Housing performance

The Survey Approach

The Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) Standard requires all registered providers to generate and report TSMs as specified by the Regulator of Social Housing. Part of that requirement is to outline to customers how we have approached the TSM Perception survey and collection of data.

This page outlines the approach followed by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and sets out the criteria as contained in the Regulator of Social Housing’s document TSM - Tenant Survey Requirements.

In line with the Regulator of Social Housing’s guidelines, we collect perception measures in a way that adheres to the Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct. 

The survey results for 2025-2026 must be published by 30 June 2026 and are on our website, in our next annual report, and in the autumn newsletter.

Survey Methodology

The Regulator of Social Housing continues to give registered providers the option to either survey all tenants or just a sample of tenants. Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has a medium size housing stock, meaning it is possible to ask all tenants to complete the TSM survey. Since the TSMs were introduced, the Council has and continues to opt to survey all tenants again to seek as many opinions as possible on how satisfied our tenants are with our housing service. No households are excluded from the survey.

Integrity Connect was contracted again to deliver the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM) surveys, collate and validate all the responses received. 

For 2025-2026:

• 1126 responses were received
• The surveys were issued by post on 23 June 2025, and the survey closed on 26 September 2025. A reminder letter sent by post on 14 July 2025.
• All surveys were to be completed by on paper and returned via post
• We used a census survey sample method issuing one survey per household
• The representative responses equate to an overall confidence level of +/- 2.6% which is within the permitted level of +/-4% for our size.
• No weighting was applied
• Integrity Connect were contracted to deliver the surveys, collate the responses and validate responses
• No households were excluded from the census sample method
• We offered an incentive of entry into a draw for one of twenty £25 vouchers for surveys returned by 07 July 2025 

During the survey process, we worked with Integrity Connect to review biweekly the number of completed surveys to ensure that survey responses are representative of our tenants. Where we identified any groups were being underrepresented during the survey timing, we tried to engage with tenants in these groups to encourage they completed the survey to ensure those groups were being sufficiently represented. This was done via phone. 

We have not undertaken any tenant perception surveys which include TSM questions that have not been included within these responses in the calculation of the TSMs.

We chose to use letter and post as the method to survey all tenants. The rationale for this survey collection method is that our data shows most of our tenants prefer receiving written communications as opposed to other methods. There has been no year-on-year material changes in our survey methodology so far. However, as our data held on tenants improves and where we identify changes in communication needs and preferences, we may need to change our survey methodology to ensure tenants receive and can respond to the TSM survey using methods that best meet their preferences and needs, e.g. use of electronic methods and alternative languages. We understand that any material changes made in future to our survey methodology are likely to significantly affect satisfaction scores.

Assessment of Representativeness

As a medium sized housing provider, the Council opted to survey all tenants again using a census approach, to seek as many opinions as possible on how satisfied our tenants are with our housing service.

View a copy of the TSM Perception Survey and Covering Letter for 2025.

The TSM Perception Survey must be representative of our tenant demographic. To achieve this, we need to ensure that the number of surveys we receive from tenants with specific characteristics is that a similar percentage to those tenants who share those characteristics. For example, if 10% of our tenants are in the age band 18-24 years, we have to try and get a representative number of survey responses from those tenants that share this age band.

The characteristics we chose to consider have been suggested in the TSM - Tenant Survey Requirements from the Regulator of Social Housing. The way the data has been prepared will allow for Integrity Connect to group the responses received into the following representations:

• Age Band
• Ethnicity
• Type of accommodation - Independent Living or General Needs homes

The rationale for choosing these groupings was to:

• Determine how satisfied tenants living within our Independent Living and general-purpose accommodation are so we can learn how to tailor our housing service delivery for tenants in our types of accommodation for the tenant needs in these accommodation types
• Understand whether tenants in different age groups experience different levels of satisfaction from our housing service delivery, learn from this understanding and tailor our housing services for these ages
• Ascertain whether tenants from different ethnic backgrounds experience different levels of satisfaction with our housing service and learn how to engage more effectively with our tenant demographic groupings

When responses were received, they were placed into above groupings to give an overall assessment of representativeness of those groupings across the entire tenant base.

Overall, the response profile provides a reliable basis for reporting the TSM perception measures. The survey achieved a 20.7% response rate and a confidence level of +/- 2.6%. The results are broadly representative by ethnicity, although we recognise that Independent Living tenants are represented at a higher proportion than their share of the tenant population, while General Needs tenants are represented at a lower proportion. These differences have been considered when interpreting the results and will inform future engagement activity.

The tables below compare each group’s proportion of the total tenant population with that group’s proportion of the total survey responses. Survey response percentages are calculated using the 1,126 responses received.

The overall response level provides a confidence level of +/- 2.6%, which is within the permitted tolerance for our stock size. The responses broadly reflect the tenant population by ethnicity, particularly for the largest groups, although a high proportion of tenant ethnicity data remains recorded as unknown. The accommodation type and age profile show some variation: Independent Living tenants and tenants aged 65 and over are represented at a higher proportion within survey responses, while General Needs tenants and tenants under 55 are represented at a lower proportion. We considered these differences when reviewing the results and will continue to use targeted engagement during future surveys to encourage responses from groups that are comparatively underrepresented.

We do not consider that the differences in response profile prevent the results from being used as a reliable measure of tenant satisfaction; the response rate and confidence level provide a robust overall indication of tenant views. However, because some groups responded at different rates, the results should be interpreted with an understanding that the views of Independent Living tenants and older tenants may have a greater influence on the overall satisfaction scores, while the views of younger tenants and General Needs tenants may be less strongly reflected. This will be considered when using the results to identify service improvements, and future engagement will focus on increasing participation from groups that were comparatively less represented.