Complaint handling self-assessment 2024-25

Code provision

Code requirement

Comply: Yes/No

Evidence

1.2

A complaint must be defined as:
'an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the landlord, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting a resident or group of residents.'

Yes

Complaints Policy

1.3

A resident does not have to use the word 'complaint' for it to be treated as such. Whenever a resident expresses dissatisfaction landlords must give them the choice to make complaint. A complaint that is submitted via a third party or representative must be handled in line with the landlord's complaints policy.

Yes

 Contact us, complaints and compliments page.

1.6

An expression of dissatisfaction with services made through a survey is not defined as a complaint, though wherever possible, the person completing the survey should be made aware of how they can pursue a complaint if they wish to. Where landlords ask for wider feedback about their services, they also must provide details of how residents can complain.

No

Code provision

Code requirement

Comply: Yes/No

Evidence

2.1

Landlords must accept a complaint unless there is a valid reason not to do so. If landlords decide not to accept a complaint they must be able to evidence their reasoning. Each complaint must be considered on its own merits

Yes

What is a complaint

2.3

A complaints policy must set out the circumstances in which a matter will not be considered as a complaint or escalated, and these circumstances must be fair and reasonable to residents. Acceptable exclusions include: 

• The issue giving rise to the complaint occurred over twelve months ago.
• Legal proceedings have started. This is defined as details of the claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, having been filed at court.
• Matters that have previously been considered under the complaints policy.

Yes

What is a complaint

2.3

Landlords must accept complaints referred to them within 12 months of the issue occurring or the resident becoming aware of the issue, unless they are excluded on other grounds. Landlords must consider whether to apply discretion to accept complaints made outside this time limit where there are good reasons to do so.

Yes

What is a complaint

2.4

If a landlord decides not to accept a complaint, an explanation must be provided to the resident setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process and the right to take that decision to the Ombudsman. If the Ombudsman does not agree that the exclusion has been fairly applied, the Ombudsman may tell the landlord to take on the complaint.

Yes

What is a complaint

2.5

Landlords must not take a blanket approach to excluding complaints; they must consider the individual circumstances of each complaint.

No

Code provision

Code requirement

Comply: Yes/No

Evidence

3.1

Landlords must make it easy for residents to complain by providing different channels through which they can make a complaint. Landlords must consider their duties under the Equality Act 2010 and anticipate the needs and reasonable adjustments of residents who may need to access the complaints process.

Yes

Send an enquiry, complaint or compliment

3.2

Residents must be able to raise their complaints in any way and with any member of staff. All staff must be aware of the complaints process and be able to pass details of the complaint to the appropriate person within the landlord.

Yes

Full written complaints process guidance available to all Housing colleagues.

The council reports the number of complaints registered annually to the regulator. These figures also forms part of our own quarterly KPI reporting and are reported to Housemark annually.

The Council also takes part in Housemark's monthly pulse report.

4.2

The complaints officer must have access to staff at all levels to facilitate the prompt resolution of complaints. They must also have the authority and autonomy to act to resolve disputes promptly and fairly.

Yes

4.3

Landlords are expected to prioritise complaint handling and a culture of learning from complaints. All relevant staff must be suitably trained in the importance of complaint handling. It is important that complaints are seen as a core service and must be resourced to handle complaints effectively

Yes

Social housing complaints

5.2

The early and local resolution of issues between landlords and residents is key to effective complaint handling. It is not appropriate to have extra named stages (such as 'stage 0' or 'informal complaint') as this causes unnecessary confusion.

Yes

Social housing complaints

5.3

A process with more than two stages is not acceptable under any circumstances as this will make the complaint process unduly long and delay access to the Ombudsman.

Yes

Social housing complaints

At each stage of the complaints process, complaint handlers must:

a. deal with complaints on their merits, act independently, and have an open mind;

b. give the resident a fair chance to set out their position;

c. take measures to address any actual or perceived conflict of interest; and

d. consider all relevant information and evidence carefully.

A full record must be kept of the complaint, and the outcomes at each stage. This must include the original complaint and the date received, all correspondence with the resident, correspondence with other parties, and any relevant supporting documentation such as reports or surveys.

6.2

Complaints must be acknowledged, defined and logged at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within five working days of the complaint being received.

Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage 1 in clear, plain language:

a. the complaint stage;

b. the complaint definition;

c. the decision on the complaint;

d. the reasons for any decisions made;

e. the details of any remedy offered to put things right;

f. details of any outstanding actions; and details of how to escalate the matter to stage 2 if the individual is not satisfied with the response.

6.11

Requests for stage 2 must be acknowledged, defined and logged at stage 2 of the complaints procedure within five working days of the escalation request being received.

Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage 2 in clear, plain language:

a. the complaint stage;

b. the complaint definition;

c. the decision on the complaint;

d. the reasons for any decisions made;

e. the details of any remedy offered to put things right;

f. details of any outstanding   actions; and

g. details of how to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman Service if the individual remains dissatisfied.

Where something has gone wrong a landlord must acknowledge this and set out the actions it has already taken, or intends to take, to put things right. These can include:

• Apologising;
• Acknowledging where things have gone wrong;
• Providing an explanation,   assistance or reasons;
• Taking action if there has been delay;
• Reconsidering or changing a decision;
• Amending a record or adding a correction or addendum;
• Providing a financial remedy;
• Changing policies, procedures or practices.

Landlords must produce an annual complaints performance and service improvement report for scrutiny and challenge, which must include:

a. the annual self-assessment against this Code to ensure their complaint handling policy remains in line with its requirements.

b. a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the landlord's complaint handling performance. This must also include a summary of the types of complaints the landlord has refused to accept;

c. any findings of non-compliance with this Code by the Ombudsman;

d. the service improvements made as a result of the learning from complaints;

e. any annual report about the landlord's performance from the Ombudsman; and

f. any other relevant reports or publications produced by the Ombudsman in relation to the work of the landlord.

Landlords must appoint a suitably senior lead person as accountable for their complaint handling. This person must assess any themes or trends to identify potential systemic issues, serious risks, or policies and procedures that require revision.

As a minimum, the MRC and the governing body (or equivalent) must receive:

a. regular updates on the volume, categories and outcomes of complaints, alongside complaint handling performance;

b. regular reviews of issues and trends arising from complaint handling;

c. regular updates on the outcomes of the Ombudsman's investigations and progress made in complying with orders related to severe maladministration findings; and annual complaints performance and service improvement report.

Landlords must have a standard objective in relation to complaint handling for all relevant employees or third parties that reflects the need to:

a. have a collaborative and co-operative approach towards resolving complaints, working with colleagues across teams and departments;

b. take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through complaints, rather than blaming others; and

c. act within the professional standards for engaging with complaints as set by any relevant professional body.

Not currently stated in our complaints policy, draft policy update includes this information.