Council housing complaints performance

Housing complaints are handled in 2 stages:

• Stage 1: a manager investigates and responds
• Stage 2: a different manager reviews the response and provides a final decision

If you are not satisfied with our final response, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman to review your complaint.

We received more housing complaints in 2024 to 2025 than in the previous year:

• Stage 1 complaints increased to 21.7 per 1,000 homes (up from 17.8)
• Stage 2 complaints increased to 8.7 per 1,000 homes (up from 3.8)

This may reflect increased demand for services and greater awareness of how to make a complaint.

We have improved how quickly we respond to complaints:

• 84.3% of Stage 1 complaints were responded to within target timescales (up from 64.4%)
• 100% of Stage 2 complaints were responded to within target timescales (up from 27.3%)

This shows significant improvement in how we manage complaints and meet Ombudsman expectations.

You can view or download the 2024 to 2025 reports.

What complaints were about

The most common complaint themes were:

• property condition: including repairs, maintenance issues and quality of work
• staff and contractor conduct: for example communication, delays and how services are delivered

Other complaint areas included:

• antisocial behaviour (ASB) handling
• estate management
• health and safety
• housing applications and tenancy matters

Many complaints relate to delays or communication issues rather than serious service failure.

We review complaint themes regularly to identify patterns and make improvements. This helps us prioritise areas where change is needed most.

Ombudsman outcomes

We’re a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. As a registered social housing provider, we check our performance each year against their Complaint Handling Code.

Our performance checks are carried out every year and submitted to the Housing Ombudsman.

In 2024 to 2025, the Housing Ombudsman made the following findings about our service:

• 7 determinations were issued
• 3 findings of maladministration (where our service did not meet expected standards)
• 3 findings of service failure
• 2 findings of no maladministration
• 1 additional fault finding

The Ombudsman made orders including:

• compensation payments
• apologies
• required repairs
• staff and contractor training
• service and policy reviews

Total compensation ordered was £2,769.56

We have completed all required actions and are using these findings to improve our services.

For more information, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman.

How we monitor complaints performance

We regularly review complaints and performance data to make sure services are improving.

This includes oversight by:

• senior housing managers
• corporate leadership teams
• internal performance monitoring processes

This helps ensure complaints are handled fairly and that learning leads to service improvements.

What we have improved

We have made a number of changes in response to complaints.

In 2024 to 2025 we:

improved complaint response times, including meeting Stage 2 timescales

• introduced updated complaint processes in line with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code
• delivered training to housing staff on complaint handling and communication
• increased monitoring of complaints and performance data

In progress

In 2024 to 2025 we are:

• recruiting a Housing Complaints and Insights Officer to improve oversight and learning
• reviewing policies, including antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse and housing services
• strengthening contractor management and performance monitoring
• improving how we communicate with tenants during service delivery

Planned

We are working on:

• improving the housing complaints webpages and online complaint form

• introducing surveys to better understand tenant experience of complaints
• continuing staff training on communication and complaint handling

These changes mean tenants should:

• receive faster responses to complaints
• have clearer communication throughout the process
• see more consistent service delivery
• experience improvements based on feedback

Housing complaints 2024 to 2025 reports

We have introduced an annual report which highlights housing complaint trends and areas for improvement. Further improvements will be introduced in the coming year.

You can view or download PDFs of our 2024 to 2025 reports: