaints received and we use this feedback to understand where improvements are needed.
We are required to comply with the Housing Ombudsman Service complaints handling code. As part of that we are required to complete an annual self-assessment and produce a Management Committee Report. These documents are included in this section.
- Complaints Policy
- Complaints Code Self-Assessment
- Complaints Report and Management Committee Response
- Compensation Policy
- Complaints Quick Guide
Lists and Registers
This section lists information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the management of social housing.
- FCA Mutuals Register – is a public record of mutual societies registered by the Financial Conduct Authority. The register contains our company registration documents, annual accounts and AR30 annual returns.
- ICO Registration – shows our registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under the Data Protection Act 2018.
If there is something missing on this page that you’d expect to see please let us know. Similarly, if you are a housing co-op looking at what others do, please get in touch and we’ll help if we can.