Flow – STAIRS

For Housing Associations — IT, Data Governance & Housing Operations Leaders

The STAIRs clock is ticking. Flow Automated Intelligence keeps you on the right side of it.

New statutory requirements, tight deadlines, and escalating complexity are landing on Housing Association teams at once. Flow AI gives you a fully configured STAIRs case management solution — workflows, SLA management, escalation pathways and audit trails — ready to use from day one.

Book a 20-min chat with Matt Edwards Explore the solution

October 2026

Proactive publication deadline

30 Days

Statutory SLA for tenant requests

6–12 Weeks

Typical time from contract to go-live

The Real Problem

Your STAIRs process is only as strong as the systems behind it

Most Housing Associations understand the STAIRs obligations. The challenge is building a process that can handle them consistently - across teams, timelines and case types - as demand grows. Here’s what we hear every time.

Requests are managed across disconnected systems

Cases, documents and supporting evidence sit across inboxes, shared drives and spreadsheets. Teams spend more time piecing together the picture than managing the case.

Deadlines that can’t afford to slip

A 30-day response obligation with no system enforcing it means one missed deadline can trigger an Ombudsman escalation - a matter of public record with real reputational consequences.

Escalation pathways add complexity fast

Internal reviews, Housing Ombudsman referrals and Judicial Reviews each introduce additional stages that need tracking, evidencing and managing - consistently, every time.

Building a defensible audit trail takes discipline

Every decision, document and deadline may face scrutiny. Maintaining that record manually, across teams, under operational pressure, is where things go wrong.

Introducing Flow AI

STAIRs case management built for Housing Associations

Flow AI provides a fully configured STAIRs case management solution - not a blank platform. Case types, workflows, escalation pathways, SLA management and audit trails are set up before you go live, so teams can start using the system operationally from day one.

Five pre-configured case types

STAIRs Requests, Internal Reviews, Housing Ombudsman cases, Judicial Reviews and High Risk Buildings - ready for operational use.

Workflows, SLAs and escalation pathways

Assign work, track deadlines and route cases through configured stages with SLA monitoring and escalation rules built in.

Reporting, dashboards and full audit trails

Monitor case volumes, track SLA performance and maintain a complete, defensible record through operational dashboards.

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Managing STAIRs shouldn’t depend on spreadsheets and email threads.

Flow AI gives Housing Associations the structure, visibility and control to manage STAIRs requests, reviews and escalation pathways within a single operational environment - from the first request to final resolution.

✓ Pre-Configured Case Types ✓ Workflow & SLA Management ✓ Escalation Pathways ✓ Operational Reporting ✓ Complete Audit Trails

Built for organisations managing regulated processes

LOGO Example

Our Approach

The 3-step path to STAIRs-ready case management

A practical, configured solution that works within your existing teams and processes - not against them.

Step One

Manage

Manage every STAIRs case type in one place STAIRs Requests, Internal Reviews, Housing Ombudsman cases, Judicial Reviews and High Risk Buildings are pre-configured with intake forms and workflow stages aligned to the statutory process. No manual routing. No missed case types.

Step Two

Enforce

Enforce deadlines and manage escalation automatically SLA timers, escalation triggers and configurable workflow stages keep cases moving and compliant. If a deadline is at risk, the system flags it before it becomes a problem.

Step Three

Maintain

Maintain a defensible audit trail from day one. Every action, decision and document is recorded with a timestamp. Operational dashboards give leadership visibility of case volumes, SLA performance and escalation trends in real time.

The Stakes

The October 2026 deadline is closer than it looks

Proactive publication requirements take effect in October 2026. The tenant request window opens in April 2027. Housing Associations that are not operationally ready before those dates face a sharp escalation in pressure.

A missed 30-day response gives tenants the right to escalate directly to the Housing Ombudsman. An adverse determination is a matter of public record, carries reputational consequences and can trigger mandatory remedial action. Repeated failures are reportable to the Regulator of Social Housing.

Managing STAIRs through email threads, shared drives and manual tracking is a liability that will only grow as tenant awareness of the new rights increases.

What's Included

A working STAIRs solution from day one

At go-live, you receive a fully configured STAIRs case management environment - not a blank platform requiring further build. Five pre-configured case types, workflow and SLA configuration, escalation pathways, reporting dashboards and role-based access controls are set up before launch.

User training and onboarding are included, so teams go live with a system they can use immediately. Post go-live support is available throughout.

Implementation

6–12 weeks from contract to go-live

Typical deployments run 6–12 weeks from contract to go-live, through three structured phases: discovery and configuration, user acceptance testing, and go-live with onboarding. The main requirement from your team is a project lead and subject matter experts for discovery workshops - typically two to three days. No dedicated IT resource or development capability is required.

Commercial Model

Annual subscription, one-off implementation

Annual subscription pricing, structured around organisational size and named user licences. A one-off implementation fee applies, scaled to the scope of deployment. Indicative pricing available on request.

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Annual subscription pricing

Structured around organisational size and named user licences

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One-off implementation fee

Scaled to the scope of deployment

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Indicative pricing on request

Tailored to your requirements

See It In Action

See how Flow AI manages information requests in practice

Watch a short demonstration of Flow AI's workflow solution for managing information requests, including GDPR, SAR and FOI-related processes. The demo shows how organisations can automate request handling where appropriate, maintain a complete audit trail, store supporting evidence, monitor SLA performance and manage escalations through a structured case management flow.

What you'll see:

Workflow automation where permitted by regulation

Centralised evidence and document storage

Audit trails and proof of decision-making

Automated SLA monitoring, notifications and escalations

Reporting and operational visibility

Insights

From the Flow AI blog

STAIRs Compliance

STAIRs Is Coming: What Housing Associations Need to Have in Place Before October 2026

The STAIRs regime introduces proactive publication obligations before a single tenant request arrives. This piece sets out the key milestones, operational risks and what a properly prepared Housing Association looks like.

✓ Why October 2026 matters - and what happens to Associations that miss it

✓ The escalation pathway from missed deadline to Ombudsman finding to regulatory engagement

✓ Why manual processes create compounding risk as tenant awareness grows

✓ How a structured case management solution changes the compliance picture

Book a conversation about your STAIRs readiness →
Read the Blog

Case Management & Governance

Why Email, Shared Drives and Spreadsheets Won’t Scale for STAIRs

Many Housing Associations currently manage compliance-driven processes through a combination of inboxes, shared drives and manual tracking. This piece examines what that approach costs under STAIRs, and what structured case management looks like in practice.

✓ The real operational cost of unstructured case handling: missed deadlines, inconsistent records, staff burden

✓ Why tenant awareness of new rights will drive demand growth over time

✓ What a defensible audit trail actually requires - and why manual records rarely meet the standard

✓ How structured workflow automation reduces staff burden while improving compliance

Read the Blog

Beyond STAIRs

One platform for wider governance and compliance

The STAIRs case management solution sits within a broader platform built for Housing Associations managing multiple regulated obligations simultaneously. The same environment handles related requirements, removing the need for separate tools and creating a single audit framework across all compliance-driven casework.

DSAR / DSRR

Data Subject Access Requests and Data Subject Rights Requests, managed within statutory timescales with a full audit trail.

RoPA

Structured maintenance and review of Records of Processing Activity, reducing ICO audit risk.

DPIA

Data Protection Impact Assessment workflows, approvals and outcomes — managed and auditable.

Complaint Handling

Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code compliance, alongside STAIRs — consistent SLA monitoring and audit trail across both.

Contract Reviews

Contract review processes managed through the same structured case management framework.

Let's Talk

20 minutes could change how your organisation manages STAIRs

No pitch deck. No obligation. Matt will listen to where your organisation is with STAIRs preparation and tell you honestly whether and how the solution can help - from case types and workflows to SLA management, escalation pathways and reporting.

Book a 20-min chat with Matt Edwards → Call us directly

in Or connect with Matt Edwards on LinkedIn

Matt Edwards

Matt has spent his career helping regulated organisations translate complex compliance requirements into operational systems that actually work. He brings deep expertise in case management, workflow automation and enterprise content management, with particular focus on the housing and public sector. When you book a call with Matt, you’re talking to someone who understands both the regulatory landscape and the practical realities of making change stick inside a busy Housing Association.