Introducing STAIRs to Our Tenants

At Nehemiah Housing, we believe tenants should be able to understand how their homes are managed, how services are delivered and how we are performing. That is why we are preparing for the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements, known as STAIRs.

On Thursday 24 September 2026, Nehemiah’s Head of Governance, Janet Dubidat presented a briefing on STAIRs to two of our independent living schemes. These included Charles Pearson Court in Smethwick and Nehemiah Court in Walsall.

STAIRs introduces a clearer approach to providing information to tenants of private registered providers, including housing associations. It is designed to help close the difference between the information rights of council tenants and housing association tenants, while supporting greater openness and accountability.

What is STAIRs?

STAIRs stands for Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements. The requirements apply to private registered providers of social housing in England and Wales. They support the wider expectation that landlords make useful information available in a clear, timely and accessible way.

Unlike a data subject access request, which relates to a person’s own personal data, STAIRs is concerned with wider information about a landlord’s work. This may include information about how homes are managed, how services are delivered and how the organisation is performing.

What this means for Nehemiah tenants

Our aim is to provide one clear and easy route to important tenant information on the Nehemiah Housing website. Tenants should not have to search across several pages or documents to find information that matters to them.

We will organise published information clearly and keep it under review. This will include relevant reports, policies, service information and performance information. We will share both areas of strength and areas where improvement is needed.

Information you can expect to find

The information made available will help tenants understand:

• how Nehemiah is governed and how decisions are made;
• how we manage homes and deliver services;
• how we perform against relevant standards and measures;
• how tenants can influence decisions and help shape services;
• how we respond to complaints and use learning to improve;
• how money is used to support homes and services; and
• how to ask for information that is not already published.

Some information may need to be withheld or redacted where there is a lawful reason, for example to protect personal data, confidentiality, safety or commercial interests. Where this applies, we will explain our decision as clearly as possible.

Clear and accessible information

We want information to be useful, not simply available. We will therefore aim to use plain language, meaningful headings and accessible formats. If you need information in another format or require support to understand it, please tell us.

How to request information

We will publish details of the request process alongside our STAIRs information. Before making a request, tenants will be encouraged to check the website, as the information may already be available.

If the information is not published, tenants will be able to contact Nehemiah and describe what they need. We will acknowledge requests, consider them fairly and respond in line with the applicable requirements. If we cannot provide all or part of the requested information, we will explain why and set out any available review route.

What happens next?

We are reviewing the information already available and have developed a dedicated area of our website so tenants can find key information more easily. We will also introduce arrangements to check that published information remains accurate and up to date.

Tenant feedback will help us improve this service. Now the dedicated web area is live, we will share further guidance on how to find information, make a request and provide feedback.

Your voice matters.

If there is information you would find helpful, or if you have ideas about how we can make our website clearer and easier to use, please let us know by contacting us at haveyoursay@nehemiah.co.uk or telephone 0121 358 0966 or speak to your housing officer direct