Latest updates (October – December 2025)
Latest updates (October – December 2025)
idents continue to shape the services we provide and the decisions we make. Over the last year, your feedback has helped us improve homes, neighbourhoods, and communities in many ways. Between surveys, Settle Connect, Big Door Knocks, Neighbourhood Action Weeks, and direct involvement in service reviews, residents have made a real difference – from shaping 13 policies and influencing 34 projects to testing tools like our ASB and complaints reporting systems.
Our infographic below shows some of the highlights from the last year, and the many ways your voice has made a difference. Read more about these achievements in our National Involvement Week 2025 story.
Policy reviews
We’ve been reviewing several policies that help keep our communities safe and supported. Here’s what residents told us and what we’re doing.
Updated policies will be published on ‘Our policies’ web page.
Development and Regeneration Strategy
Residents shared positive feedback on our Development and Regeneration Strategy. 92% said the language was clear, and 88% said the strategy was easy to understand.
You told us you’d like:
- Clearer definitions and simpler explanations of technical terms
- Continued investment in existing homes as well as new developments
- Clear updates that show what’s happening, what’s changing, and how progress is being tracked
We’re making technical terms easier to understand and improving how we share updates on development and regeneration work. We’ll be clearer about where money is being invested, what work is planned, and how progress is being monitored and shared with residents. Read more on Settle Connect.
Landlord Resident Strategy
We shared our Landlord Resident Strategy on Settle Connect to gather resident feedback until the end of October.
36% of residents said the language in the strategy was clear, and 32% said it was easy to understand.
Three themes emerged from your feedback:
- You’d like information to be clearer and easier to follow
- You value being involved and seeing changes made as a result of your feedback
- You want to better understand what the strategy means for you in your day-to-day life
We’re rewriting parts of the strategy using simpler language and clearer explanations. We’ll also add real examples to show how the strategy affects you and your home, and we’ll continue to share updates so you can see how your feedback is shaping what we do. Read more: Landlord Resident Strategy Review.
Mutual Exchange Policy
Earlier this year, residents shared feedback on our Mutual Exchange Policy. You told us that the language was generally clear, but that some parts could be simpler and better reflect real-life situations, including clearer explanations of key terms.
In response, we’ve updated the policy and the Mutual Exchange page on our website. We’ve added brief descriptions throughout, including clearer explanations, and included more detail and examples to show what to expect during the process. These changes make it easier for residents to understand the service and support available.
Anti-Social Behaviour Policy
In the summer, residents shared feedback on our Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy. You told us you wanted the policy to focus more on noise-related issues, be clearer about how quickly we respond to reports, and provide reassurance that action will be taken when concerns are raised.
In response, we’ve updated the ASB policy on Our policies page. We’ve clarified what the policy covers and how it differs from other policies, such as domestic abuse and hate crime, so it’s easier to see what support is available and how we respond. We’ve added clear response timeframes based on the seriousness of the report, and included more detail about our responsibilities and those of our partners, so you can feel confident when raising concerns.
You can find out more about the changes on Settle Connect.
Eviction Policy
We shared our Eviction Policy review directly with the Voice of the Resident Panel for feedback.
All residents said the policy was well written, clear, and clearly explained who it applies to. The panel members suggested that clearer definitions would be helpful, particularly for legal or technical terms, and recommended adding a glossary.
In response to your feedback, we’ve updated the policy with clearer explanations of legal terms to make it easier to understand. The updated policy is available on ‘Our policies’ web page.
Hate Crime Policy
During the review of this policy, residents told us that the language wasn’t always clear. You asked for a clearer definition of what we mean by hate crime, and a stronger commitment from Settle to tackling hate incidents.
In response, we’ve updated the policy to make it easier to understand. We’ve reviewed the language to ensure it’s in plain English, added clear definitions of both hate crime and hate incidents, and included information on how to report hate crime to us and what the process looks like, so you know what to expect. The updated policy is now published on Our policies page.
Safeguarding Policy
The final review of our safeguarding policy were published on Settle Connect in October. Residents told us they wanted clearer information on how we respond to safeguarding concerns, easier access to support and contact details, and simpler, more straightforward language. In response, we’ve updated our approach, creating two separate policies, one for adults and one for children, to make our responsibilities easier to understand. This includes how we respond to reports in partnership with other agencies. We’ve also clarified what each policy covers and how they differ from other policies, such as domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour, making it easier to see the support available. You can read the Safeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children policies on Our policies page.
Neighbourhood Management Policy
During July, we collected feedback from residents about our Neighbourhood Management Policy and what matters most in their neighbourhoods.
Common themes were regular checks on communal cleaning and gardening services, a visible presence from Settle teams, clear ways to contact us, and reassurance that their community is safe. You shared that the policy should reflect these priorities while being clear and easy to understand.
We’ve updated the policy to make it clearer and more practical. We’re improving cleaning, gardening, bins, and recycling facilities so your neighbourhood looks and feels well cared for. We’ve improved signage in internal block areas so it’s clearer how our services work and how to contact us.
Our teams are out and about more often through quarterly Neighbourhood Action Weeks and Big Door Knocks, and we’re responding to reports of anti-social behaviour promptly, so residents know concerns are being taken seriously.
You can read the updated policy and see how your feedback has shaped the changes on Our policies page.
Clean and Green website pages
Last year, residents shared feedback about how easy it was to find information on communal cleaning and grounds maintenance services on our website. You told us that information about shared spaces wasn’t always clear, and that it could be difficult to understand who was responsible for different services.
In response, we’ve been improving the pages on our website as part of our Clean and Green Estate Management improvement plan to make it easier for residents to find information and manage issues without needing to contact us. This includes clearer explanations of what we’re responsible for, what our partners and local councils do, how often services take place, and who to contact if something falls outside of Settle’s responsibility.
We’ve created a new Communal spaces section on our website, replacing content that previously sat under Repairs and Maintenance. The new pages sit clearly under ‘Your home’, making it easier to find information and self-serve at any time. Information is now grouped into three clear areas: shared outside areas (such as grass cutting and hedge trimming), communal cleaning and waste (including windows and bins), and parking, storage and access. We’ve added easy-to-read drop-down sections explaining how often services happen, who is responsible, and where to find further help. It’s now clearer what Settle looks after and what is managed by local councils. We’ve also improved signposting for key actions, such as reporting abandoned items or getting in touch. We’re continuing to improve how residents can report neighbourhood issues through My Settle Portal.
Read more in our recent news story: Clean and green estate management update – Listening to your feedback.
Contact us webpage
You told us it wasn’t always clear how to contact us, especially the difference between making a formal complaint and sharing a suggestion or compliment. Some people were unsure which option to choose, which sometimes slowed down how quickly we could respond.
We worked with the Voice of the Resident Panel to improve the Contact us web page as part of our Complaints and Query Handling Improvement Plan to redesign the webpage to make it easier to navigate and understand. The page now clearly separates options for making a complaint and submitting a compliment or suggestion, with short descriptions so you know what will happen before you click. We’ve combined the compliments and suggestions forms into one simple feedback form, and residents can now give feedback anonymously if they prefer, with the option to leave contact details for follow-up. We’ve also ensured that phone and other non-digital contact options are still easy to find.
Annual report for residents 2024-25
This report covers the work and services we delivered between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. Based on previous feedback from the Voice of the Resident (VoR) panel, we included a summary infographic highlighting key facts and messages, with the full report providing more detailed information across all areas of our work. Residents told us the report was generally clear and informative, and that the infographic made key information easier to understand.
The panel also highlighted that some parts of the full report were text-heavy and formal. Residents suggested simplifying the language, shortening longer sections, providing more context on performance, clearer explanations of key measures, and information about how to get involved through Settle Connect.
We will use this feedback to make future reports easier to read and understand. We’ll provide more context on performance, highlight improvements in services, and continue to show how residents can have their say and get involved.
Read the Annual Report 2024–25 to see detailed information on our work and services.
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) update
We’ve been making it easier for residents to report ASB and improving how we respond. Between April and November 2025, feedback shows growing satisfaction, with 51% of residents happy with how we handle ASB.
The Voice of the Resident Panel helped test the new online reporting tool on My Settle Portal, making it clearer and easier to use. We’ve also updated our ASB, hate crime and CCTV policies, strengthened colleague training, and improved procedures following Housing Ombudsman guidance.
New tools are coming soon, including a mobile ASB app and noise recording equipment, to give residents more ways to report issues.
Read the full news story, Working together to improve how we respond to anti-social behaviour for more details.
Repairs service update
Following feedback from residents and looking at ways to improve our repairs service, we’ve been working to a repairs improvement plan. We shared an update at the end of June and are now providing another update to highlight our continued improvements through to the end of October.
Since launching the plan, we’ve made progress on the areas you’ve told us matter most: completing repairs quickly, getting them right first time, and keeping residents informed.
Key improvements include:
- Routine repairs completed within 28 days reached 92.1% in October, exceeding our target.
- Average wait times for routine repairs have dropped to 15 days.
- 4 out of 5 repairs are now carried out by our in-house teams.
- The number of repairs in progress has fallen by around 64%, helping us book new jobs more quickly.
- Emergency repairs continue to be completed on time.
Find out about further improvements in our October 2025 update. Residents can find more information in our repair responsibilities guide and updated our FAQs on My Settle Portal.
Please continue to report any repairs through My Settle Portal or by calling 0330 343 0016. If you have concerns about damp or mould, you can also use our online form or contact us directly.
Complaints and query handling
Between April and November 2025, our Contact Hub answered over 40,700 calls, achieving an 89% answer rate, above our target of 85%.
Residents continue to tell us they value quick, helpful responses and during this period we’ve received we received 507 four- and five-star reviews. Read the full news story for our December service update.
If you need to get in touch, visit our Contact Us page or you can get support through Live Chat on every page of our website. For repairs, the quickest option is through My Settle Portal, where you can track repairs, check rent, make payments, and update your details.
Following our previous update about complaints reporting, we’ve now launched the upgraded complaints reporting tool, making it easier to submit complaints and see when responses are provided. You can make a complaint directly through My Settle Portal, or, if you don’t have a portal account, through our revised webform.
We’ve also published our Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2024/25 in line with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code. Read more about the report, how complaints are handled, the improvements we’ve made, and how we plan to continue improving services in our news story. We continue to encourage any resident to get in touch if you feel we could have handled something differently or improved our service
Read more about complaints and how to make one on our Complaints page.