Complaints

All complaints matter and provide valuable feedback. From time to time we might not meet the high standards that we set ourselves. In these cases, you may want to make a complaint about the service that you’ve received.

What is a complaint?

The Housing Ombudsman Code defines a complaint as:

"An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.” - The Housing Ombudsman

This means that you might want to complain if:

  • We haven’t met a published Service Standard or taken action within agreed timescales
  • We’ve not acted in line with our policies and procedures to a customer request
  • Our own colleagues, agents or contractors have behaved in an unacceptable way.

How do I make a complaint?

The independent Housing Ombudsman provides support to help you raise a complaint.

You can also take a look at our complaints leaflet for some more information. 

Click here to view our complaints policy or make a complaint by clicking the button below...

Make a complaint

What happens when I make a complaint?

We resolve as many complaints as possible, directly with you and our frontline teams, to find a quick resolution.

If you’re unhappy with our response, we’ll investigate your complaint if:

  • The actions we agreed to put the issue right haven't happened or took longer than we said they would
  • We haven't responded to all the issues you raised with us
  • We haven't followed our complaints process
  • The complaint is potentially serious, high risk or high profile

If we need to investigate, we try to respond within 10 working days. This can take longer but we’ll always contact you to let you know if this is the case and agree a new timeline.

If you’re unhappy with the outcome of our investigation. Your complaint will be escalated if we find that:

  • There's evidence that our complaints process has not been followed

And/or

  • There are parts of your complaint that have not been addressed

In a Formal Review your complaint will be passed to a senior manager in that area. They’ll review how the complaint was handled, check that our policies and procedures were followed and consider what impact it had on you. If any failures are found with the way the complaint was dealt with, it will be reinvestigated by the senior manager, who will give the final response. 

Our customers are involved in our complaints process and the outcome of a Formal Review will be signed off by a customer or representative panel.

We try to provide a final decision within 20 working days. As before, this can take longer and if this happens, we’ll always contact you to agree a new timescale.

Formal investigation

If you’re unhappy with our response, we’ll investigate your complaint if:

  • The actions we agreed to put the issue right haven't happened or took longer than we said they would
  • We haven't responded to all the issues you raised with us
  • We haven't followed our complaints process
  • The complaint is potentially serious, high risk or high profile

If we need to investigate, we try to respond within 10 working days. This can take longer but we’ll always contact you to let you know if this is the case and agree a new timeline.

Formal review

If you’re unhappy with the outcome of our investigation. Your complaint will be escalated if we find that:

  • There's evidence that our complaints process has not been followed

And/or

  • There are parts of your complaint that have not been addressed

In a Formal Review your complaint will be passed to a senior manager in that area. They’ll review how the complaint was handled, check that our policies and procedures were followed and consider what impact it had on you. If any failures are found with the way the complaint was dealt with, it will be reinvestigated by the senior manager, who will give the final response. 

Our customers are involved in our complaints process and the outcome of a Formal Review will be signed off by a customer or representative panel.

We try to provide a final decision within 20 working days. As before, this can take longer and if this happens, we’ll always contact you to agree a new timescale.

The Independent Housing Ombudsman (IHO)

The Housing Ombudsman have published a new Complaint Handling Code to make sure landlords respond to complaints effectively and fairly.

They expect landlords to carry out regular self-assessment against this Code – you can download our self-assessment here.
If you’re unhappy with the final outcome you’ve received from our internal process you can refer your complaint to a ‘designated person’, such as your MP.

They’ll decide if they’re going to contact us on your behalf or refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service. There’s more information about using a ‘designated person’ on their website.

How do I contact them?

Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

Online: Housing ombudsman make a complaint webpage

Telephone: 0300 111 3000

By letter: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ

Why do we collect personal data of individuals?

This form is for customers and service users to make a complaint about our service. We'll use the information to support with the complaint.

Injuries and accidents

Our complaints policy will allow us to recognise that you may have experienced a certain amount of inconvenience and impact upon yourself. However, it is important to note any medical or injury-related issues, inclusive of mental health are not part of something that can be considered.

To find out more, click here to visit our public liability and injuries claims webpage.

Reasonable adjustments

We understand that some customers may have difficulty communicating a complaint and/or participating in the complaint process, as such we will always make reasonable adjustments, enabling customers to report their concerns and engage in the process.

To find out more, please take a look at our complaints policy.