The first STAIRs deadline is 1 October 2026, but housing associations also need to be preparing now for the information request requirements coming into force on 1 April 2027.
The Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) introduce new transparency and information access requirements for Private Registered Providers (PRPs) of social housing in England.
From 1 October 2026, providers will need to proactively publish specified information under the STAIRs Publication Scheme. Then, from 1 April 2027, eligible tenants and their representatives will be able to make written requests for information relating to the management of their social housing.
Providers will generally have 30 calendar days to respond.
For organisations still getting to grips with the changes, our guide to What is STAIRs (Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements) covers the framework in more detail.
The two STAIRs deadlines housing associations need to know
STAIRs is being introduced in two stages.
1st October 2026: STAIRs Publication Scheme
From 1st October 2026, PRPs will need to proactively publish information about the management of social housing.
The model Publication Scheme covers seven areas:
- Governance and decision-making
- Finance and spending
- Housing stock management
- Performance
- Housing services and tenant liaison
- Lists and registers
- Social housing management
The aim is to make relevant information routinely available to tenants rather than requiring them to request it.
For providers, 1st October is a compliance deadline, not a date to start preparing.
1st April 2027: STAIRs information requests
From 1st April 2027, eligible tenants and their representatives will be able to submit written requests for information about the management of their social housing.
Requests could relate to repairs, property conditions, rent, service charges, estate management, health and safety and other housing management matters.
Providers will generally need to respond within 30 calendar days, creating a new operational requirement for housing associations.
The challenge will not simply be receiving requests. Providers will need to identify the information, retrieve it from across the organisation, decide what can be disclosed, make any necessary redactions and issue a response within the required timeframe.
Why housing associations should prepare before April 2027
A 30-day response period can quickly become challenging if information is spread across departments, systems or third parties.
STAIRs requests may require input from housing, governance, customer services, complaints, data protection, finance, health and safety and other teams.
Housing associations should also consider how they would manage an initial spike in demand. As STAIRs is a new information right for tenants, some providers are concerned that request volumes could be higher when the requirements first take effect before settling into a more predictable pattern.
Preparation should therefore consider both the process for handling individual requests and whether there is enough capacity to manage multiple requests at the same time. A clear, repeatable process should be in place before the first requests arrive.
How to prepare for STAIRs information requests
1. Know what information you hold
Housing associations should understand what relevant information exists, where it is stored and who owns it.
STAIRs does not generally require providers to create new information simply to answer a request. However, you need to be able to find the information you already hold.
Start by identifying:
- What information is held
- Where it is stored
- Who owns and maintains it
- Whether third parties hold relevant information
- Whether it contains information that may need to be withheld or redacted
The work required for the October Publication Scheme can provide a useful foundation for this.
2. Establish clear ownership
Who takes responsibility when a STAIRs request arrives?
The operational guidance recommends appointing a STAIRs champion to support implementation and help coordinate responsibilities across the organisation.
Clear ownership should prevent requests being passed between departments and reduce the risk of deadlines being missed.
3. Make sure staff can recognise a STAIRs request
Tenants may not explicitly describe their correspondence as a “STAIRs request”.
Staff in customer services, complaints and housing teams therefore need to know how to recognise and route potential requests.
They also need to understand that STAIRs and Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) are different. STAIRs concerns access to information about the management of social housing, while a DSAR concerns an individual’s personal data.
Some requests may contain elements of both. Our guide to STAIRs vs DSARs explains the distinction in more detail.
4. Build a 30-day response process
Providers should establish how a STAIRs information request will move through the organisation from receipt to response.
That process should cover:
- Receiving and logging requests
- Acknowledging and clarifying requests where necessary
- Locating information
- Coordinating with relevant teams
- Deciding what can be disclosed
- Applying redactions
- Approving and issuing the response
- Recording the outcome
Testing the process before April can help identify delays or unclear responsibilities while there is still time to address them.
5. Plan for disclosure and redaction
Not everything held by a housing association should automatically be disclosed.
Documents may contain personal data, confidential information, commercially sensitive material or information that needs to be withheld for another reason.
STAIRs therefore needs to sit alongside existing data protection and information governance processes.
Providers should establish who can make disclosure decisions, when specialist input is required and how redactions will be handled.
6. Prepare for reviews and complaints
Tenants can seek a review where they are dissatisfied with how an information request has been handled, including where information has been withheld.
Housing associations should therefore keep clear records of requests, searches, disclosure decisions and responses.
The STAIRs guidance also provides for complaints and potential escalation to the Housing Ombudsman, making a consistent and well-documented process important.
Use the October deadline to prepare for April
The two STAIRs deadlines should not be treated as separate projects.
Preparing for the 1st October 2026 Publication Scheme requires providers to identify information, establish ownership and consider what should be made available to tenants.
That work can then support preparations for 1st April 2027.
Once you know what information you hold and where it sits, the next step is establishing what happens when a tenant asks for information that isn’t already published.
The six months between the two deadlines provide an opportunity to test processes, train staff and address gaps before information requests begin.
Is your housing association ready for April 2027?
Publishing the required information by 1st October 2026 is only the first stage of STAIRs.
From 1st April 2027, housing associations will need to be ready to recognise, retrieve, review and respond to information requests within the required timeframe.
TMW Resilience can help housing associations assess their STAIRs readiness, identify gaps and establish practical information governance and request-handling processes ahead of the April deadline.
Find out more about preparing your organisation for STAIRs.