I am pleased to present our annual report to tenants, which provides an overview of our performance during the year ending 31 March 2026, as reported through the Scottish Social Housing Charter Annual Return on the Charter (ARC).

This report is an important opportunity to share with tenants how we have performed across a range of key services, including housing management, repairs and maintenance, customer service and value for money. It also demonstrates our commitment to being open and transparent about the services we provide and the areas where we need to improve.

When reviewing the satisfaction measures included in this report, it is important to note that these results are based on our previous large-scale tenant satisfaction survey, which was carried out in 2023. As this survey is undertaken every three years, the satisfaction figures reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator for 2025/26 continue to reflect those 2023 results. The other figures contained in the report cover the 2025/26 financial year.

Over the summer of 2026, we completed our latest three-yearly tenant satisfaction survey. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their views and experiences with us. A summary of the findings has already been shared with tenants by email and is available on our website.

While the new survey findings include many positive results, they have also highlighted areas where satisfaction levels are not where we would expect them to be. In response, we have established a dedicated working group to review the results in detail and develop a targeted action plan to improve services and address the issues identified by tenants. These latest survey results, and the actions we are taking as a result, will be reflected in future annual reports.

Listening to tenants and acting on feedback remains central to our work. We are committed to delivering high-quality services, improving the customer experience and ensuring that tenants’ views continue to shape our priorities and decisions.

We have strengthened the tenant voice within Cairn through the recruitment of a tenant engagement officer and a customer insights officer. Since joining the organisation, they have established Cairn’s first Tenant Voice Board and Customer Insights Panel, creating new opportunities for tenants to influence decisions, provide feedback on our services and help shape future priorities. We are committed to ensuring that tenants play a meaningful role in the development and improvement of our services. If you would like to find out more about these opportunities and how you can get involved, please get in touch with us.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with Cairn. We remain committed to providing homes and services that meet the needs of our tenants and communities across Scotland.

Audrey Simpson
Chief Executive

Satisfaction Results
We did not carry out a satisfaction survey during the last financial year so all satisfaction information is from our previous survey, which was carried out in early 2023.

SHQS
The Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) is a benchmark set by the Scottish Government to ensure homes meet a minimum standard of quality, covering energy efficiency, safety, comfort, and general maintenance. The aim is to provide tenants with homes that are warm, secure, and in good repair, contributing to the overall wellbeing of communities.

Our compliance with the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) is 77% this year, compared to 86% last year. This change largely reflects the improved information we now have about our homes following a comprehensive stock condition survey.

Previously, some of our SHQS information was based on assumptions about similar properties – for example, using information about one home to help assess others of the same type or in the same development. Our stock condition survey has given us much more detailed information about the actual condition of individual homes, providing a more accurate picture of where we meet the standard and where further work is needed.

While this has resulted in a lower headline compliance figure, it gives us a much stronger basis for planning future investment and targeting improvements where they are needed most. When properties with approved exemptions and abeyances are taken into account, our SHQS compliance is in the high 90s.

Our repairs performance remains strong. This year, we completed emergency repairs in an average of 2.9 hours, compared to the Scottish average of 3.5 hours. Non-emergency repairs were completed in an average of 7.1 days, also ahead of the Scottish average of 8.8 days.

We carried out almost 13,000 repairs during the year, while continuing to provide a responsive service and complete repairs within good timescales. Maintaining our homes and providing an effective repairs service remains an important priority for us.

We did not take handover of any new homes during the year, simply due to the timing of our development programme and when homes were completed. Since the end of the reporting period, we have already taken handover of a number of new homes, with many more due to be completed over this year and next. Continuing to build new homes is an important part of our plans as we work to provide more much-needed affordable housing.

We received 366 reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) this year, compared to 248 last year. We take reports of ASB seriously and know the impact it can have on tenants and their communities.

We also want to make sure our approach to ASB is working well for tenants. Our new Customer Insights Panel – made up entirely of tenants – has chosen ASB as its first scrutiny project. The panel will take an in-depth look at our service and make recommendations about where we could improve. We look forward to learning from their findings and using them to help shape our approach to ASB.

We received 245 complaints this year, up from 161 last year. Improving how we manage and learn from complaints has been a major area of focus for us. We now have a dedicated member of staff overseeing our approach to complaints and have introduced a learning from complaints group to identify trends, review the quality of our responses and make sure lessons are shared across Cairn.

As part of this work, we are encouraging a culture where complaints are seen as an opportunity to listen, learn and improve. We are also helping colleagues to recognise and record complaints consistently, including concerns that can be resolved quickly at the first point of contact. As this approach becomes embedded, we expect the number of recorded complaints to increase. What matters is that we listen to what tenants are telling us and use that feedback to improve our services.

Financial support
Our welfare benefits team supported 442 tenants, helping them gain an additional £1.47 million in income. This was achieved by maximising benefits and ensuring people were receiving the support they were entitled to — often uncovering unclaimed benefits that has made a real difference to their household finances.

We are incredibly proud of the work this team does, and the impact it has on tenants’ lives. Their support helps people stay in their homes, manage their budgets, and feel more secure about the future. If you think we could help you, please get in touch with us. You might be surprised at what you’re entitled to.

Adaptations
This year, we carried out 119 medical adaptations, a significant increase from 54 last year and much closer to the 133 completed the year before.

Last year’s programme was significantly affected by delays in receiving confirmation of our Scottish Government grant funding, which limited the number of adaptations we were able to complete during the year. We are pleased to have delivered many more adaptations this year, helping tenants to live safely and independently in their homes.

Medical adaptations can make a huge difference to people’s everyday lives, and we remain committed to delivering this important work and making the best use of the funding available to us.

We have made significant progress in reducing the time it takes us to re-let empty homes. This year, our average re-let time fell from 66 days to 42.6 days, which is better than the Scottish average of 51.7 days.

This improvement follows a much greater focus on our approach to empty homes. Our void strategy groups have brought teams together to identify where we can work more efficiently, supported by weekly meetings between our tenancy and property teams. Our new housing management system is also giving us more accurate information and helping us to monitor our performance more effectively.

While we are really pleased with the progress we have made, we know there is still more to do. Every day that a home remains empty is a day that someone is waiting for a home and we are losing rental income that could be invested back into our homes and services. We will continue to focus on reducing re-let times and building on the improvements we have made this year.

Our performance in collecting rent remains strong at 99.8%, marginally better than the Scottish average of 99.7%. This is particularly positive given the ongoing cost of living crisis and the financial challenges many tenants continue to face. Our dedicated income team works hard to support tenants, offering practical help and flexible arrangements where needed, while also ensuring rent is collected on time. Their balanced approach helps us secure the financial stability of Cairn and allows us to reinvest in our services and communities.

Last year, we told you that improving tenant participation and engagement was an important priority for us. We know this is an area where we have underperformed in the past, and this year we have taken significant steps to strengthen how we listen to and involve tenants.

We launched our new Tenant Voice Board and Customer Insights Panel, giving tenants different ways to get involved and influence our services. Our Customer Insights Panel will carry out in-depth scrutiny of particular areas of our work, while the Tenant Voice Board gives tenants an opportunity to discuss wider issues and help shape our priorities. We also now have two members of staff dedicated to supporting tenant engagement and making sure this work continues to grow.

Tenant feedback is also helping to shape our future direction. This year, we carried out a major consultation on our next business plan, asking tenants what they think our priorities should be over the coming years.

Whether it’s through one of our tenant groups, a survey or simply getting in touch to tell us about your experience, we want to hear what tenants have to say. Feedback doesn’t have to be about something big to make a difference – it all helps us understand what is working well and where we could do better.

If you would like to get more involved, we would love to hear from you. You can join our Tenant Voice Board or Customer Insights Panel and help influence the services we provide by contacting us.

We hope you enjoyed our 2026 annual report.

We’d love to hear what you think about the report or our performance. Please fill in this survey to let us know your thoughts.

If you’d like to find out more, you can visit the Scottish Housing Regulator website to see how Cairn compares to other housing associations and local authorities.