Drawing on data from 164 housing providers across the UK, the latest Monthly Pulse report reveals signs of improvement in core landlord services, despite the continued complexity of the operating environment and financial pressures facing the sector.

Early indications suggest a modest improvement in tenant satisfaction, with year-end median results for English landlords rising by 1.7 percentage points compared to 2023/24. Housemark is forecasting a 2024/25 median result of 72 to 73% based on the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs). A more detailed analysis of satisfaction data will follow in Housemark’s full-year TSM report, due in June.

Key findings include a better-than-expected result on rent arrears, which closed the year at a median of 2.50% – a return to pre-pandemic levels and a marked improvement on recent months. This builds on the stabilisation seen in 2023/24 and confirms a longer-term downward trend.

Vacancy rates also improved further, with a snapshot rate of 0.49% in March 2025 – the lowest recorded throughout the year. While this follows a 15% year-on-year reduction seen in 2023/24, many individuals landlords face a continued struggle to improve performance in this area.

Repairs services continued to recover, with landlords completing an average of 3.3 repairs per property in 2024/25 and transactional satisfaction remaining consistently high, averaging around 87% for much of the year.

The data also points to a significant shift in complaints reporting, with volumes up 55% in England since April 2023. The rise reflects the impact of more proactive regulation and additional powers granted to the Housing Ombudsman, with many landlords increasing their capacity to log and respond to service failures.

Jonathan Cox, chief data officer at Housemark, said: “Our year-end Pulse report provides a unique early look at how the sector is performing across a wide range of measures. While some familiar challenges remain, we’re seeing signs of recovery and resilience, with improved arrears performance, some better vacancy management and more robust approaches to complaints and repairs. These insights give landlords a valuable head start as they plan and prioritise for the year ahead.”

Housemark’s Monthly Pulse is the UK’s most timely housing benchmarking tool, enabling landlords to track in-year performance on 15 core measures. The April 2025 edition includes finalised data for the financial year ending 31 March 2025 and is available exclusively to participating Housemark members.