The STAIRs scheme, also known as the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements, is a new piece of legislation from the UK government, beginning in October 2026.
The legislation requires registered providers of social housing in England, like BCHA, to proactively publish certain information about their activities online.
Social housing tenants can also submit information requests about the management of their social housing provider. This means you can ask BCHA for certain information to be provided. This is to encourage greater transparency, accountability and tenant involvement.
To find out more about the STAIRs scheme, please visit STAIRs - Gov UK.
Find key information about the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) scheme:
What does this mean for me?
If you are a BCHA resident, the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) scheme will help BCHA be more transparent. It also means BCHA can be held accountable for things we may not get right.
The scheme is similar to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. This is a piece of legislation that allows people to ask for information held by public authorities. The main difference between the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) scheme and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is that only current residents can make requests for information under the STAIRs scheme. It is not open to former residents or members of the public.
Can requests be refused or declined?
While we will aim to be transparent when responding to information requests, BCHA reserve the right to refuse requests. Reasons why we could refuse a request can include:
• It is reasonable to withhold information
• The identity of the request cannot be established
• The meaning of the request is unclear
• Information requested is not relevant to the Consumer Standards
• The work involved in responding to the information request would take us more than 18 hours to put together
• The request is repetitive. This includes repeated requests from multiple applicants in an organised manner
• The request is offensive or communicated in an abusive manner
Key dates
1st October 2026 - from the 1st of October 2026, the legislation comes into practice. This means providers of social housing, like BCHA, are required to publish specific information online.
You can find the categories the legislation covers further down the page.
1st April 2027 - from the 1st April 2027, BCHA residents and shared owners (those who own less than 100% of their home), can make information requests.
External oversight
External oversight is the process where an organisation outside of BCHA ensures we are following the rules.
The Housing Ombudsman is responsible for providing external oversight of the STAIRs scheme. This will ensure that housing providers are transparent, take accountability and are responsive to requests for information from residents.
This means that if you are unsatisfied with our STAIRs management, you have the right to complain to the Housing Ombudsman. More information on what to do if you are unhappy with a request for information will be available within our STAIRs policy.
Information we have available
You can find details on different areas of BCHA below
Governance at BCHA ensures that we fulfil our mission and responsibilities to our customers, stakeholders and community. It refers to our processes and principles that guide our decision-making, oversees our finances and monitors our compliance with legal requirements.
Find out more about:
- Read about our people, including our Executive Team and Board members here: Our People | BCHA
- Find our our governance arrangements, including our vision, mission, values can be found here: About Us | BCHA
- Our Strategic Plan 2024-2029, which highlights our goals and aspirations before 2029 here: Strategic Plan 2024 - 2029 | BCHA
- Tenant consultations, including previous customer engagement meeting notes and information on how you can get involved can be found here: Customer Engagement | BCHA
- Our complaints process, including our complaints policy, please visit Making a Complaint | BCHA
You can find our most recent set of audited accounts and financial statements in our Financial Statement. This includes our spending, grants and service charge usage and you can find it here: Financial Statement
You can also find our previous reports on our Key Information page under 'Previous Reports'.
We hope to add more information about spending to our website over the next few months. This will include details on how our service charge is used.
- Find out about our asset management strategy 2025-2030. This strategy details our commitment to creating homes which are safe, modern and energy efficient. Read it here: BCHA's Asset Management Strategy, 2025 - 2030 | BCHA
- Find out about our repairs responsibilities, maintenance information and advice on safety in your home on our Repairs page, here: BCHA Home | Repairs and Maintenance | BCHA
- Over the next 5 years, some of our properties have planned property upgrades. Put your postcode in to find out what upgrade is planned for your home and when: Property Upgrades | BCHA
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To view our housing stock across the region, you can view our stock map here: Stock Map | BCHA
BCHA's performance is measured in a number of ways, from inspections to quarterly surveys. We've detailed how you can find the information on these below:
- BCHA had an inspection from the Regulator of Social Housing in 2025. Read about our results here: BCHA's 2025 Grading Judgement.
- Our Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) are measured through Acuity, an independent survey provider. Find out more about these measures and read our latest report here: Tenant Satisfaction Measures | BCHA
- Our landlord safety Tenant Satisfaction Measures results included 100% of homes requiring fire risk assessments, asbestos management and communal passenger lift safety checks being carried out. We also had 99.3% of legionella risk assessments carried our and 99.8% of gas safety checks being carried out.
- From time to time, BCHA send releases to the media. We also post these on our website. You can find all our news and releases here: News & Views | BCHA
- View our complaints report, annual complaints self-assessment and read how we handle complaints here - Making a Complaint | BCHA
- Read our information request data and find out how you can request information from us here: Privacy Policy | BCHA
We will add further performance information to this section soon. This will include landlord and business performance.
BCHA offer supported housing. Supported housing can be for those who have experienced modern day slavery, homelessness, human trafficking and domestic abuse.
We also offer general tenancies for those who don't require support. In Dorset, we have BCHA Learn, who offer a learning provision for Dorset residents aged 19 and over.
- Find out information on tenancies, repairs and maintenance, anti-social behaviour and Tenant Satisfaction Measures on BCHA Home | BCHA
- For information on our support services, including support for people experiencing modern day slavery and human trafficking, homelessness, mental health and domestic abuse, visit BCHA Support services available | BCHA
- Our BCHA Learn page can offer guidance on the courses and qualifications we offer. Find out more here: BCHA Learn | BCHA
As a registered provider of social housing, you can find information relating to our latest regulatory judgement here on the Gov UK website. Visit the website here: Regulatory judgements - GOV.UK
If you would like to request any additional information on:
- Information held in registers that are required to be made public
- Other lists and registers relating to the management of social housing
You can contact us via email, at: [email protected].
BCHA strive to be as transparent with our customers as possible. We are working on some additional key policies, which will be added to our website once complete.
Our current available policies are:
- Our safeguarding policy, covering both children and adults: Safeguarding | BCHA
- Our complaints policy, which you can read here: Making a Complaint | BCHA
Helpful information
There are some other areas on our website that may be useful. These include:
- Our customer handbook, which provides customers with all tenancy details and support available: BCHA Home | BCHA
- Our data protection area, including our privacy notices and how to submit a data request: Privacy Policy | BCHA
- How you can get involved with our different customer groups through the Customer Engagement team: Customer Engagement | BCHA
If you need this page in another format or language, please contact our customer services team:
- Call us on 01202 410 500
- Email us on [email protected]
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