What is the resident services survey form template?
Councils, town boards and municipal departments make budget decisions every year, and the residents who use the bins, roads, parks and libraries are the people best placed to say what's working. A regular residents' survey turns scattered complaints into a picture you can compare across neighbourhoods and from one year to the next.
This template starts with a few light questions about the respondent and their area, then asks them to rate twelve common services from very poor to very good, with a 'Don't use' option so non-users don't skew the result. They choose up to three priorities for improvement, answer questions on feeling safe by day and after dark, and say whether their area has got better or worse.
A page on council communication asks whether they've contacted the council and how it went, and whether the council keeps residents informed, listens and gives value for money. It finishes with an overall satisfaction score and an optional sign-up for future consultations. Every response is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault.
- Best for
- Councils, municipalities, town and parish boards, and community associations
- Filled in by
- Residents, anonymously unless they opt in to future consultations
- Time to complete
- About 6 minutes
- Includes
- 12-service rating grid, top-three priorities, safety by day and night, contact handling, communication grid and a 1–10 overall score
Who uses a resident services survey form?
- An annual or biennial residents' satisfaction survey
- Gathering views before setting the next year's budget
- Comparing satisfaction between wards or neighbourhoods
- Checking whether a change to bin collections or street cleaning was noticed
- A community association surveying members about local issues
- Recruiting residents for future consultation panels
Questions on this resident services survey form
23 questions over 5 pages · includes conditional questions, multiple pages, ratings.
1 About you
- Which neighbourhood, ward or postcode area do you live in?*
- How long have you lived in the area?* Less than a year · 1–5 years · 6–10 years · More than 10 years
- Your home is… Owned (outright or with a mortgage) · Rented from a private landlord · Rented from the council or a housing association · Living with family or friends
- Your age group Under 18 · 18–24 · 25–34 · 35–44 · 45–54 · 55–64 · 65–74 · 75 or over · Prefer not to say
- Does your household include any of the following? Children under 16 · Someone aged 65 or over · Someone with a disability or long-term condition · None of these
2 Local services
- How would you rate each service?* Very poor · Poor · Fair · Good · Very good · Don't use / N/A
- Which should be the top priorities for improvement?* Waste and recycling · Roads and pavements · Clean streets · Parks and green spaces · Community safety · Public transport links · Affordable housing · Activities for young people · Support for older residents · Climate and environment
- Tell us about a service that worked particularly well or badly for you
3 Safety & your neighbourhood
- How safe do you feel outside in your area during the day?* Very safe · Fairly safe · Neither safe nor unsafe · Fairly unsafe · Very unsafe
- And after dark?* Very safe · Fairly safe · Neither safe nor unsafe · Fairly unsafe · Very unsafe
- Which of these are a problem in your area? Speeding traffic · Anti-social behaviour · Fly-tipping · Graffiti or vandalism · Dog fouling · Noise · Drug use or dealing · Burglary or theft · None of these
- Over the last two years, has your area got better or worse as a place to live?* Better · About the same · Worse · Don't know
- How strongly do you feel you belong to your local area?
4 Council communication
- Have you contacted the council in the last 12 months?*
- How did you contact us? asked only when it applies Website or online form · Phone · Email · In person · Councillor · Social media
- How satisfied were you with how your contact was handled?* asked only when it applies
- How much do you agree?* Strongly disagree · Disagree · Neutral · Agree · Strongly agree
- How would you like to hear from the council? Email newsletter · Council website · Social media · Printed magazine or leaflets · Text message · Local noticeboards · Public meetings
5 Overall
- Overall, how satisfied are you with the way the council runs things?*
- If you could change one thing about local services, what would it be?
- Would you like to take part in future consultations?
- Your name asked only when it applies
- Email* asked only when it applies
The resident services survey form, page by page
1 About you
The survey asks which neighbourhood, ward or postcode area the resident lives in, how long they've lived there, and whether their home is owned, privately rented, rented from the council or a housing association, or shared with family. Age group and a household question (children under 16, someone aged 65 or over, or someone with a disability or long-term condition) are optional and help you compare groups.
2 Local services
A grid rates general waste, recycling and garden waste, street cleaning, roads, pavements, street lighting, parks and playgrounds, libraries, sports and leisure, parking, planning and building control, and housing services, each from very poor to very good or 'Don't use / N/A'.
Residents then pick up to three top priorities for improvement from a list including waste, roads, community safety, public transport links, affordable housing, activities for young people and climate, with room to add their own. An optional box asks about a service that worked particularly well or badly.
3 Safety & your neighbourhood
Two side-by-side questions ask how safe residents feel outside during the day and after dark, from very safe to very unsafe. They tick which local problems apply, such as speeding traffic, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping or dog fouling, say whether the area has got better or worse over the last two years, and rate on a 1–5 scale how strongly they feel they belong.
4 Council communication
Residents say whether they've contacted the council in the last 12 months. If they have, they say how (website, phone, email, in person, a councillor or social media) and rate how their contact was handled out of five stars. Everyone then rates five statements, from keeping residents informed to providing value for money, and chooses how they'd like to hear from the council.
5 Overall
A required 1–10 scale asks for overall satisfaction with how the council runs things, followed by an optional 'one change' box. Residents who want to take part in future consultations can leave their name and email; everyone else stays anonymous.
Make the template yours
- Replace the service list with the services your council actually provides, such as social care or bin types
- Change the area question to a dropdown of your wards so results group cleanly
- Add a question on a current consultation topic, such as a new parking scheme
- Translate the questions or add a 'Need this in another language?' note on the cover
- Set a closing date so the survey runs for a fixed fieldwork period
- Route responses to a dedicated folder for each survey year
Tips for a better resident services survey form
- Publish the headline results and what you'll do about them — it's the best way to get people to respond next time
- Offer paper copies or phone help for residents who don't go online, and enter their answers into the same form
- Promote the survey through libraries, community centres and local groups, not only social media, to reach a wider mix of residents
- Keep the questions the same from year to year if you want to compare results over time
- Compare responses from different areas before drawing conclusions about the whole town
- Don't ask for names unless residents choose to give them; anonymity usually brings more honest answers
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
Each completed survey is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault, in the folder you choose. Owner notifications can be switched on or off; for a large survey most teams turn them off and review responses in batches.
The Responses table shows every submission, and you can export everything to a CSV for analysis in a spreadsheet, with each row of the service and communication grids as its own column. Residents who opted in to future consultations are easy to filter and contact.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Resident services survey form: frequently asked questions
Is this template free?
Yes. It's included in the FileIt Forms app on every account, including the free plan, and you can edit, add or remove any question.
Do respondents need a FileIt account?
No. Anyone with the form's link can respond without signing up or signing in.
Are responses anonymous?
Yes, by default. The form doesn't ask for a name or email unless the resident opts in to future consultations at the end.
Can a resident respond more than once?
The template is set to one response per person by default, which is a light check in the browser rather than a guarantee. You can change this in the form's settings.
Can we compare results by ward or neighbourhood?
Yes. Export the responses to a CSV and group them by the area question. Changing that question to a dropdown of your wards makes this easier.
Can we run the survey for a fixed period?
Yes. Set a closing date or a maximum number of responses in the form's settings.
Does FileIt analyse the results for us?
FileIt saves each response and lets you export them all. Charts and statistical analysis are done in your own spreadsheet or analysis tool.
Can we enter paper responses?
Yes. Staff can open the form link and type in answers from paper copies, so all responses end up in one place.