Complaints: what we are doing
The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code sets out clear expectations for all landlords to deal with complaints fairly and effectively. The Code was strengthened in April 2022, and these changes took effect on 1 October 2022.
As a result, Broadland was required to complete a new self-assessment to show how we are meeting the requirements of the Code and where we still have work to do.
To help us complete the self-assessment, we used our data on how we deal with complaints and did a survey of tenants who had made a complaint to us. The survey asked for tenants’ feedback about their experience at Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the complaints process, to find out where we are doing well and where we can improve. The Code requires landlords to publish the self-assessment to its residents. You can find the latest self-assessment on our website.
The role of Broadland’s Board
The Code sets out the expectations of Broadland’s Board. The Board has a key role in monitoring how we are performing and learning from complaints. Board members are required to approve the annual self-assessment and receive at least two updates a year on complaints. A Board member is appointed to take the lead on responsibility for complaints, to support a positive complaint-handling culture. Board members also sit on Stage 2 panels (where a complaint has not been resolved at Stage 1).
Housing Ombudsman Service
The Housing Ombudsman Service is available to help residents at any time during the complaint process. The Ombudsman can help with how to make a complaint and what to expect when making a complaint. They can also assist once a formal complaint has been made, contacting Broadland to ensure a complaint has been logged or finding out when you will receive a response.
Telephone 0300 111 3000
Complaints April-September 2022
We continue to see an increase in the number of formal complaints being made to us, mostly about our repairs service. See below for the category and number of complaints made during the first six months of 2022: quarter 1 (April–June) and quarter 2 (July–September). Over this period, complaints about repairs made up 86% of all formal complaints.
Our priority for the next six months is to focus on learnings from repair-related complaints - understanding why something has gone wrong and improving our processes and service so that it does not happen again.
We recognise we will always receive complaints, but there are many occasions where a complaint could have been avoided.
See the next issue of Door to Door for an update on this work, including how we will be working with our new Tenant Assurance Panel on complaint handling.
