What is STAIRs and how does it affect housing associations?

STAIRs (the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirement) is a new transparency requirement that gives social housing tenants greater rights to access information about the services they receive and the decisions their landlord makes.

For housing associations, this means publishing more information and responding to more information requests from residents. As a result, with greater volumes of information being shared, housing associations will need effective processes to ensure personal and sensitive information is identified and removed before disclosure.

When does STAIRS come into force?

From the 1^st of October 2026, housing associations will be required to proactively publish information relating to their housing management services. From the 1^st of April 2027, they will also be required to respond to tenant information requests within 30 calendar days.

The aim is to give social housing tenants access to information, similar to the rights council tenants already have under the Freedom of Information Act. Requests could cover repairs, safety inspections, service delivery, policies and landlord decision-making.

Whilst intended to improve transparency and accountability, STAIRs will also introduce additional disclosure responsibilities that housing associations will need to manage effectively.

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Why is disclosure and redaction a growing challenge for housing associations?

Many housing associations already spend significant time managing Subject Access Requests (SARs) and other disclosure requests.

Responding to these requests often involves reviewing large volumes of information, identifying personal or sensitive data and manually redacting content before release. Housing associations that we have spoken to tell us that dealing with SARs can take key staff away from their day-to-day roles for hours, days or even weeks at a time. Some housing associations also rely on external providers to redact for them, increasing costs further.

At the same time, the volume of information being retained continues to increase. Records are often spread across multiple systems and formats, creating more content to review and redact whenever a request is received.

With STAIRs introducing new publication requirements and a 30-day response deadline, efficient review and redaction processes will only become even more important.

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How can RedactXpert® help housing associations prepare for STAIRs?

RedactXpert® is an AI-powered redaction tool, developed by Simpson Associates that automatically identifies personally identifiable information (PII) in documents using Microsoft Azure AI. It helps housing associations respond to disclosure requests faster while keeping a human reviewer in control of every decision.

RedactXpert® reduces the amount of manual review required and helps ensure sensitive information is not overlooked.

Importantly, RedactXpert® follows a human-in-the-loop approach. The AI does not make disclosure decisions on behalf of users. Instead, it highlights information that may require redaction, allowing users to review, amend, approve or reject recommendations before anything is permanently removed.

Features particularly relevant to housing associations include:

• Support for a wide range of document and file formats used across social housing.
• Automatic identification of sensitive information.
• Duplicate file detection to reduce unnecessary review effort.
• Peer review process built in to the application.
• Automatic import of email attachments when email files are uploaded.
• Customisable word libraries for housing-specific terminology.
• Flexible bulk redaction options by category, entity or individual occurrence.
• OCR technology for scanned and handwritten documents.

Together, these features help reduce manual effort, improve consistency and support faster responses to disclosure requests.

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How should housing associations prepare for STAIRs?

With the first phase of STAIRs coming into effect on the 1^st of October 2026, now is a good time for housing associations to review their redaction processes.

Many housing associations are already using RedactXpert® to support SARs and other disclosure activities. As transparency obligations increase, having an efficient and auditable approach to redaction will become even more important.

By combining AI-assisted identification with complete human oversight, RedactXpert® helps housing associations manage growing disclosure demands whilst ensuring sensitive information remains protected.

If you'd like to see how RedactXpert® could support your housing association's approach to STAIRs and resident information requests, we'd be happy to arrange a demo.

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Blog author: Isobel Curry, Business Development Manager of RedactXpert®, Simpson Associates