From April 1 2027, tenants will be able to request information from Midland Heart. This information includes, but is not limited to, information about:

• How property moves are handled
• How rent is collected
• How rent and service charges are calculated
• How staff and trained to do their jobs
• Complaints handling
• How information about you is handled and kept confidential.

You can’t request information such as:

• Council policies (like housing allocations or homelessness services)
• Information about properties that aren’t part of Midland Heart’s social housing
• Information already available under another law (such as Freedom of Information)

A request for information can be made by you as a tenant of Midland Heart, or by a representative of your choice – you will need to let us know who that is though.

For us to deal with the request, it must be made in writing and clearly state the name of the tenant making the request.  

Information requests for the personal data we hold about you are different from information requests under STAIRs. To make a request for access to your personal data, please complete this form.

In some circumstances, we may refuse a request for information. For example, if: 

• it is reasonable to withhold the information from disclosure, based on the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 2018 and any other relevant legislation or regulations.
• the identity of the person making the request cannot be established
• the meaning of the request is not clear
• the information requested is outside the scope of STAIRS
• the work involved with responding to the information request would exceed 18 hours of staff time
• the request is repeated, including where a registered provider receives repeated requests from multiple applicants acting in coordination
• the request is offensive or communicated in an abusive manner

We will not refuse a request because of:

• Your identity (except for ensuring you are a tenant or their representative)
• The reason you are making the request (or our perception of it)
• How the information will be used following disclosure (or our perception of it).

When we respond to requests, we will:

• Acknowledge receipt of your request
• Respond in full to your request within 30 days – or let you know why we can’t do this and tell you when we will be able to give you a response
• Tell you if we are refusing your request and the reasons why
• Remove any personal data of another person or data that might harm another person if disclosed
• Do everything we can to provide information in a format suitable to your needs
• Where we are aware of other information relevant to your request, we will guide you to it

If we aren’t sure about a request or what you are asking for, we will always do what we can to support you to get the information you want.

If you disagree with our decision or are unhappy with the outcome of your request, you should complain to us using our usual complaints procedure.

We will carry out a review of how we have responded to your request, this will usually be within 30 days, but it may take longer, if it does, we will tell you and explain why.

If you are still not happy, you can complain to Housing Ombudsman Service.

You can read full information about STAIRs here.

This will be added when requests are made.