For housing associations in England
STAIRs information requests start on 1 April 2027
From that day, your tenants can ask in writing for information about how you manage their homes, and you have 30 calendar days to answer. Tenant Answers handles those requests, subject access requests and complaints in one place, with every deadline worked out for you.
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No card needed for the trial. Organisations on the Regulator of Social Housing's register start straight away.
What STAIRs asks of you
1 October 2026
Publication scheme
You publish information in seven classes, from governance and spending to performance, and make sure tenants know where to find it. Tenants can already ask you to review what you publish.
1 April 2027
Information requests
Tenants, or someone they name to act for them, can ask for information in writing. They do not have to mention STAIRs for the rules to apply.
The rules for requests
- Acknowledge each request promptly and answer no later than 30 calendar days after you receive it.
- Take longer only in exceptional circumstances, such as deciding whether to withhold something or getting information from a contractor or managing agent. Tell the tenant why, and when to expect an answer.
- Refuse only on the grounds the policy allows: it is reasonable to withhold the information, you cannot establish who is asking, the request is unclear, the information is not relevant, answering would take more than 18 hours of staff time, the request repeats an earlier one (including coordinated requests), or it is offensive or abusive.
- Redact documents where that is appropriate and reasonable. Reputational risk is never a valid reason to withhold.
- If a tenant is unhappy, review your decision, normally within 30 calendar days. After that, they can take it to the Housing Ombudsman.
- Publish a policy on when you withhold information, and publish your request figures in the Performance class of your scheme.
Summarised from the government's STAIRs policy statement and the Housing Ombudsman's STAIRs guide. This page is not legal advice.
What Tenant Answers does
Information requests
Requests made on your tenant portal are logged for you, and requests by email or post are typed in once. Each gets a reference and a due date 30 calendar days on. Extensions need a reason and tell the tenant the new date. Refusals use only the seven STAIRs grounds, and reviews link back to the original request.
Subject access requests
The one-month clock runs the way the ICO counts it, restarts when you confirm who is asking, stops while you wait for clarification, and extends by up to two months when a request is complex.
Complaints
Stage 1 and stage 2 complaints run on the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales, counted in working days that skip weekends and bank holidays.
Redaction
National Insurance numbers, addresses, postcodes, phone numbers, email addresses, bank details, NHS numbers and dates of birth are found and marked for you to check. The copy you release cannot be un-redacted.
Letters
Nineteen ready-made letters for acknowledgements, extensions, refusals, reviews, subject access and complaint responses, each with the Housing Ombudsman or ICO details the tenant must be given.
Publication scheme and figures
Publish your scheme in the seven classes and your withholding policy on your tenant portal. Request figures and complaint figures are counted for you each financial year.
Your data is held in Microsoft Azure's UK West region. Tenant Answers does not use generative AI and never sends your documents to an outside AI service.
Pricing
One price by the number of homes you own. Every feature is included, with no limit on staff or requests. Paid monthly by card, cancel at any time. Prices exclude VAT.
Under 1,000 homes
£49 a month
50 GB of document storage.
1,000 to 9,999 homes
£199 a month
250 GB of document storage.
10,000 homes or more
£499 a month
1 TB of document storage.
The free STAIRs readiness kit
Free to download, whether or not you use Tenant Answers. No sign-up needed.
Request log
One row per request. It works out the due date and the review date, flags anything overdue, and adds up the request figures for your publication scheme.
Seven letter templates
Acknowledgement, asking for clarification, confirming who is asking, extension notice, response, refusal and review outcome.
Two checklists
The seven publication scheme classes with what goes in each, and the jobs to finish before 1 April 2027. They are at the front of the letters file.
Questions
Does STAIRs apply to us?
It applies to private registered providers of social housing in England, whatever their size. It does not apply to local authorities, which already answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
Who can sign up?
Housing associations and other registered providers in England. If your organisation is on the Regulator of Social Housing's register, your trial starts straight away. Otherwise we check your organisation within one working day.
What happens when the trial ends?
Choose your plan and pay by card to carry on. If you do not, your workspace is paused, not deleted, and your tenant portal stays online.
Do tenants need an account?
No. Tenants use your portal to make a request, ask for their personal data, ask for a review or make a complaint, and check progress with their reference.
Is a subject access request the same thing?
No. A tenant asking for their own personal data is making a subject access request under data protection law. Tenant Answers handles both, each on its own clock.
Where is our data held?
In Microsoft Azure's UK West region. We process it only on your instructions, under the data processing agreement that forms part of our terms.
Can we charge for requests?
The STAIRs policy statement says nothing about charging for requests, and subject access requests are free in almost all cases.