Overall satisfaction among tenants in Swindon’s 10,383 council-owned homes has jumped from 54% to 67% over the past year, according to the latest Tenant Satisfaction Measures survey published by Swindon Borough Council. The average satisfaction score across all measures rose by 12 percentage points to settle at 63%.
Cabinet members examined a housing improvement report on 1 July which sets out the progress made since the council received a C3 grading from the Regulator of Social Housing in May 2025. That finding identified serious failings, including an inability to report accurately on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, more than 800 overdue fire safety actions, and no active tracking of damp and mould cases. By March 2025 the council had already reduced overdue fire safety actions by 76%, and 2,750 homes have since received new alarms that detect heat, smoke, and carbon monoxide as part of a four-year £10.5m upgrade programme.
The improvement effort is backed by a five-year £250m Housing Asset Management Strategy, a 78% increase in planned investment compared with the previous five years. Alongside it, a £30m programme of energy efficiency improvements for council homes is under way. A Housing Improvement Board, established in November 2024, brings tenants, councillors and officers together each month to monitor performance data and oversee the recovery plan that runs from December 2025 to January 2027.
The council also commissioned Tpas, the national tenant engagement organisation, to advise on future approaches, and has created a new Property Condition team to support residents reporting damp and mould.
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