Improving our housing services
The Council manages more than 10,300 homes and is currently delivering a programme of significant improvements to the services we provide tenants and leaseholders.
The Social Housing (Regulations) Act 2023, which came into force on 1 April 2024, introduced four new consumer standards, which apply to all registered providers of social housing, including local authorities.
The four consumer standards are:
- the Safety and Quality Standard, which requires landlords to provide safe and good-quality homes for their tenants, along with good-quality landlord services
- the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, which requires landlords to be open with tenants and treat them with fairness and respect so they can access services, raise concerns when necessary, influence decision making and hold their landlord to account
- the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, which requires landlords to engage with other relevant parties so that tenants can live in safe and well-maintained neighbourhoods and feel safe in their homes
- the Tenancy Standard, which sets requirements for the fair allocation and letting of homes, as well as requirements for how tenancies are managed by landlords
In January 2024, we commissioned an independent third-party to assess our current performance against these standards. This led to the Council referring itself to the Regulator of Social Housing for advice on how we could improve.
In November 2024, we established a Housing Improvement Board that brings tenants, councillors and officers together every month to oversee our improvement journey and scrutinise housing performance data.
In May 2025, the Regulator of Social Housing published a regulatory judgement following its first inspection of how Swindon is performing against the above four consumer standards. The Regulator confirmed there are serious areas that need improvement. At the same time, they recognised our commitment to making things right and the work we have already started.
Cabinet agreed a Housing Asset Management Strategy 2025-2030 (PDF) in February 2025, through which we are committing £250 million across the next five years (78% more than in the previous five years) to improve and refurbish council homes. This includes upgrades to roofs, kitchens, bathrooms and windows.
In December 2025, the Council published Our Plan to Improve Homes and Services for Tenants (PDF). The document includes clear and focused commitments to guide the transformation of our housing services, shaped by tenant feedback and the Regulator’s findings.
These commitments reflect the priorities and concerns expressed by the Regulator of Social Housing, our residents, colleagues and stakeholders throughout our engagement process. They have been co-produced with tenants. Below is a breakdown of these commitments:
You can stay updated on our progress and find more information by:
- viewing our online tracker to see how we are performing against our improvement plan
- registering for the Tenant Focus newsletter to receive regular updates
- reading our frequently asked questions about this process
How to make a housing complaint
If you are a tenant living in council housing, you can make a complaint about your home or the housing services you receive.
Before making a complaint, check if the issue can be resolved by reporting it directly to us. This includes things such as repairs needed in your home, missed appointments or checks for damp and mould. You can do this through our report it service or by searching our website.
If your concern cannot be resolved in this way, you can use our tenants council housing and service complaints process. There are also further options if you can't do it online.
If your complaint is not about council housing or housing services, please visit our complaints, compliments and feedback page for more information. If you are unsure which process applies, email: customerservicecomplaints@swindon.gov.uk.