Make a complaint about our council housing service

How to make a formal complaint about our council housing services, what to include and how we will respond.

Before you complain

If you have a problem, you should contact us before making a complaint. This gives us a chance to fix it. 

Most issues can be solved such as telling us about:

There are different ways to complain about other services or about a councillor.

Who can make a complaint

You can complain if you use our housing services. This includes residents, tenants and groups of residents or tenants.

You can ask someone to represent you during the complaints process. They can be:

  • another resident
  • a family member
  • a friend
  • a designated person (for example, an MP, councillor or recognised tenant panel)
  • a support organisation

We will ask for your consent to share your personal information with your representative during the complaints process.

What we can investigate

We can investigate a complaint if:

  • we made a mistake
  • you are unhappy with the service you got from us 
  • there were unreasonable delays 
  • you feel you have been treated poorly 
  • you feel that you have not been kept informed 
  • we did not give you the information you needed

You do not have to use the word ‘complaint’ for it to be treated as one.

You must complain within 12 months of the issue or when you became aware of it.

What we cannot investigate

We will not investigate complaints about: 

  • council policies, such as how we allocate council housing or how Council Tax is set
  • something that happened more than 12 months ago
  • an antisocial behaviour report
  • a survey response - if you are not happy with a survey response, we will contact you to let you know how you can make a complaint
  • issues you have already raised by making a formal complaint
  • who is at fault or who should pay compensation for a personal injury (liability of personal injury claims)
  • freedom of information requests (requesting information about us) 
  • subject access requests (requesting information about yourself)

We will also not investigate complaints that are, or have been, subject to legal proceedings.