Customer Survey FAQs

About the survey

Why is the survey taking place?

The main aim of this research is to understand the impact of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) on private landlords.

The survey is part of a larger research project exploring the impact of the LHA on the private rented sector, including tenants and landlords.

Who is conducting the survey?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has asked Verian to carry out the Impact of Local Housing Allowance research.

Verian is an accredited Market Research Society Company Partner (www.mrs.org.uk). The Market Research Society is the UK professional body for research, insight and analytics. Verian is also a member of ESOMAR (esomar.org), a global professional association for market research and insights. Verian adheres to the MRS/ESOMAR codes of conduct.

Work conducted by Verian Group UK Ltd is certified to the International Standards ISO 9001, ISO 20252 and ISO 27001.

To find out more about Verian, please visit www.veriangroup.com.

Is this a real DWP research project?

If you would like to check that this survey is real, you can see a list of current DWP research projects here: Current DWP research in the field undertaken by external organisations - GOV.UK.

Taking part

Why was I selected to take part?

You have been invited to take part in the survey either through the CINT survey platform or a landlord association or deposit management company. Verian have asked different organisations to share the survey link to try and reach as many landlords as possible.

You may have been invited more than once, you only need to take part once.

Why are my views important?

Your views are important to help DWP understand the impact of Local Housing Allowance on both tenants and landlords. It is important for DWP to hear from the experiences of a range of people.

Completing the survey

What do I need to do?

If you were invited through the CINT survey platform, please follow their instructions for taking part.

If you would like to complete the survey through a link received via a landlord association or deposit management company, please follow the open link in the email you received.

Do I have to answer every question?

We would like you to complete as many questions as you can. You can skip questions if you don’t know the answer. You can also skip questions that you don’t feel comfortable answering. You can move on to the next question by selecting either the ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t want to answer’ option.

Your answers will be reported anonymously, meaning that it will not be possible to identify you in any published reports.

Can I complete the survey on my smartphone?

Yes, you can complete the survey on your smartphone or any other device, including a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

Confidentiality and data protection

Is this research confidential and will anyone at DWP see my answers?

If you choose to take part, your survey responses will be treated confidentially in line with UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your personal data will not be shared with DWP.

What will happen to the results of the surveys?

Your answers will be grouped with all the answers from everyone who has taken part in the research. The results will be written up in published reports in which it will be impossible to identify you or your individual answers.

For more information on your privacy, please visit https://www.veriangroup.com/uk-surveys.

Is the information I provide safe online?

We take our responsibilities to keep your personal information secure very seriously. As such, we take every reasonable precaution to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft, or misuse. We use a secure Website (HTTPS) to ensure that your data is protected. This is the same type of website that you would generally see when shopping online.

As part of our commitment to the security of your information, Verian has regular internal and external audits of its information security and is accredited to the International Standard for Information Security, ISO 27001.

What about cookies?

The website uses cookies to detect your device’s operating system, screen resolution and the browser you are using in order to adjust the survey to best suit your system. This information is returned to us and stored for statistical purposes only. We do not collect or store any personal information through cookies. It is possible for you to delete cookies or to prevent their use by adjusting the browser settings on your computer.

Data Protection

Taking part is voluntary and any information you give us will be used only with your consent. Both DWP and Verian will process your answers in compliance with the Data Protection Action 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

For more information about how we keep your data safe please see the survey privacy policy on this page: www.lhasurvey.co.uk.