Compliments and complaints

If you just want to report a missed council service or ask a question about one of our services you can usually find the answer on our website or contact them through their web pages.

If you cannot resolve your problem by speaking to the service and you wish to make a formal complaint please use the form above.

Our services are always grateful for positive feedback when they have done a good job. This will be brought to the attention of the relevant manager and the officer involved.

If you have spoken to the service your problem relates to and are unhappy with their response then we can investigate further for you.

There are two stages to our complaints procedure. It's important to give us as much information as possible when you complete the above form. This could include dates, reference numbers and copies of letters.

Stage 1

We will write to you within five working days with the name of the officer who will be dealing with your complaint. The officer will be a senior member of staff from the service area the complaint is about.

The officer will write to you and send either a full answer or a progress report within 10 working days.

Stage 2

If you are not happy after our investigation at Stage 1 you can ask for a senior officer of the service area to look at your complaint. You will have 28 days from the date of the stage 1 response to request a review.

The senior officer will conduct a further investigation of all documents and correspondence, and will arrange to visit if the complaint is about something that needs to be seen. We will send a full response or a progress report, if we need more time, within 20 working days.

Next steps

In our Stage 2 response we will tell you what you can do if you are still not happy. The response will let you know whether you will need to go to the Local Government Ombudsman or the Housing Ombudsman Service.

If you are still not happy we will give you information about the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is an independent public body who can investigate how we have handled your complaint.

You can find out more about Ombudsman services on the Local Government Ombudsman website.

The Ombudsman will not be able to begin an investigation until we have had the opportunity to try and resolve the complaint. It is important, therefore, that you contact us first.

The Housing Ombudsman Service can be contacted throughout your complaint to housing, and within our final response at stage 2 we will give you information about how to refer your complaint to their service.

You can learn more about their service on Housing Ombudsman website.

The Housing Ombudsman's complaint handling code

The Housing Ombudsman's new Complaint Handling Code came into force on 1 April 2024, and replaces previous versions of the code. It sets out good practice for landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly.

To find out more about the complaint handling code, please visit the Housing Ombudsman's website.

We are required to carry out a self-assessment against the code to ensure our complaint handling remains in line with their requirement. Our self-assessment form can be found here: Housing Ombudsman self-assessment [pdf] 269KB.

Housing complaints annual performance report 

We are required under the Complaint Handling Code to produce an annual performance report setting out our complaints performance, the improvements we have made as a result of complaints and any determinations made by the Housing Ombudsman. 

Response from Member Responsible for Complaints 

The Committee received and considered the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code Self-Assessment together with the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report on 24 September 2026.

Members welcomed both documents and recognised the significant amount of work undertaken by officers to complete the self-assessment, collate the supporting evidence, and prepare the annual report. Members reviewed the outcomes of the self-assessment and were satisfied that the organisation was compliant with the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. Members supported the conclusions reached within the self-assessment and agreed with the findings presented.

Members discussed the importance of ensuring that supporting evidence is clearly identified and available for all areas assessed within the self-assessment. It was noted that where evidence requests currently reference "N/A", these should be revisited where possible to ensure that appropriate evidence, explanation, or assurance is provided, thereby strengthening the evidential basis of the assessment and demonstrating compliance as fully as possible.

The Committee also considered the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report and acknowledged the progress made in complaint handling, learning from complaints, and the actions taken to improve services.

Following discussion, Members confirmed their agreement with both the Complaint Handling Code Self-Assessment and the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report and supported their submission to the Housing Ombudsman Service. Members were satisfied that the documents accurately reflected the organisation's complaint handling arrangements, performance, learning, and commitment to ongoing improvement.

Members noted that they would like to see guidance on persistent complainants.

The report itself can be seen here: Housing complaints annual performance report [pdf] 245KB 

The Housing Ombudsman's Landlord report can be found on their website.

Please see our Complaints against councillors page as there is a separate process for complaints about councillors.

Complaints about Members of Parliament are not dealt with by us. If you wish to complain about an MP please email standardscommissioner@parliament.uk or call 020 7219 1883.