Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code Self-assessment 2025/2026

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

Our policy definition is:

“A complaint is defined 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 a resident or a group of residents.”

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

We train staff on recognising a complaint and provide periodic reminders. We make it clear that the word complaint does not need to be used for it to be recognised as a complaint.

Our Complaints Policy has a section on Accessibility and Confidentiality which makes it clear that feedback can be given on behalf of a tenant by another person acting on their authority. This is further supported in our Feedback Leaflet.

Landlords must recognise the difference between a service request and a complaint. This must be set out in their complaints policy. A service request is a request from a resident to the landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right. Service requests are not complaints, but must be recorded, monitored and reviewed regularly.

Yes

Staff are provided with training in their induction and routinely thereafter on the difference between a service request and a complaint.

Our Complaints policy also provides a clear definition of service requests.

A complaint must be raised when the resident expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing. Landlords must not stop their efforts to address the service request if the resident complains.

Yes

We train staff to respond to complaints whilst efforts to resolve the service request remains ongoing.

This is also reiterated in our Complaints Policy.

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.

Yes

Where a tenant has expressed dissatisfaction in a survey response, we will not treat this as a complaint. However, when possible they will be made aware of how to raise a complaint if they wish to.

Our Complaints Policy details the circumstances where we would not accept a complaint.

If we do not accept a complaint, we will provide a detailed explanation of our decision and inform the resident of their right to contact the Ombudsman.

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.

Our Complaints Policy details fair and reasonable circumstances where we would not accept a complaint or escalation request.

If we do not accept a complaint, we will provide a detailed explanation of our decision and inform the resident of their right to contact the Ombudsman.

Our Complaints Policy illustrates we would not normally accept a complaint about something which occurred over 12 months ago, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If we do not accept a complaint, we will provide a detailed explanation of our decision and inform the resident of their right to contact the Ombudsman.

Our Complaints Policy details the circumstances where we would not accept a complaint.

If we do not accept a complaint, we will provide a detailed explanation of our decision and inform the resident of their right to contact the Ombudsman.

Multiple accessible routes for raising complaints are available, such as, in person, email, online form, telephone or by letter.

Reasonable adjustments are also provided when needed, in line with our Equality duty.

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.

Multiple accessible routes for raising complaints are available, such as, in person, email, online form, telephone or by letter.

Complaints can be made to any member of staff and can be made on a tenant’s behalf if there are appropriate permissions in place.

Complaint handling is part of all new staff inductions and all staff are reminded of good complaint handling regularly.

As illustrated in our Complaints policy, we welcome all feedback including complaints as a positive.

Complaint volumes are monitored regularly and high volume of complaints are not seen as a negative.

We have a clear and accessible policy published on our website, detailing our 2 stage complaints process.

We will provide copies in alternative formats upon request.

Our Complaints policy provides information on the Ombudsman.

And our final response letters inform tenants of their ability toescalate their complaint to the Ombudsman if they remain unhappy.

We also regularly share this information in our tenant newsletter and in our reception area.

Landlords must have a person or team assigned to take responsibility for complaint handling, including liaison with the Ombudsman and ensuring complaints are reported to the governing body (or equivalent). This Code will refer to that person or team as the ‘complaints officer’. This role may be in addition to other duties.

Yes

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

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

Landlords must have a single policy in place for dealing with complaints covered by this Code. Residents must not be treated differently if they complain.

Yes

There is a single policy covering complaint handling.

And tenants are not treated differently if they raise a complaint.

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

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

Where a landlord’s complaint response is handled by a third party (e.g. a contractor or independent adjudicator) at any stage, it must form part of the two stage complaints process set out in this Code. Residents must not be expected to go through two complaints processes.

Yes

Landlords are responsible for ensuring that any third parties handle complaints in line with the Code.

Yes

Our complaints are not handled by a third party. We have an internal two-stage complaints process.

When a complaint is logged at Stage 1 or escalated to Stage 2, landlords must set out their understanding of the complaint and the outcomes the resident is seeking. The Code will refer to this as “the complaint definition”. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification.

Yes

When a complaint is acknowledged at either stage, landlords must be clear which aspects of the complaint they are, and are not, responsible for and clarify any areas where this is not clear

Yes

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

1. deal with complaints on their merits, act independently, and have an open mind;
2. give the resident a fair chance to set out their position;
3. take measures to address any actual or perceived conflict of interest; and
4. consider all relevant information and evidence carefully

Yes

Where a response to a complaint will fall outside the timescales set out in this Code, the landlord must agree with the resident suitable intervals for keeping them informed about their complaint.

Yes

Landlords must make reasonable adjustments for residents where appropriate under the Equality Act 2010. Landlords must keep a record of any reasonable adjustments agreed, as well as a record of any disabilities a resident has disclosed. Any agreed reasonable adjustments must be kept under active review.

Yes

Landlords must not refuse to escalate a complaint through all stages of the complaints procedure unless it has valid reasons to do so. Landlords must clearly set out these reasons, and they must comply with the provisions set out in section 2 of this Code.

Yes

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.

Yes

Details of complaints are kept on our internal CRM system.

Landlords must have processes in place to ensure a complaint can be remedied at any stage of its complaints process. Landlords must ensure appropriate remedies can be provided at any stage of the complaints process without the need for escalation.

Yes

Landlords must have policies and procedures in place for managing unacceptable behaviour from residents and/or their representatives. Landlords must be able to evidence reasons for putting any restrictions in place and must keep restrictions under regular review.

Yes

Any restrictions placed on contact due to unacceptable behaviour must be proportionate and demonstrate regard for the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

Yes

Landlords must have processes in place to consider which complaints can be responded to as early as possible, and which require further investigation. Landlords must consider factors such as the complexity of the complaint and whether the resident is vulnerable or at risk. Most stage 1 complaints can be resolved promptly, and an explanation, apology or resolution provided to the resident.

Yes

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

Yes

Landlords must issue a full response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.

Yes

Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint and then inform the resident of the expected timescale for response. Any extension must be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident.

Yes

When an organisation informs a resident about an extension to these timescales, they must be provided with the contact details of the Ombudsman.

Yes

A complaint response must be provided to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned promptly with appropriate updates provided to the resident.

Yes

Landlords must address all points raised in the complaint definition and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.

Yes

Where residents raise additional complaints during the investigation, these must be incorporated into the stage 1 response if they are related and the stage 1 response has not been issued. Where the stage 1 response has been issued, the new issues are unrelated to the issues already being investigated or it would unreasonably delay the response, the new issues must be logged as a new complaint.

Yes

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

1. the complaint stage;
2. the complaint definition;
3. the decision on the complaint;
4. the reasons for any decisions made;
5. the details of any remedy offered to put things right;
6. details of any outstanding actions; and
7. details of how to escalate the matter to stage 2 if the individual is not satisfied with the response.

Yes

If all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction at stage 1, it must be progressed to stage 2 of the landlord’s procedure. Stage 2 is the landlord’s final response.

Yes

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.

Yes

Residents must not be required to explain their reasons for requesting a stage 2 consideration. Landlords are expected to make reasonable efforts to understand why a resident remains unhappy as part of its stage 2 response.

Yes

The person considering the complaint at stage 2 must not be the same person that considered the complaint at stage 1.

Yes

Landlords must issue a final response to the stage 2 within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.

Yes

Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint and then inform the resident of the expected timescale for response. Any extension must be no more than 20 working days without good reason, and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident.

Yes

When an organisation informs a resident about an extension to these timescales, they must be provided with the contact details of the Ombudsman.

Yes

A complaint response must be provided to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned promptly with appropriate updates provided to the resident.

Yes

Landlords must address all points raised in the complaint definition and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate.

Yes

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

1. the complaint stage;
2. the complaint definition;
3. the decision on the complaint;
4. the reasons for any decisions made;
5. the details of any remedy offered to put things right;
6. details of any outstanding actions; and
7. details of how to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman Service if the individual remains dissatisfied.

Yes

Stage 2 is the landlord’s final response and must involve all suitable staff members needed to issue such a response.

Yes

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.

Yes

Any remedy offered must reflect the impact on the resident as a result of any fault identified.

Yes

The remedy offer must clearly set out what will happen and by when, in agreement with the resident where appropriate. Any remedy proposed must be followed through to completion.

Yes

Landlords must take account of the guidance issued by the Ombudsman when deciding on appropriate remedies.

Yes

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

1. the annual self-assessment against this Code to ensure their complaint handling policy remains in line with its requirements.
2. 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;
3. any findings of non-compliance with this Code by the Ombudsman;
4. the service improvements made as a result of the learning from complaints;
5. any annual report about the landlord’s performance from the Ombudsman; and
6. any other relevant reports or publications produced by the Ombudsman in relation to the work of the landlord.

Yes

The annual complaints performance and service improvement report must be reported to the landlord’s governing body (or equivalent) and published on the on the section of its website relating to complaints. The governing body’s response to the report must be published alongside this.

Yes

Landlords must also carry out a self-assessment following a significant restructure, merger and/or change in procedures.

Yes

We have not had a significant restructure, merger and/or change in procedures.

Landlords may be asked to review and update the self-assessment following an Ombudsman investigation.

Yes

We have not been asked to update the self-assessment following an Ombudsman investigation.

If a landlord is unable to comply with the Code due to exceptional circumstances, such as a cyber incident, they must inform the Ombudsman, provide information to residents who may be affected, and publish this on their website Landlords must provide a timescale for returning to compliance with the Code.

Yes

We have not been unable to comply with the Code due to exceptional circumstances.

Landlords must look beyond the circumstances of the individual complaint and consider whether service improvements can be made as a result of any learning from the complaint.

Yes

Yes

Accountability and transparency are also integral to a positive complaint handling culture. Landlords must report back on wider learning and improvements from complaints to stakeholders, such as residents’ panels, staff and relevant committees.

Yes

We regularly report on learning and improvements, including annually to our Board and share details of improvements with our tenants.

Our Board Member Responsible for Complaints also monitors learning and improvements.

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.

Yes

In addition to this a member of the governing body (or equivalent) must be appointed to have lead responsibility for complaints to support a positive complaint handling culture. This person is referred to as the Member Responsible for Complaints (‘the MRC’).

Yes

The MRC will be responsible for ensuring the governing body receives regular information on complaints that provides insight on the landlord’s complaint handling performance. This person must have access to suitable information and staff to perform this role and report on their findings

Yes

Board have appointed a member to have lead responsibility for complaints.

The MRC is also a member of our Operational Performance and Tenant Services Committee, where KPIs related to the Feedback service are reported and scrutinised.

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

1. regular updates on the volume, categories and outcomes of complaints, alongside complaint handling performance;
2. regular reviews of issues and trends arising from complaint handling;
3. regular updates on the outcomes of the Ombudsman’s investigations and progress made in complying with orders related to severe maladministration findings; and
4. annual complaints performance and service improvement report.

Yes

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

1. have a collaborative and co-operative approach towards resolving complaints, working with colleagues across teams and departments;
2. take collective responsibility for any shortfalls identified through complaints, rather than blaming others; and
3. act within the professional standards for engaging with complaints as set by any relevant professional body

Yes

All staff members are trained on our complaints handling approach, culture and behaviours, promoting a positive, collaborative approach to resolutions, where members of all teams take ownership as appropriate. Our Feedback team lead by example and provide support across the business to ensure consistency of approach whilst maintaining our ethos of collective responsibility. Our contracts with third parties deliver services in partnership with us include expectations on tenant approach and culture, referencing our Complaints Policy.

We follow the Professional Standards for engaging with complaints as set by the Chartered Institute of Housing. The standards as are based on seven characteristics: Integrity; Inclusive; Ethical; Knowledgeable; Skilled; Advocate; Leadership.