Social Tenants Access to Information (STAIRs)
The Social Tenants Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) are new transparency requirements introduced by the Government to give social housing tenants better access to information about how their homes and housing services are managed.
STAIRs aims to make it easier for you to find information about how My Space is governed, our performance, our finances, our services and the homes we manage, to help build trust and accountability across the social housing sector.
What is changing?
October 2026
- Registered Providers of Social Housing, including My Space, must introduce a compliant STAIRs publication scheme.
April 2027
- Tenants will have the right to request certain information relating to the management of social housing and My Space will need to respond to requests within specified timescales.
My Space Housing Solutions is committed to being open and transparent with our tenants and communities. We are developing our STAIRs publication scheme and will continue to expand the information available through this section of our website.
Information available under STAIRs
To make information easy to find, we have organised our published information into the categories set out within the STAIRS framework:
This section contains information about who we are, how we are run and how we make decisions.
You can read more about My Space's history, how we work and our values in the About Us section on our website.
In 2024, a new Board of Trustees and Executive Leadership Team were appointed. Our Board sets our strategic direction, and our Executive Leadership Team ensure that this direction is delivered through our day-to-day activity.
Information about our Board Members and Executive Leadership Team can be found in our Partnership Booklet.
The services we deliver are guided by our policy documents. Quick Reads relating to some of our key policies are available for tenants.
My Space values feedback from customers, which is shared throughout our business – you can provide feedback, including making a complaint or giving a compliment.
Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)
Tenant Satisfaction Measures provide a nationally recognised method for understanding how tenants view the services provided by their landlord.
My Space we will publish our annual TSM results to help customers compare our performance with other housing providers and to understand where we are performing well and where improvements are needed.
This section includes information on the income we receive and how this is spent.
Most of our funding comes from rent and service charges, which are used to maintain homes, deliver services, and support tenants.
We review our rent and service charges every year. Before any changes are introduced, usually in April, we write to tenants with full details of new charges and a clear breakdown of what they will be paying for in the year ahead.
We also share this information with their local authority, who are responsible for assessing and paying any Housing Benefit the tenant is entitled to.
Some service charges can be covered by Housing Benefit, while others cannot. Any charges that are not covered by Housing Benefit will need to be paid directly to My Space. We clearly explain which charges are eligible and which are not as part of our annual consultation.
We publish spending information in our annual financial statements.
My Space Housing Solutions is committed to providing safe, secure homes and this section explains more about our repairs and property compliance services.
We use a range of information to understand the condition and performance of our homes, including:
- Stock condition surveys.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) assessments.
- Building safety inspections.
- Compliance assessments and inspections.
Repairs
You can find information on repairs timescales and responsibilities in our Tenant Welcome Pack, which also includes information on damp and mould.
We also have Policy Quick Reads for repairs and damp and mould.
Property Safety
The safety of our residents is our highest priority, and we maintain robust compliance programmes to ensure our homes meet all statutory requirements, including:
Gas Safety - Annual inspections and servicing of gas appliances and systems.
Electrical Safety - Periodic inspections of electrical installations and remedial works where required.
Fire Safety - Fire risk assessments, communal area inspections and completion of any identified actions based on a prioritised programme of works.
Asbestos Management - Identification, monitoring and safe management of asbestos-containing materials.
Water Safety - Management of water hygiene risks, including legionella assessments where appropriate.
Lift Safety - Regular inspection, servicing and testing of passenger lifts.
My Space is regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) and the Charity Commission, who expect us to meet their required standards. We meet frequently with both regulators to discuss our activity and understand what we need to do.
External organisations independently audit and validate our compliance with statutory requirements and legislation. These include external auditors, compliance specialists and other third parties with sector-specific expertise.
Consumer Standards
The Regulator of Social Housing introduced a suite of Consumer Standards for registered providers of social housing from 1st April 2024. These standards set expectations around:
- Safety and Quality - ensuring homes are safe, secure, well maintained and meet required standards.
- Transparency, Influence and Accountability - providing clear information about our performance and involving tenants in decisions that affect them.
- Neighbourhood and Community - maintaining neighbourhoods and supporting safe, sustainable communities.
- Tenancy - ensuring homes are allocated and managed fairly and that tenancies are appropriately sustained.
- Competency and Conduct – ensuring our people are appropriately skilled and act in the way we would expect.
We have assessed our services against the standards to identify opportunities to strengthen our compliance and improve what we do. Our findings and improvement plans have been presented to the Board, who oversee our progress.
Further information about the Consumer Standards can be found on the Regulator of Social Housing website.
Complaints and the Housing Ombudsman
Our complaints handling process is carried out in line with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code and our Complaints Policy. We publish an annual report and self-assessment for our complaint handling, and outline improvements we have made based on this feedback, to the Ombudsman and on our website.
The Housing Ombudsman publishes information on some of the decisions it makes about complaints that are referred to it by our tenants. Information about decisions relating to My Space can be found here (filter for 'My Space Housing Solutions' under Landlord Name).
My Space Housing Solutions is registered with:
- The Regulator of Social Housing (registration number: 4779)
- The Charity Commission (charity number: 1149955)
- Companies House (company number: 08257055)
- The Housing Ombudsman Service
- The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Further information about our registrations can be obtained by contacting us or visiting the relevant regulator websites.
We provide the RSH and Charities Commission with information on request about our activities and plans, to provide assurance of our compliance status and/or plans to address identified improvements. Further details can be found on our regulators’ websites and in our annual strategic reports, published to Companies House.
Housing services
Information about our services is available on our website, alongside information about finding a home and making a referral to us for housing.
For new and existing tenants, our Tenant Welcome Pack contains useful information about your tenancy agreement, our repairs services, anti-social behaviour, your housing support team and safety in your home.
A list of the policy Quick Reads that relates to the management of our housing services is available to view on our website.
Information about your development
For any information specific to the building you live in please request information from your Housing Support Officer or Housing Manager in the first instance.
Request a review
From October 2026, if you have concerns about information we have published or provided under STAIRs, you can request an internal review of the decision by emailing info@myspacehousing.org
Make an information request
From April 2027, eligible social housing tenants will have the legal right to request additional information under STAIRS.
We will publish details of:
- How to submit a request
- What information can be requested
- Any exemptions that may apply
- Response timescales
- How to request information in alternative formats
Further guidance will be published closer to the implementation date.
Accessibility
We are committed to ensuring that information is available to all tenants and residents. If you require information in an alternative format, such as large print, audio or another language, please contact us.
For questions about STAIRS or the information published on this page:
Email: info@myspacehousing.org
Telephone: 01204 694154
Address: The Elterwater Suite, Paragon House, Paragon Business Park, Chorley New Road, Horwich, Bolton BL6 6HG