Make things right | Why we welcome complaints
Published: 1 May 2024
We welcome the new government campaign that encourages social landlords to make it easy for tenants to make a complaint.
We don’t always get things right. When we don’t, we want it to be as easy as possible for you to make a complaint so we can resolve any issues, and learn how we can improve. The Housing Ombudsman recently updated their Complaint Handling Code which became a legal requirement for all social landlords to follow on 1 April 2024. We have recently updated our complaints policy and website to reflect these changes.
Find more information and read our full policy on our Complaints webpage.
What’s changed in the Complaint Handling Code?
From April 2024, landlords must:
- provide a universal definition of a complaint
- provide easy access to the complaints procedure and ensure residents are aware of it, including their right to access the Housing Ombudsman Service
- provide clear information on the structure of the complaint's procedure - the processes should only have two stages with clear timescales set out for responses
- ensure fairness in complaint handling with a resident-focused process
- take action to put things right and appropriate remedies
- create a positive complaint handling culture through continuous learning and improvement
- demonstrate learning in annual reports
- complete an annual self-assessment against the code
What we’ve done:
- included the universal definition of a complaint on our website and in the policy
- included links to our complaint pages on the home page of our website
- regularly provide information in our customer newsletter and on social media
- updated our website to provide clear information on our process, what to expect and our complaint timescales
- ensure fairness in complaint handling with a resident-focused process
- updated our policy to explain what we can do to remedy a complaint
- we identify trends in complaints and put measures in place to stop them happening again
- we include a section on learning from complaints in our annual report
- we publish an annual self-assessment against the Ombudsman’s Code
Make things right
We welcome the Government's make things right campaign and want to make it easy as possible for you to complain, and get any issues resolved.
Everyone deserves a home that is safe, secure, and well maintained.
As your landlord, we're responsible for fixing issues including damp and mould, leaks, broken locks or changes you need to your home if you’re disabled. We can also help with anti-social behaviour, like noisy neighbours.
Know the steps to get an issue fixed.
Step 1. Report it to us
Step 2. If we don't get it sorted, you can complain through our complaint process
Step 3. If you’re not happy with the final response from us, you can escalate your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.
Step one - Report
You can report issues to us online, over the phone and through email.
Urgent issues
If you have an urgent issue, you need to call us. We are available for emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Non-urgent issues
You should report all non-urgent repairs through My Account. This is an online service that's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For everything else, use our web form.
Step two - Complain
You can make a complaint online, through email, over the phone, in writing or in person.
Read more on how you can make a complaint.
Step Three - Escalate
The Housing Ombudsman is impartial, will investigate fairly and can order your landlord to take action.
If the Housing Ombudsman has ruled against a landlord, they must show they are taking action within 6-8 weeks.
Know your rights, visit gov.uk/social-housing