New data from our May Monthly Pulse report reveals a confident and promising start to the financial year for UK housing providers, as the sector shows measurable improvements in arrears performance, voids turnaround and tenant satisfaction.

Our report, which covers April 2025 data, indicates that arrears levels are now in the strongest April position since we began tracking Pulse data in 2021. The national median arrears figure stood at 2.56%, lower than many of the first-quarter results from the 2010s, when rates typically ranged between 2.5% and 2.9%.

Encouragingly, the pattern of improving arrears is widespread, with 68% of landlords reporting lower arrears in April 2025 than they did in April 2024.

Among the strongest performers are landlords in traditionally challenging areas. Major urban local authorities saw arrears fall by 18.5% between April 2024 and April 2025, while providers in London recorded an average reduction of 6.1% over the same period.

This improved performance appears closely linked to greater investment in income management functions. Although overall housing management teams have reduced since 2023, the number of specialist rent collection officers has increased – a shift that is clearly paying off.

Our report also identifies sustained improvement in voids and lettings performance, a service area that has struggled in recent years to recover from the post-pandemic backlog. Average re-let times fell by 17% in April to 41 days, while the proportion of homes vacant and available to let dropped to 0.46% – the lowest rate since this indicator was introduced in April 2021.

Notably, landlords performing in the top third for voids and lettings also report tenant satisfaction levels that are 7% higher than their peers.

The insights are drawn from data submitted by 151 landlords across the UK, including housing associations, local authorities and ALMOs. Each provider contributes up to 15 headline performance indicators, covering key areas such as income, repairs, complaints, staffing and customer experience. Results are tracked consistently each month to provide in-year insight and identify real-time trends.

As English landlords prepare for the implementation of Awaab’s Law, which will introduce new mandatory timescales for repairs, the Pulse report offers timely analysis of how different service approaches affect tenant satisfaction. The data shows that satisfaction is more strongly linked to whether repairs are completed within the target timeframe than to the number of emergency repairs carried out. In fact, landlords delivering a high volume of emergency repairs without consistently meeting target times tend to see lower satisfaction scores.

This insight gives landlords a clear focus as they work to improve services and prepare for new regulation – placing the emphasis on reliability and follow-through, rather than simply reacting to volume.

Jonathan Cox, our Chief Data Officer, said: “These are clear signs that the sector is getting a grip on some of its most persistent challenges. Sustained investment in income collection staff and systems is paying off, and voids performance is beginning to stabilise after several volatile years.

“While challenges remain, this data shows that housing providers are actively improving the services that matter most to tenants. And with Awaab’s Law on the horizon, we’re also seeing encouraging signs that better service planning is directly driving higher satisfaction.”

Other key findings in this month’s Pulse Report include: 

  • Satisfaction with landlord services (perception) rose by 3.5% to 75.6%
  • Average recruitment costs could fall by £10,400 per 10,000 homes due to reduced staff turnover
  • Percentage of Stage 1 and 2 complaints resolved on time rose by 1.4% to 95.6%
  • The percentage of working days lost to sickness absence fell by 0.8% to 3.6%
  • Formal Stage 1 and 2 complaints received dropped by 14.7%

If you would like more information about monthly Pulse, get in touch today.