Nearly all social landlords are reviewing or redesigning their housing management services as the sector responds to rising customer complexity, operational pressures and changing expectations, according to new research from Housemark.
Housemark’s latest Monthly Pulse, surveying data captured in April 2026, found that 95% of landlords are either currently implementing a housing management service redesign, planning one or have recently completed one. Just 5% reported no recent changes to their operating model. The research found that 41% of landlords are currently implementing a redesign, while a further 36% are in the planning stage.
The findings point to a significant shift away from traditional housing officer models towards more specialist teams. Specialist staff now account for 46% of housing management employees, up from 32% in 2022/23, while only 11% of landlords continue to operate mainly generic housing officer models.
The research also suggests a trade-off between cost and customer satisfaction. Landlords operating mainly specialist models reported lower housing management costs of £339 per property, compared with £366 for those using mainly generic housing officer models. However, generic models recorded the highest resident satisfaction at 77.4%, compared with 73.7% for landlords using mainly specialist officers.
Jonathan Cox, Chief Data Officer at Housemark, said: “Housing management services are undergoing significant change across the sector as landlords respond to increasing customer complexity, financial pressures and rising expectations around service delivery.
“Our data shows there is no single model that guarantees success. Specialist teams can deliver greater efficiency and stronger performance in specific areas such as arrears, lettings and resident involvement, while more generic models often achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. The key is understanding local needs and designing services that balance performance, cost and resident outcomes.
“What is clear is that housing management services are evolving rapidly, and landlords are actively reviewing how best to organise services for the future.”
Other findings from Housemark’s latest Monthly Pulse include:
- Data challenges persist, with 94% of landlords struggling to access meaningful insights, 84% reporting fragmented data and 81% saying systems do not communicate effectively.
- Specialist housing management models are more common among larger landlords, with 53% of organisations managing more than 15,000 homes using them, compared with 12% of those managing fewer than 5,000 homes.
- Specialist lettings teams deliver stronger results, with vacancy rates 20% lower and re-let times almost 16 days quicker.
- Top-performing landlords favour specialist structures, with 59% of C1-graded landlords using specialist models compared with just 6% using generic housing officer structures.
The report also introduces Housemark’s monthly work in progress (WIP) repairs measure, which provides an early indication of service pressure. Initial findings show landlords with lower levels of WIP achieve higher satisfaction scores for repairs services (76.3% compared with 72.8%) and for the time taken to complete repairs (72.4% compared with 68.0%). Housemark believes the measure could help landlords identify emerging issues before they begin to affect wider customer satisfaction.
The findings suggest housing management is entering a period of significant transformation, with landlords increasingly balancing efficiency, specialisation and customer experience as they redesign services for the years ahead.
For more information, visit www.housemark.co.uk.