How we… achieved a C1 grade

In September 2025, B3Living received a C1 grade from the Regulator of Social Housing – the English regulator’s top rating under the consumer standards (we maintained G1/ V1 ratings for governance and financial viability).  

As a small-to-medium housing association, managing around 5,500 homes across Hertfordshire and Essex, our geography is relatively tight, which gives us close ties to the communities where we work. We know the streets, we partner with local businesses and most of our colleagues live nearby.

We pride ourselves in being customer service specialists and doing the basics consistently. Being awarded our very first C1 grade by the Regulator of Social Housing gave us renewed confidence in the strategic decisions we have made over the years.  

The first chapter of our Better Futures (2021-24) strategy set a strong direction for our business by placing residents at the heart of our decision-making. Now, almost halfway through the second instalment of our Better Futures (2024-27) strategy, we find ourselves with a strong, guided approach to delivering excellent experiences for our customers.

However, there’s not one single initiative we implemented that achieved the C1 rating. Fundamentally, we have made sound long-term decisions. We stuck to the core business, we made sound investments and we have been risk aware. For example, we refused to pay silly prices for land or Section 106 opportunities and we fixed most of our debt when gilt rates were at historically low levels.   

Outlined in this article are some of the decisions we have made in different areas which helped secure our C1 grading.

Maintenance culture

Upgrading our homes to keep them safe, warm and well-maintained has been central to B3Living’s strategy since long before the regulator’s consumer grading system was announced. 

We can see from our tenant satisfaction measures that good maintenance, inside and out of the home, fuels positive customer perception. Out of the 85% of customers who were satisfied with B3Living services overall, 92% were satisfied that their homes were well maintained. 

Our operatives also deliver added value through the quality of their customer service. For customers, repairs is one of our most visible functions where culture, accountability and consistency matter – these are standards that are more difficult to instil in third-party contractors. We are determined to keep our repairs in-house, despite the economic pressures to outsource.

Investment 

B3Living has a history of investing in homes at upper-quartile levels. In 2024-25, we invested £2,350 per property, making us proportionally one of the biggest investors in our existing homes. Every year when we consult on rent increases, investment in major works is what customers want to see. 

We go above and beyond on safety and quality checks to keep our homes at a very high standard. This does give us a high cost per unit, but it means our customers have a quality home from day one, which usually gives them a sense of pride and makes them more likely to respect and look after it. 

Complaints 

Throughout 2025, we significantly improved our complaints process by recognising that case resolution is a specialist field that needs dedicated resources. 

The centralisation of our complaints service and the personalised approach employed by our new resolution lead, have had a very clear and direct impact on customer satisfaction, team efficiency and compliance with the Housing Ombudsman.

Our 2024-25 post-complaint survey found that 58% of people who had made a complaint were satisfied with how we dealt with it. This satisfaction rate was a 19% increase on the previous year, despite a 23% higher volume of complaints (an increase which seems to be reflected across the sector more broadly). 

Customer engagement 

As a small organisation with limited resources, it can be tough to have a variety of accessible feedback mechanisms, but we aimed to be proactive in creating channels to listen to our customers’ needs. 

Growing our customer consultation network from scratch to around 300 members has helped us to steer strategic decisions, such as our high-quality voids standard and the design of new homes, with customers’ ideas and input.

Our newly established customer advisory panel will also ensure we receive detailed scrutiny and keep us accountable.

Supporting vulnerable people

As one of the main affordable housing providers in our area, we play an important role in supporting vulnerable people. We therefore make it a priority to build strong local partnerships, working alongside dozens of local providers to secure services from debt advice to counselling.

We have a customer coach who works with customers with complex needs and can mobilise our network of local contacts so that customers don’t have to go far to find the right level of support. 

Professional development

The level of care we give our customers would not be possible without the hard work of our staff. We want to invest in our staff just as much as they invest in our customers. Supporting their professional development is vital, but we also allow them a lot of latitude to make decisions in their day-to-day work.

We’ve developed a wide-ranging benefits package that encompasses physical and mental well-being, from flexible working to subsidised private healthcare, and an employee assistance programme. We also have policies anticipating menopause, adoption leave and other emergency needs that life might bring.

Despite these benefits, B3Living is still an organisation you can put your arms around. Feedback I hear often from our new starters references a “family feel”. Part of this is baked into our character, but a major culture project last year also helped to bring teams together by exploring a range of things from leadership collaboration and cross-organisational targets, to our office layout and social events.

Reducing siloed working does as much for our customer service as it does for our organisational cohesion and morale.

We’re proud that our efforts to create better futures for our customers and communities have been recognised by the regulator. A robust, holistic corporate strategy that puts customers first has helped B3Living stay on course, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 

Ultimately, you have to think about the long term and invest resources in the areas that make the biggest difference. Invest in your homes, staff and communities.

Listen to customers and involve them in your decision-making. Be compassionate and remember what a home means and the role it plays in a healthy life overall.

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