Publishing its Annual Charter Report for 2023-24, produced by Scotland’s Housing Network, the Forum said that the findings once again reaffirmed that on day-to-day services, tenants were best served by a landlord with a clear local base and a greater ability to deliver for tenants more quickly and effectively.

Looking at sector-wide trends, the report notes that almost all social landlords which had carried out a full tenant satisfaction survey recently had found a slight fall in overall satisfaction levels. The Forum believes that this was probably attributable to a mix of factors, including

• fewer repairs and lower investment in homes during the pandemic
• lower tenancy turnover, meaning some people staying longer when they would prefer to move
• some people working from home more, and so paying higher fuel bills and being more aware of things needing addressed in their home

But the report says GWSF member associations still maintained their position as the top performers across a range of key Charter indicators:

• Emergency repairs averaged 2.7 hours, against 3.9 hours for other RSLs and 4.3 hours for councils
• Relet times averaged 28 days, against 43 days for other RSLs and 72 days for councils
• Void rent loss, at 0.57%, was less than half that of other RSLs (1.22%) and a third of the figure for councils (1.79%)
• Arrears for current tenants were 2.6% for GWSF member associations, 3% for other RSLs and 3.4% for councils

GWSF chair John F Hamilton said: “Our Charter Report is a timely reminder that responsive services for tenants shouldn’t just be assumed as being delivered equally by all social landlords.

“Yes, larger, national associations may well be perceived as bringing greater financial muscle, but community-based associations demonstrate their efficiency and effectiveness through factors such as lower arrears and lower void rent loss.

“The social landlord sector in Scotland is a diverse one and that’s a strength. It’s just that facts about the quality of the most important services for tenants often get overlooked when it’s convenient to do that, and this makes it especially important for the Forum to highlight the true position.”