ARC Technical Guidance — July 2025 update: every change you need to know
- Jim Walker
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....(or submit your ARC return) they've done it again, as we could have guessed. You may have read in my previous post https://www.istride.co.uk/post/navigating-the-2025-arc-changes-what-you-need-to-know about changes that came in to force from April 2025. Well here's some more, that importantly, you need to check you have a way of capturing the data back to April 2025.
There's quit a few changes - The July 2025 technical guidance locks in new safety and condition metrics (EICR, fire detection, damp & mould, longer-term voids), tightens definitions and calculations for RFT repairs and ASB, and removes older metrics (offers refused, adaptation costs, homelessness referral flows) while renumbering a swathe of indicators for the 2025/26 return. I for one am slightly disappointed about no one cares about the cost of adaptations as I spent a good few hours writing that one for an Authority on the East!
What this update is
Version history: Approved July 2025; last reviewed April 2025. Since the last review, the SHR added: clarifications to Indicators 10 & 15, plus automated totals for Indicators 31 & 32.
When it first applies: Returns for April 2025–March 2026 will be based on this guidance.
What’s new
Charter indicators
29 (NEW) — Count how many times you did not meet the five-year EICR requirement during the reporting year (as per SG SHQS Technical Guidance).
30 (NEW) — Count homes without ‘satisfactory equipment for detecting fire and giving warning’ at year end.
31 (NEW) — Report the average time to resolve damp/mould cases by cause (condensation, structural, other), with both case counts and total working-day times (and now includes total automated sums).
32 (NEW) — Report the percentage of resolved damp/mould cases that were reopened, by cause (and now includes total automated sums).
33 (NEW) — Report the number of open damp/mould cases at year end.
Contextual indicators
C9 (NEW) — Report self-contained properties void at year end, and—of those—void >6 months, by category.
What’s amended
Charter indicators
10 — Right-first-time (RFT) reactive repairs (AMEND):
Definition tightened: to count as RFT the repair must be completed within locally agreed targets and without a recall. Planned multi-visit jobs still count if delivered as planned. If a defect is reported again in the same year, the original job is not RFT; the recall job then becomes eligible as a repair measured for RFT.
Two SHR calculations are shown: (a) the standard RFT ÷ total reactive repairs, and (b) (total reactive repairs − “reported again”) ÷ total reactive repairs. Inclusions/exclusions (e.g., exclude emergency repairs, voids, defects-liability repairs) are spelled out.
15 — ASB cases resolved (AMEND):
Carries carried-forward cases, defines “resolved”, and details what constitutes a “case.”
SHR calculation now also expresses ASB cases per 100 properties: total self-contained units ÷ 100 = x; total cases (y) ÷ x = cases per 100.
Contextual indicators
C2 — Lets by source (AMEND):
For all landlords: report lets to existing tenants, housing list, mutual exchanges, other.
LAs only: lets to homeless applicants.
RSLs (by LA area): statutorily homeless broken down by Section 5, LA nominations, other; plus other nominations from LAs; total lets.
What’s clarified (method/rules unchanged, but expectations made explicit)
Charter indicators
3 & 4 — Complaints: How to count received, carried forward, responded in full, and time to respond (Stage 1 & 2), with precise SHR calculations.
6 — SHQS %: Drawn directly from contextual data (no separate input needed). Also lists what to exclude/include (e.g., exemptions/abeyances) to determine “meeting SHQS.”
9 — Non-emergency repairs time: Clarifies working days, inclusions/exclusions, and that some out-of-year raised jobs counted on completion; includes temporary accommodation repairs owned by landlord.
11 — Gas safety: Reiterates 12-month check requirement and scope; follow the latest Gas Safety Regulations.
16 (formerly 17) — % lettable homes becoming vacant: Clarifies what to include/exclude for vacants.
17 (formerly 18) — % rent loss through empties: Clarifies what rent to include, how to handle major repairs/decants/insurance, service charges, and cross-year handling.
18 (formerly 19) — Households waiting for adaptations: Clarifies applications vs. adaptations, start/end of “waiting,” and that (iii) should equal (i) − (ii) (otherwise comment).
26 (formerly 22) — Rent collected % of total due; 27 (formerly 23) — Gross arrears %; 28 (formerly 24) — Factoring fee; 30 (formerly 26) — Re-let time; and 31–32 (formerly 27–28) — Gypsy/Traveller metrics all include clarified inputs/calcs.
Contextual indicators
C5 (formerly C6) — Direct housing cost payments: Clarifies counts and value.
C8 (formerly C9) — SHQS stock summary: Clarifies scope, exemptions, abeyance, failures; requires comments for total failing SHQS; references EESSH interim guidance.
What’s removed
14 — % tenancy offers refused (removed).
20 — Total cost of adaptations by funding source (removed).
23 — Homelessness (RSLs only) referral/offer/let metric (removed).
24 — Homelessness (LAs only) referrals to RSLs (removed).
C3 — Lets split between general needs vs. supported (removed).
Renumbering (old ➜ new)
To avoid confusion when benchmarking year-to-year, here’s the visible mapping from the tracked document:
15 ➜ 14 (ASB cases resolved)
16 ➜ 15 (Tenancy sustainment)
17 ➜ 16 (Lettable homes becoming vacant)
18 ➜ 17 (Rent loss through empties)
19 ➜ 18 (Households waiting for adaptations)
21 ➜ 19 (Average time to complete adaptations)
22 ➜ 20 (Court actions resulting in eviction)
25 ➜ 21 (Value for money)
26 ➜ 22 (Rent collected %)
27 ➜ 23 (Gross arrears %)
28 ➜ 24 (Factoring fee)
29 ➜ 25 (Factored owner satisfaction)
30 ➜ 26 (Re-let time)
31 ➜ 27 (Gypsy/Traveller pitch rent)
32 ➜ 28 (Gypsy/Traveller site satisfaction)
Contextual renumbering highlights:
C4 ➜ C3 (Abandoned homes), C5 ➜ C4 (Rent increase), C6 ➜ C5 (Direct payments), C8 ➜ C7 (SHQS stock condition), C9 ➜ C8 (SHQS stock summary), and C9 (NEW) now used for voids at year end.
Administrative notes called out in the guidance
Governance sign-off: RSL returns must be approved by the Governing Body (or delegated sub-committee); LAs by the chief officer responsible for housing.
First principles: Landlords are responsible for data accuracy and should retain workings and evidence for audit/performance assurance.
Wrapping it all up
The July 2025 update makes it crystal clear that the ARC is shifting more firmly towards safety, condition, and compliance while trimming back older measures that regulators no longer see as adding value. That means your focus now needs to be on:
Capturing data from April 2025 onwards (yes, that means looking backwards too).
Checking your systems can handle new requirements like damp and mould tracking, void categorisation, and EICR monitoring.
Training your teams so they understand the definitions that have been tightened, especially around repairs and ASB.
Keeping good evidence—because when the SHR asks, you’ll need to show how you got to your figures. How many of you note why something was excluded, when you excluded it?
It might feel like a lot (and yes, slightly frustrating when hours spent on metrics like adaptations costs are now redundant), but by getting ahead of it you’ll save yourself a painful scramble come reporting time. Take it in chunks - Step 1- Am I capturing enough data or in the right way to answer the questions, Step 2 - Plan in the report changes over the next few months.
If you’re unsure, just ask.
You can find the latest guidance, clean, tracked changes, and FAQs here:
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