Housing associations will be required to comply with the new Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) from 1 October 2026, the government has confirmed.

Initially the focus will be on “proactively publishing information” relevant to residents, with requirements on submitted information request coming into effect from 1 April 2027.

The government says this is to give landlords time to prepare for the changes and ensure they are in a position to meet the new STAIRs standard which is to be introduced and regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing.

In response to its consultation on the proposed STAIRs scheme, the government said: “Following the conclusion of the consultation, we are now directing the regulator to introduce a new standard requiring all private registered providers (PRPs) of social housing to meet the requirements set out in the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) policy statement.

“From October 2026, PRPs will need to meet the requirements set out in Chapter 1 of the policy statement. These requirements are focused on proactively publishing information. From April 2027, PRPs will need to meet the requirements in Chapter 2, relating to responding to information requests.

Alongside its consultation response, the government has published the STAIRs policy statement and its direction to the regulator.

STAIRs will require registered providers to proactively publish certain information about their activities relating to the management of social housing to enable tenants to routinely access information relevant to the management of their homes. Housing providers will also be required to review and update the information provided on a regular basis and ensure it is accessible to all their tenants.

In addition, STAIRs will allow social housing tenants or their designated representatives to request access to information related to the management of their housing.

According to the government, estimated costs for responding to information requests will be about £1.8 million across all PRPs in year 1 and about £16.7 million over the first 10 years.

The government has also confirmed that the requirements of the STAIRs scheme will not apply to local authorities with TMOs. Instead, it has committed to extending the current Freedom of Information Act to apply directly to TMOs with local authority landlords.