Landlord Survey 2026 | Tenants Together (Scotland)

Landlords - Rent Consultation & Letting Standards

Newsletter

Welcome
Section 1 - Organisational Information
Section 2 – Legal & Charter Awareness
Section 3 – Tenant Involvement in Designing the Consultation
Section 4 - Rent Options & Affordability
Section 5 – Linking Rent to Service Delivery
Section 6 – Decision Transparency
Section 7 – Consultation Methods & Response Raates
Section 8 – Innovation & Good Practice
Section 1 – Existence of Standard
Section 2 – Development & Review
Section 3 – Condition at Let
Section 4 – Safety & Compliance
Section 6 – Adaptations
Section 7 – Support for New Tenants
Section 8 - Outside spaceSection
Section 9 – Transparency & Accessibility
Section 10 – Data & Monitoring
Section 11 – National Guidance

Welcome

This survey forms part of research by Tenants Together Scotland (TTS) to understand landlord practice in relation to Rent Consultation and Letting/Re-Let Standards

The findings will inform two reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Housing to support development of national guidance.

The survey should take approximately 10–12 minutes to complete.

Individual responses will be anonymised and findings reported in aggregate.

RENT CONSULTATION QUESTIONS

The following questions are in relation to your Rent Consultation.

Section 1 – Organisational Information

First Name

Last Name

1. Are you a Housing Association or a Local Authority

1a. Housing Association

1a. Local Authority

2. Number of social rented properties

3. Graphical area covered

Section 2 – Legal & Charter Awareness

4. How do you inform tenants of their rights in relation to rent consultation?

Social Media

Tenant newsletter

Included in rent consultation letter

Tenant portal or App

Tenant handbook

Meeting / Event

Website

Other

5. Do you explicitly reference:

Scottish Social Housing Charter outcomes or requirements

SHR indicators

Tenant right to be consulted before rent is set

5a. Please provide a link to your consultation materials

5b. Or upload

Drop file here or click to browse for file

Section 3 – Tenant Involvement in Designing the Consultation

6. Are tenants involved in shaping the rent consultation process itself?

Yes - formally

Yes - informally

6a. If yes, how are tenants involved? (tick all that apply) (tick all that apply?)

Help design consultation methodology

Help agree rent increase option

Help determine affordability assumptions

Other

7. Do you have a Tenants Group, RTO or Scrutiny Group?

Yes

8. Do you involve your Registered Tenants Organisation (RTO), scrutiny group or tenants group in advance of consultation?

Yes

Section 4 - Rent Options & Affordability

9. How often do you consult with tenants about rent?

Annually

3 yearly

Other

10. How many rent increase options do you typically consult on?

One

Two

Three

Four or more

11. How do you assess affordability?

Affordability tool e.g. Housemark, SFHA

Minimum Income Standard (MIS)

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

CPI / inflation

Local earnings data

Tenant surveys

Cost-of-living analysis

Rent comparability

Other

12. Are tenants involved in considering affordability modelling

Yes

Section 5 – Linking Rent to Service Delivery

13. Does the consultation give the tenant what benefits each option will bring?

Yes

13a. If yes:

	Yes	No
a. Are tenants consulted in prioritising these investments?
b. Are the outputs guaranteed?
c. Do you report back on delivery?

14. Do you publish a follow-up report confirming:

	Yes	No
a. Final decision?
b. Comparison with tenant feedback?
c. Reasoning for decisions taken

Section 6 – Decision Transparency

15. If the majority of responding tenants support Option A but the landlord sets Option B:

Is this explained?

Is reasoning published?

Is further engagement undertaken?

not applicable

Section 7 – Consultation Methods & Response Raates

16. What consultation methods do you use?

By Post

Online survey

By Text

Meetings

Drop-in sessions

Telephone outreach

Other

17. What was your response rate in the last three years?

2023/24:

2024/25:

2025/26:

18. What were your last three rent increases based on? e.g. CPI + 1%, RPI + 1% or something else?

2023/24:

2024/25:

2025/26:

19. Do you analyse response rates by:

Age

Area

Household type

Digital

Section 8 – Innovation & Good Practice

20. Please provide examples of innovative or effective practice.

21. What challenges do you face in meaningful rent consultation?

22. What national guidance would help improve practice?

LETTING STANDARD / RELET STANDARD SURVEY

The following questions are in relation to your Letting / Relet Standards

Section 1 – Existence of Standard

1. Do you have a formal re-let / lettable standard or policy?

Yes - published

Yes - internal only

Yes - outdated and in need of review

2. Is it publicly available?

Website

On request

Not available publicly

Not applicable

2a. Please provide a link

2b. Or upload

Drop file here or click to browse for file

Section 2 – Development & Review

3. Were tenants involved in developing the standard or policy?

Yes

4. How often is it reviewed?

5. When is the next review?

6. Are tenants involved in review?

Yes

Section 3 – Condition at Let

Please indicate your approach:

7. Decoration, do you?

Fully redecorate

Provide decoration vouchers

Provide paint packs

Leave ready-to-decorate

Case-by-case

Other

8. Floorings, are floor coverings?

Removed as standard

Offered to incoming tenant

Replaced

Provided in enhanced lets

Kitchens & Bathrooms

9. Must kitchens/bathrooms meet SHQS minimum?

Yes

10. Are upgrades ever delayed until post-let?

Yes

10a. If yes, is this to:

prevent rent loss

give tenants choices about colours etc

avoid extended void reporting

Other

11. Is there a maximum timeframe for completion?

Section 4 – Safety & Compliance

12. Which safety checks are completed pre-let?

Gas safety

EICR

Smoke & CO

Asbestos

Legionella

EPC

13. Are certificates provided to new tenants at sign-up?

Yes

Section 5 – Cleanliness & Presentation

14. Is there a defined cleanliness standard?

Yes

14a. If yes, please provide a link

15. Are pre- and post-inspections undertaken?

Yes

16. Is there a target void period?

14b. or upload

Drop file here or click to browse for file

Section 6 – Adaptations

17. How are adaptations handled?

Left in place

Removed on request

Assessed by OT

Matched to incoming tenant needs

Other

Section 7 – Support for New Tenants

18. Do you provide an information pack specific to the property?

Heating instructions

Appliance manuals

Safety certificates

Current energy supplier

Meter readings

Adaptation information

Other

19. Do you signpost tenants to:

Starter packs

White goods schemes

Tool libraries

Welfare advice

Community groups

Other

20. Are any supports provided directly by the landlord? i.e. if tenant comes through homelessness or has no finances for furniture, floor coverings etc

21. Are follow up visits provided a few weeks after tenant moves in?

Yes

Section 8 - Outside space

22. How would you rate the following external features when you moved in?

	Not Applicable	Not sure	Very Poor	Poor	Acceptable	Good	Very Good
Boundary walls / railings (stable and in good repair)
Drainage (no standing water, drains clear)
External lighting (working where provided)
Fences / gates (secure and not damaged)
Lawns / garden areas (tidy and maintained)
Paving / paths (e.g. even, not damaged, no trip hazards)
Rubbish / recycling storage areas (clean and usable)
Sheds / outbuildings (structurally sound and usable)
Trees / hedges (cut back and not overgrown)

23 Any Comments about outdoor space?

Section 9 – Transparency & Accessibility

24. How easy is it for tenants to access your re-let standard?

25. Do you provide a summary version?

Yes

25a. If yes, please provide link

25b. or upload

Drop file here or click to browse for file

26. Do you measure tenant satisfaction with condition at move-in?

Yes

Other

27. Do you ask for tenant feedback on their experience of moving into their new home, and if you could have done anything to make it easier?

Yes

Other

Section 10 – Data & Monitoring

Please provide figures for the following:

28. Average void days:

29. Average cost per void (£):

30. Average long term management time

31. % of tenants satisfied with condition on entry

32. % voids taken out of management

33. % of post-let repairs within 4 weeks:

34. Main reason for long term management voids

Section 11 – National Guidance

35. What inconsistencies exist across the sector?

36. What minimum national standard would you support?

37. Should there be:

	Yes	No	Not sure
Mandatory minimums?
Recommended good practice?
Reporting requirements?

38. If yes, please provide details:

Welcome

RENT CONSULTATION QUESTIONS

Section 1 – Organisational Information

Section 2 – Legal & Charter Awareness

Section 3 – Tenant Involvement in Designing the Consultation

Section 4 - Rent Options & Affordability

Section 5 – Linking Rent to Service Delivery

Section 6 – Decision Transparency

Section 7 – Consultation Methods & Response Raates

Section 8 – Innovation & Good Practice

LETTING STANDARD / RELET STANDARD SURVEY

Section 1 – Existence of Standard

Section 2 – Development & Review

Section 3 – Condition at Let

Section 4 – Safety & Compliance

Section 5 – Cleanliness & Presentation

Section 6 – Adaptations

Section 7 – Support for New Tenants

Section 8 - Outside space

Section 9 – Transparency & Accessibility

Section 10 – Data & Monitoring

Section 11 – National Guidance

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