How we’re doing

Connect is regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). 

RSH sets standards with which all social housing landlords must comply. There are both Economic and Consumer Standards. 

Economic Standards

These are to make sure social housing landlords are financially viable, properly governed, and perform their functions efficiently, effectively, and economically.   

There are three Economic Standards: 

Governance and Financial Viability Standard 

Value for Money Standard 

Rent Standard (ensuring social housing rents are set in accordance with government policy) 

Consumer standards

The Consumer Standards were introduced in April 2024. They set out the services and service quality that should be provided to tenants, whether that be repairs or scrutiny of landlord services.

There are four Consumer Standards that we complete a self-assessment against each year:

• Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard
• Tenancy Standard
• Neighbourhood and Community Standard
• Safety and Quality Standard.

To read more about the Consumer Standards, visit gov.uk.

Our self-assessment for 2025 was presented to the Customer Voice Group (CVG) for scrutiny in July, reviewed by Audit and Risk Management Committee (ARMC) in August, and Board confirmed compliance with the standards at their meeting on 17 September 2025.

Connect’s Board assesses compliance with all of the seven standards annually. At the last review in September 2025, following detailed scrutiny by the Human Resources and Governance Committee and Audit and Risk Management Committee, the Board confirmed compliance with the standards.  

Compliance with the Consumer Standards was based on self-assessments and supporting evidence. We assess that we are fully compliant, however there are some areas where we think we can do better, these include: 

• Carrying out more surveys on the condition of Connect properties (stock condition surveys) 

• Providing more training for staff on how to handle complaints effectively 

• Updating some parts of our website 

• Publishing all relevant policies such as our Tenancy Management Policy 

Connect’s current regulatory judgement from the Regulator of Social Housing is C1 for consumer standards, G1 for governance, and V2 for viability.

There are four grades that can be given for each assessment area, with one being the highest and four being the lowest.

These results place us amongst the best-assessed housing providers in England.

Inspections happen every three to four years to check how well housing providers are run, how financially secure they are, and whether they’re delivering safe, effective services to customers.

To arrive at their assessment, the Regulator:

• Spent a number of hours talking with our leadership team and board members.
• Observed a Customer Voice and Board meeting.
• Met the Customer Voice Group (CVG).
• Looked at our website.

In addition to this, we submitted over 100 documents to explain how the Board and Customer Voice Group oversee how we deliver services, manage Connect’s finances and make decisions about how Connect is run. They also receive information from us throughout each year, which they used as part of the assessment preparation.

The Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard covers the expectations around treating tenants fairly, providing performance information and including tenants in the decision-making process.  

The key expectations are that we: 

• Treat tenants and prospective tenants with fairness and respect. 

• Consider the diverse needs of tenants so we can deliver fair and equitable outcomes. 

• Provide meaningful engagement opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise our decision making.  

• Provide accessible information about landlord services.  

• Provide performance information to support effective scrutiny by tenants, including annually collecting and publishing the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). 

• Ensure complaints are addressed fairly, effectively and promptly.  

 We have self-assessed as compliant in all areas of the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, but recognise that further action can be taken to strengthen compliance, particularly around using data to tailor our services.  

We are meeting this standard in a variety of ways, including:  

• Our Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) show we are above the sector benchmark, with 84% overall customer satisfaction. Our performance on all TSMs is published on our website. 

• We monitor Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) by reporting on several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Our performance and progress against our EDI strategy - and associated action plan - is reviewed by our EDI Working Group and the Board to ensure we’re treating tenants with fairness and respect.  

• We have rolled out training to all staff and managing agents on the National Housing Federation Code of Conduct, which we adopted in 2022. 

• We provide supported housing for people with diverse needs, including through our managing agent arrangements, enabling a wide supply of specialist supported housing - such as a scheme for tenants who are Deaf. 

• Our Customer Voice Group (CVG) feeds into the Board, influencing their decision making. It reviews key customer policies - such as the new Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy. The group monitors how we’re performing and commissions in-depth scrutiny reviews to hold us accountable and drive service improvement. Minutes are published on the website. 

• We ensure customers can influence how we do things via a co-production approach e.g. customers co-produced the ASB Policy and Customer Charter.  

• We have a webpage explaining the range of ways that customers can become involved with Connect. 

• We provide information about our services and what tenants can expect through our website, blogs, Connected magazine, handbooks, estate boards and online account service.  

• We have recently introduced ‘Comms Manager’, a tool which enables us to send letters, emails and texts to groups of tenants to provide information in a timely way. 

• Our website contains our Transparency Framework, annual Vital Statistics Report, annual Financial Report, annual TSM Report, and quarterly performance updates.  

• Customer policies are published on the website. 

• Our annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s code is published on the website.   

• The Board receives an annual report on complaints, which includes learnings from the complaints we’ve received. We publish information on our complaints process, and we provide leaflets explaining the process with every complaint acknowledgment. 

Actions we are taking to further strengthen compliance with the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard include:  

• Developing our approach to policy approval to free up time for deeper discussions at CVG. 

• Completing our customer data project to ensure the information that we hold is up to date.  

• Continuing to develop opportunities for engagement in our supported housing services. 

Some actions we have taken in the last year include: 

• The introduction of an induction checklist for new CVG members, co-produced with CVG members, and changes to agenda planning and papers so that CVG meetings are more engaging and productive. 

• We analysed our latest TSM results - cross referenced with EDI data - to better understand satisfaction levels.  

• A bereavement pack has been created to support family members when a tenant dies. 

• We’ve updated our website to explain the maintenance of communal areas.  

• The format of the Vital Statistics report was reviewed to improve accessibility. 

• We published a summary of our Customer Insight report. 

• All complaints handlers have received training to ensure we provide a consistent approach which is compliant with the Housing Ombudsmen code. 

The Tenancy Standard sets out the requirements for how we allocate and maintain homes.

The standard expects that we: 

• Allocate homes in a fair and transparent manner, taking needs into account.  

• Support tenants to maintain their tenancies to prevent unnecessary evictions and, where Connect ends a tenancy, provide support and advice to the former tenant. 

• Offer tenancies compatible with the purpose of the accommodation and that are an efficient use of stock.  

• Support tenants who wish to mutually exchange (swap) their home.  

Connect’s Board has agreed that we are compliant with all expectations of the Tenancy Standard.  

We are meeting this standard in a variety of ways, including: 

• We have nomination agreements in place with all local authorities in the areas where we have homes. In 2025 we exceeded the targets we were required to meet in each local authority area.  

• Our EDI Tenant Baseline and Service Provision Report includes our performance on letting homes to tenants with diverse needs, and to homeless applicants.  

• Our Allocations Procedure takes account of need and prioritises applications against a set of transparent criteria. Our Allocations Procedure and Housing Priority Measures are published on our website. 

• Every month we cross reference government and internal data about new lettings - including how long it takes us to let our empty homes – to ensure accuracy. 

• Where a property has adaptations, we aim to allocate it to someone requiring those adaptations. 

• Our ASB Policy states that, where possible, injunctions will be used in preference to seeking possession of someone’s home, as we aim to avoid evictions if possible. Where a tenant is at risk of homelessness, we will refer to the relevant Local Authority for support, in accordance with our adoption of the National Housing Federation’s Commitment to Refer. 

• Our Tenancy Management Policy and Tenancy Fraud Policy aim to ensure our homes are available to those who need them.   

• As part of Engage Leeds, we deliver a housing related support service, supporting households at risk of homelessness.  

• Our Money Matters team helps support tenants who are struggling financially and may be at risk of losing their home. 

• We have adopted the West Yorkshire Dementia Design Standard for new homes that we build. We have recently upgraded an existing housing scheme to incorporate dementia friendly design.  

• Our Tenancy Policy sets out our commitment to offering the most secure form of tenure possible. 

• We support tenants who wish to mutually exchange (swap) their homes. We are registered with House Exchange and have a leaflet explaining the process.  

Actions we are taking to further strengthen compliance with the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard include:  

• Checking that managing agents who work on our behalf are complying with allocations policies, as part of our audits on the quality of service provided. 

Some actions we have taken in the last year include: 

• Auditing our allocations quarterly to ensure homes have been allocated in line with our policy. 

• Our Mutual Exchange Policy and Tenancy Management policies were reviewed and updated.  

• We have approved a new Tenancy Fraud Policy for improved transparency, which is available on our website.  

The Neighbourhood and Community Standard relates to partnership working to improve the safety and wellbeing of shared spaces.

The standard expects Connect to work in partnership with tenants, local authorities, other landlords and other relevant organisations to:  

• Ensure the safety of shared spaces. 

• Ensure the social, environmental and economic (ESG) wellbeing of communities.  

• Deter and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) and hate related incidents.  

• Tackle domestic abuse (DA) and enable tenants to access appropriate support.  

We are expected to clearly set out our approach to achieving these through clear policies and strategies, as well as enabling easy reporting of incidents.  

We are meeting this standard in a variety of ways, including: 

• Community Housing Officers (CHOs) attend regular partnership meetings to ensure the safety of shares spaces, including weekly meetings with Calderdale local authority. 

• We have co-produced Neighbourhood Plans with tenants and, where relevant, other housing associations, to improve neighbourhoods. 

• We support community events and activities, such as an annual community event in Harehills, Leeds.  

• CHOs and our Tenancy Enforcement Officer work in partnership with local authority ASB teams, environmental health, and the police to tackle ASB and hate crime.  

• We lead a West Yorkshire Housing Partnership workstream which is focused on inclusive communities and improving community safety.  

• Our Dewsbury office is a third party hate crime reporting centre, as well as a Safe Zone for anyone locally who feels in danger and in need of a safe place.  

• Our Domestic Abuse Policy sets out our approach to tackling domestic abuse and includes information on other agencies who can also provide support.  

• We provide supported housing for people fleeing domestic abuse. 
• Staff attend multi-agency partnership meetings focused on tackling domestic abuse, including Kirklees Domestic Abuse Strategic Partnership Board and the regional Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance.  

Actions we are taking to further strengthen compliance with the Neighbourhood and Community Standard include:   

• Continuing to work with tenants at a local level to co-design Neighbourhood plans.  

Some actions we have taken in the last year include: 

• We have recently reviewed our Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Related Incidents Policy and introduced a new Conflict Resolution Policy to provide clearer guidance on how we tackle and deter ASB and hate related incidents.  

• We have become a member of Resolve, a third-party organisation that provides advice and training on how to tackle ASB. 

• We have expanded the ‘Reporting a Hate Crime’ page on our website to enable easier reporting to the police. 

The Safety and Quality Standard sets out the regulator’s expectations on the condition and maintenance of our housing stock.

The standard requires us to:  

• Maintain an accurate and evidenced understanding of the condition of our stock, using this data to inform our provision of safe, good quality homes. 

• Ensure that homes meet the Decent Homes Standards (DHS). 

• Take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas, meeting legal health and safety requirements and ensuring that any actions arising from assessments are completed within appropriate timescales.  

• Provide an effective, efficient and timely repairs and planned improvements service, with works completed within our set timescales.  

• Fulfil our maintenance responsibilities in the communal areas we manage.  

• Enable repairs and maintenance to be easily reported.  

• Assist tenants who request adaptations to their home.  

The Board has agreed that Connect is compliant with all requirements of the Safety and Quality Standard, however, recognises that further action can be taken to strengthen our compliance around our understanding of our stock condition.  

We are meeting this standard in a variety of ways, including: 

• We have a clear plan for completing stock condition surveys, prioritising homes that were surveyed least recently.  

• We hold extensive property data and maintenance records, and staff are encouraged to flag any concerns about the condition of resident’s homes. All relevant staff have received Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) training.  

• A new property dashboard was introduced to make property data more accessible to staff. 

• Our independent internal auditor has given good assurance on what is in place for managing health and safety.  

• Regular health and safety checks are completed by the Estates team. Completion rates for supported housing are monitored by the Health and Safety Working Group (HSWG).  

• Health and Safety policies for key compliance areas are published on our website. 

• Monthly KPI reports are produced for the key compliance areas and monitored quarterly by HSWG and Board. 

• We consider tenant needs when prioritising fire risk assessments.  

• In 2024/25, we responded to 99% of emergency repairs within 24 hours. Of the two that were late, one was late by half an hour, and the other was made safe within 24 hours.  

• In 2024/24, the average response time for non-emergency repairs was 17 working days.  

• Our Connect Commitment on repairs was co-produced with residents. 

• Tenants receive an appointment date and time when they report a repair. A reminder is sent the night before, and again when the technician is on route.  

• Connect writes to all tenants who are due planned maintenance at least six weeks before work is due to commence.  

• In 2024/25, 36 major adaptations and 100 minor adaptations were delivered. 

• The Aids and Adaptations Policy was co-produced with tenants.  

Actions we are taking to further strengthen compliance with the Safety and Quality Standard include:  

• Moving more compliance areas onto our monitoring system (PIMSS) to enable easier monitoring.  

• Continuing to roll out our gutter cleaning programme to reduce the risk of damp and mould cases.  

• Setting up a system to share key data with contractors to reduce issues with gaining access to carry out essential compliance checks or repairs.  

Some actions we have taken in the last year include: 

• Managing agents have agreed to adopt our Aids and Adaptations policy, ensuring a consistent approach.  

• Our online customer portal allows the reporting of repairs. 

• We introduced a regular inspection regime for all flat entrance doors. 

• When we notify residents of a repair appointment, we now include a link to the repair log to confirm what we’re coming to fix on that day.

RSH does programmed and non-programmed inspections of landlords. For larger landlords, and Connect is in this category, RSH aim to carry out a programmed inspection at least every four years.   

RSH may also carry out inspections which are not planned where RSH become aware of an issue or potential issue that they assess to be material to a landlord’s delivery of the outcomes of the standards, and they consider an inspection to be an appropriate way to investigate. 

Connect’s last inspection was in 2022, when the regulator awarded G1 for governance and V1 for viability; we have continued to retain this through the annual stability review carried out by RSH. We expect our next planned inspection will be in 2026. 

RSH encourages tenants to make complaints direct to their landlord, as their role is not to resolve individual disputes between landlord and tenant. If you have a complaint, please contact us directly so that we can try and put things right. 

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues

78% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – is slightly below target for residents at +35, and above target for colleagues at +42.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for residents is +38.

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions

90% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes

99.7% of emergency repairs were completed on target. We completed 78% of routine repairs within 28 days, which was below our target of completing 95% within that time, but a slight improvement on the previous quarter. We hope to see the improvement continue due to recruitment.

99.8% of gas certificates are within date.

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives

39% of lets were made to homeless people, our average across 2024-2025 was 35%.

94.6% of people we provide support to reported positive outcomes, which meets our target for the year.

A customer curious culture

We had 19 complaints in this quarter of the year, which is broadly comparable to 2024/25.
Only one Stage 1 complaint was responded to outside of timescale in Q3 - it was late by one day.
We hope to see an improvement in complaints acknowledgement time moving forward, due to the introduction of a Complaints Resolution Officer role in September 2025.

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues

81% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – is above target for residents at +46, and above target for colleagues at +58.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for residents is +38.

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions

90% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes

99% of emergency repairs were completed on target. We completed 75% of routine repairs within 28 days, which was below our target of completing 95% within that time. We are recruiting technicians and performance is beginning to improve.

99.8% of gas certificates are within date.

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives

22% of lets were made to homeless people, our average across 2024-2025 was 35%.

95% of people we provide support to reported positive outcomes, which meets our target for the year.

A customer curious culture

We had 57 complaints in this quarter of the year.

98% of those complaints were responded to on time. We have missed the target (100%) this quarter but are continuing to work on improvement and have improved on Q1 performance.

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues

77% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – is above target for residents at +45, and above target for colleagues at +57.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for residents is +38.

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions

90% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes

99% of emergency repairs were completed on target. We completed 73% of routine repairs within 28 days, which was below our target of completing 95% within that time. We are assessing why this has dropped again.

99.8% of gas certificates are within date.

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives

25% of lets were made to homeless people, our average across 2024-2025 was 35%.

96% of people we provide support to reported positive outcomes. Our target for the year is 95%, which across 2024-2025 we have achieved on average.

A customer curious culture

We had 12 complaints in this quarter of the year. This was a significant decrease compared to the previous quarter.

95.9% of those complaints were responded to on time, and we continue to work hard to respond to all complaints on time.

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues

78% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – is on target for residents at +39, and above target for colleagues at +43.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for residents is +38.

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions

89% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes

99% of emergency repairs were completed on target. We completed 78% of routine repairs within 28 days, which was below our target of completing 95% within that time. We had begun to see improvements in this area due to recruitment, and are now assessing why this has dropped again.

99.7% of gas certificates are within date.

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives

28% of lets were made to homeless people, our average across the year is 35%.

90% of people we provide support to reported positive outcomes. Our target for the year is 95%, which across the year we have achieved on average.

A customer curious culture

We had 70 complaints in this quarter of the year. The volume of complaints relating to neighbourhoods and nuisance behaviour was consistent from Q3 to Q4, but there was an increase in contractor complaints relating to gas/heating servicing and call outs.

94% of those complaints were responded to on time, and we continue to work hard to respond to all complaints on time.

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues
82% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – is on target for residents at +38, but below target for colleagues at +17.

The colleagues NPS is quite low due to an increase in comments relating to frustrations around workplace efficiencies. These have been passed to the relevant department heads.

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for resident is +38.

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions
89% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes
99% of emergency repairs were completed on target. We completed 86% of routine repairs within 28 days, which was below our target of completing 95% within that time. Performance has begun to improve due to the volume of repairs being balanced by newly recruited members of staff.

99.5% of gas certificates are within date.

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives
54% of lets were made to homeless people, which is well above target.

97% of people we provide support to reported positive outcomes, which is above our target of 95% for the year.

A customer curious culture
We had 56 complaints in this quarter of the year. This was due to an increase in complaints about contractors, relating to gas/heating servicing and call outs.

96% of those complaints were responded to on time, and we continue to work hard to respond to all complaints on time.

A positive experience for all customers and colleagues

80% of our residents told us they are satisfied overall with Connect.

Our Net Promoter Scores – which show how likely people are to recommend Connect – are on target, with +41 for colleagues and +40 for residents. 

NPS scores are measured with a single question survey and reported with a number from -100 to +100. Our target score for colleagues is +30, and for resident is +38.  

Prioritising the environment in our thinking and actions

89% of our homes have an energy efficiency rating between A-C. Our goal is to reach 100% by 2030.

Safe, quality homes

99% of emergency repairs were completed on target, and 85% of routine repairs. We aim to complete routine repairs within 28 days, but fell short in 15% of these repairs, largely due to the volume of repairs in July-September. We’ve recruited new technicians to address this, and performance is now improving. On average, we complete routine repairs within 20 days. 

99.5% of gas certificates are within date. 

Contributing to the building blocks for stable lives

35% of lets were made to homeless people, which is the average figure for us across the year.

95% of our supported housing residents reported positive outcomes.

A customer curious culture

We had 38 complaints in this quarter of the year, which was a 24% decrease on the number of complaints we received the previous quarter. 92% of those complaints were responded to on time, with us missing our goal of 100% due to resource issues, which have been highlighted.