Guidance

Information required from registered providers

The information required by the Regulator of Social Housing and the deadlines for submission.

Applies to England

The regulator’s information requirements

We need to collect and hold reliable information (both in data returns and other documentation) so that we can undertake our functions. We use information gathered to assess compliance with our regulatory framework and to produce statistical information. We are committed to minimising the burden of our information requirements by using data and information providers already collect and collate as part of their routine business activity.

We expect providers to produce the information and documents we require in a timely fashion. Where we have evidence that information of any nature has not been submitted or is late, incomplete, or inaccurate, we may reflect this in our judgement of a provider’s compliance with the regulatory standards. In particular, but not exclusively, we may consider it evidence of a breach of the specific expectation in the Governance and Financial Viability Standard to communicate with us in an accurate and timely manner, including through regulatory returns.

The tables below set out a summary of our routine data requirements and the deadlines for submission. There are different requirements for local authorities; for those private providers that own fewer than 1,000 social housing units and for those that own 1,000 units or more.

In March we wrote to all chief executives to confirm our data requirements. These letters detailed the requirements for:

  • private providers with 1,000 or more units (large providers),
  • those with fewer than 1,000 units (small providers)
  • local authority registered providers.

Providers must refer to guidance materials on NROSH+ for more information about these returns and the exact deadlines set for their organisation.

Please note that the deadlines outlined below are the latest date by which data should be submitted to us, however we encourage providers to submit their returns earlier within the submission timeframe wherever possible.

Data returns for registered providers

Data returns Deadline Which providers
Statistical Data Return 31 May each year All private registered providers (shorter returns for providers owning fewer than 1,000 social housing units)
Financial Forecast Return to be accompanied with business plan and other supporting documentation 30 June each year final deadline for all providers with 31 March financial year end. Providers are encouraged to submit within 6 weeks of their business plan being approved by their Board, where this is earlier than 30 June All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Quarterly Survey 3 weeks after each quarter end All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Electronic Annual Accounts 6 months after financial year end All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Electronic annual accounts (including a self-assessment of value for money) No later than 6 months after the financial year end All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Local Authority Data Return Mid July each year All local authority registered providers
Tenant Satisfaction Measures 30 June each year All registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Fire Safety Remediation Survey Quarterly All registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units and any registered providers who own fewer than 1,000 social housing units who are the responsible entity for any buildings of relevant height

Tenant satisfaction measures

The government’s ‘The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper’, published in November 2020, set an expectation that the Regulator of Social Housing would bring in a set of Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

In September 2022, following a consultation on the introduction of TSMs, we published a Decision Statement which set out our decision on the final TSMs.

The TSMs are a core set of performance measures against which all providers must publish their performance. They are a requirement of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard which comes into effect from 1 April 2023.

From 1 April 2023 all registered providers that own relevant social housing stock must calculate and publish all TSMs on an annual basis following the TSM technical requirements and TSM tenant survey requirements set out by us and in accordance with the TSM Standard.

All registered providers that own 1,000 or more units of the relevant social housing stock must annually submit information relating to their performance against the TSMs to us.

The TSM Return will open on or shortly before 1 April 2024 and providers should submit their returns on or before the deadline of 30 June 2024. Guidance for the TSM Return is available on NROSH+.

Regulatory documents

Regulatory documents Deadline Which providers
Annual accounts
(including a self-assessment of value for money)
No later than 6 months after the financial year end All private registered providers
Audit management letter As above All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Fraud report As above All private registered providers that own 1,000 or more social housing units
Disposal notifications    
Quarterly notification 3 weeks after each quarter end All private registered providers who have made relevant disposals that require notification
Priority notification 3 weeks after date of relevant disposal As above

Disposal notifications

From 6 April 2017 private registered providers must notify the regulator about some types of disposals they have made. Further information about the requirements is available on the Notifications about disposals page. Disposal notifications must be submitted through NROSH+ where a standard form is available.

In April 2024 we intend to  pilot a version of the quarterly disposal notification as a NROSH+ return alongside the existing regulatory document return. If this pilot is successful we intend to implement the quarterly disposal notifications as a return on NROSH+ for all large providers from July 2024 onwards. This will ensure improved monitoring and analysis at the RSH and should pose no additional burden to providers. We welcome feedback on this change and will provide more information when we launch the collection in April.

Organisation and contact information

The NROSH+ website requires your organisation to enter and maintain a suite of organisational and contact details. It is the responsibility of each individual provider to ensure that this contact information is kept updated and accurate throughout the year. This is important because we use this information to contact your organisation on regulatory matters.

Health and safety lead

Under section 126C(2) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (the Act), all registered providers are required to:

a) notify the regulator of the name and contact details of its designated health and safety lead, and

b) publish that information.

The role of the health and safety lead is defined in sections 126A and 126B of the Act.

By 31st May 2024, registered providers must notify the regulator of the name and contact details of its designated health and safety lead through the contact details section in NROSH+ and publish this information. Registered providers must keep this information up to date. Any changes to this information must be made as soon as is reasonably possible or at a minimum within 2 weeks of the change happening. When publishing this information registered providers must ensure that they do so in accordance with the requirements of our standards.

How registered providers should submit information

We collect data from registered providers through NROSH+. NROSH+ is a website portal for all registered providers to submit their annual data returns and the information and supporting documents, which we require so we can regulate them effectively.

As a provider, it is essential that you supply accurate and timely data – the data returns are an important way in which we monitor big financial risks and regulate the sector. Further guidance on submitting NROSH+ data returns is provided on the NROSH+ website. Guidance on submitting annual accounts and audit management letters is provided below.

Annual accounts and audit management letters

The process for submitting annual accounts and audit management letters, including the potential regulatory action for those that submit them late, is detailed in this guidance.

How to use NROSH+

To use NROSH+ effectively, it is important that you:

  • log into the NROSH+ website
  • keep your contact and organisational information up-to-date – this is important as we regularly inform providers on any changes to our data collection process using the contact details logged in NROSH+
  • use the latest templates for each return to prepare and submit data
  • use the guidance provided on the NROSH+ site
  • submit data as early as possible, within the survey period.

Queries about NROSH+

Send any questions about using NROSH+ to the Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries team NROSHenquiries@rsh.gov.uk and 0300 124 5225.

Further information

Privacy notice

The regulator is committed to protecting your privacy and the security of your personal data. Please read our privacy notice to find out more about how we do this.

Published 31 March 2015
Last updated 8 March 2024 + show all updates
  1. Updated to include new disposal notifications and organisation and contact information.

  2. Information updated for TSM submissions and added for Fire Safety Remediation Survey.

  3. Information updated for 2023/24 data collections

  4. Information request dates updated for 2022-23

  5. Information added about letters sent to RP and LA CEOs re data collection 2021-2 in March 2021.

  6. Information updated for 2021/22 data collections.

  7. Update added on the Financial Forecast Return – launched on 1 July 2020 with submission deadline extended until 30 September 2020.

  8. This page and the guidance document was updated with details of the 2020/21 collections and a note to look at current guidance during the Coronavirus pandemic.

  9. Information updated for 2019/20 data collection.

  10. We have added a link to our updated privacy policy to clarify how we protect your personal information in keeping with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into effect from 25 May 2018.

  11. Quarterly survey 2018 to 2019 submission dates updated (16 March 2018).

  12. Page updated with new contact details for the Regulator of Social Housing (31 January 2018)..

  13. Guidance on submitting annual accounts updated and duplicate 'Information required page' removed (25 August 2017).

  14. First published.