Housing Complaints Policy

Housing Complaints Policy

Introduction

1.1 Oldham Council recognises the importance of complaints and welcomes them as a valuable form of feedback about our services. We want our residents to be satisfied with our services. We welcome hearing our residents’ comments, compliments and complaints to better understand how residents view our services and to use these valuable opportunities to learn and improve for the future.

1.2 In setting out this policy, we recognise residents’ rights to be heard, understood and respected. We will ensure that tenants are treated fairly, openly, honestly, consistently and appropriately in accordance with our co-operative values.

Purpose of the policy

2.1 The aim of this policy is to provide a fair and consistent approach to dealing with complaints from the Council’s direct tenants and ensure they are handled appropriately and professionally in line with The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

2.2 Emphasis will be placed on resolving complaints as quickly as possible by the service concerned. We will ensure that staff are equipped to deal with complaints efficiently and effectively and lessons learned from complaint investigations will be used to directly inform service improvements.

2.3 This policy only relates to direct tenants of Oldham Council. Tenants of properties owned by other social landlords, such as Great Places and First Choice Homes Oldham, should raise any complaints via their respective landlord.

2.4 The Council has entered into contracts with Housing 21 and Inspiral Oldham, whereby these companies are responsible for the maintenance and management of a number of properties in the borough. Housing 21 manages and maintains much of the Council’s sheltered housing stock and Inspiral Oldham manages and maintains a number of properties at Crossley in Chadderton, Dew Way in Westwood, Primrose Bank in Medlock Vale/Coppice and Keswick Avenue in Fitton Hill. Throughout the term of these contracts, the Council will retain ownership of the properties but Housing 21 and Inspiral Oldham will act as managing agents; therefore, residents living in any of these properties are advised to contact Housing 21 or Inspiral Oldham respectively to provide any feedback or raise complaints.

2.5 Residents that live in homes managed by Housing 21 can raise concerns via their Court Manager or seek advice via Housing 21’s Complaints Helpline using the details below:

Post
Freepost RTJE-LEHY-SGLJ
Housing 21 Complaints
Tricorn House
51-53 Hagley Road
Birmingham
B16 8TP

2.6 Residents that live in homes managed by Inspiral Oldham can raise complaints using the details below:

Post
Great Places Housing Group
2a Derwent Avenue
Manchester
M21 7QP

What is a complaint?

3.1 The following definition is provided by the Housing Ombudsman.

‘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 an individual resident or group of residents.’

Exclusions

4.1 The following would not be dealt with under this complaints procedure:

  • A service request (a request from a resident to their landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right). Where a service request has been raised and the resident is dissatisfied with the response they have received, a complaint about the issue may then be raised
  • A complaint regarding the Council’s allocation scheme, temporary accommodation, homelessness service, private landlord sector accommodation, or any matters relating to privately owned accommodation. Please contact feedback@oldham.gov.uk if you need further advice about which complaints policy applies to you
  • A dispute with a neighbour which can be dealt with through the terms outlined in a tenancy agreement
  • Requests for information (these will be dealt with by the Information Management Team according to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Data Protection Act 2018 and accompanying policies, depending on the nature of the request. Where there is a crossover of issues, the Complaints Team and Information Management Team will work together to resolve it)
  • MP, Councillor and Citizens Advice enquiries (complaints made by such persons on behalf of residents will however be considered)
  • Complaints relating to rent increases (where the rent increase is driven by government guidance/ regulation)
  • Complaints about the actions of an organisation that is not working for, or supported by Oldham Council
  • Matters that would more appropriately be dealt with by an insurer
  • Matters relating to court/ legal proceedings (for example, where details of a claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, have been filed at court)
  • Matters whereby other bodies, such as the Police, have commenced investigations into the same issues
  • Matters upon which a Court or the Housing Ombudsman has already ruled, or is in the process of considering
  • Complaints that have been previously withdrawn by the resident
  • A complaint that has already been investigated and a final response has been issued
  • Where the issues involved are covered by the Council’s disciplinary policy for employees
  • Where the grounds of the complaint are unclear, frivolous, or vexatious (please note the process to manage unreasonable customer contact is set out separately in the Council’s Unreasonable Behaviour Policy)
  • Where the issue giving rise to the complaint occurred over six months ago, or where the issue came to the attention of the complainant over 6 months ago. Where deemed appropriate, if the problem is a recurring issue, any older reports will be treated as part of the background to the complaint if this will help to resolve the issue for the resident.

4.2 The Council will normally only accept complaints made within 6 months of the issue(s) giving rise to the complaint, or within 6 months of the resident being made aware of the issue(s). However, if there are exceptional reasons provided by the resident for the delay in submitting the complaint, the Council may make a discretionary decision to consider the matter out of time.

4.3 If we decide not to accept a complaint under this policy, an explanation will be provided to the resident in writing, setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process.

4.4 A resident has the right to challenge the Council’s decision to apply an exemption by bringing their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service. Contact information for the Housing Ombudsman Service can be found at paragraph 12.2.

Who can make a complaint?

5.1 Anyone who is an introductory or secure tenant of Oldham Council can make a complaint about the housing services they receive from the Council as their direct landlord.

5.2 As per paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4, this policy does not apply to complaints about housing owned, managed or maintained by another housing provider, such as First Choice Homes, Housing 21 or Inspiral Oldham.

5.3 Where a complaint is received from a representative of a resident, the Council will request completion of a form of authority to indicate that the representative has permission to act on the resident’s behalf. This ensures compliance with Data Protection requirements and that the resident’s wishes are being fulfilled.

Anonymous complaints

6.1 If a resident does not provide the Council with a contact name or address or email address, it will not be possible for a reply to be provided. Where an anonymous complaint is made, this will be brought to the attention of the relevant service for internal investigation.

Equalities and Diversity and reasonable adjustments

7.1 When implementing this policy, the Council will have regard to the Equalities Act 2010 and show due regard to an individual’s medical condition or vulnerability, such as mental health and learning disabilities. Help and support will be provided to residents to overcome any difficulties in pursuing their complaint. Any support or adjustment made will be determined on a case-by-case basis and with the agreement of the resident.

How can a complaint be made

8.1 Residents are encouraged to contact the Contracts Manager for Housing Services to raise any issues or requests for service they may have in the first instance. This is because many issues, such a missed appointments or repair requests, can be resolved quickly and successfully if the Contracts Manager for Housing Services is made aware of the problem. The Housing Development and Contracts Manager can be contacted using the details below:

Post
Contracts Manager – Housing Services
Place and Economic Growth
Oldham Council
Room 310
Civic Centre
West Street
Oldham
OL1 1UT

8.2 Should the Contracts Manager for Housing Services be unable to resolve the issue to the resident’s satisfaction, the resident should make the Council’s Complaints Team aware of their outstanding concerns.

8.3 A key priority for the Council is to improve the efficiency of communication with residents and online systems are useful in helping to achieve this aim. The Council asks that where residents have access to online services, contact is made to the Complaints Team via the online form: https://portal.oldham.gov.uk/feedback/intro.

8.4 Complaints can also be submitted by post to The Complaints Team, PO Box 33, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 IUG.

8.5 Although the Complaints Team offers a predominantly digital service, for vulnerable adults, or those without internet access, the team operates a telephone call back service on 0161 770 8122.

8.6 Residents are requested to provide any relevant supporting evidence/ documentation at the time of making the complaint in order that the issues raised can be fully investigated.

8.7 Residents sometimes make contact about Council services on social media, for example, via the Council’s Twitter or Facebook accounts. Details of this type of contact will be forwarded to the relevant service by the Communications Team to determine if the contact should be treated as a request for service or handled as a complaint. If the contact should be treated as a complaint, the service will ensure that the Complaints Team is made aware, and the complaint will be handled offline and in keeping with this policy.

What a resident can expect

9.1 Residents can expect to receive a consistently high-quality service when they contact any member of staff with a complaint and the Council will deal with all complaints promptly, respectfully and efficiently.

9.2 Where complaints cover multiple issues, the Council will normally provide residents with a single response. It may ask residents to agree a statement of complaint to ensure their issues have been correctly understood.

9.3 If a complaint includes multiple issues relating to areas covered by other complaints legislation, for example, Adult Social Care, then those issues must be managed separately.

9.4 Residents can expect to be asked for supporting evidence or additional information where it is felt this is required to complete a robust investigation. Residents will be provided with a timeframe in which to provide the evidence/ information. If the requested evidence/ information is not provided, and it is deemed as vital to complete an investigation, the complaint may be placed on hold until the Council feels it has sufficient information to enable it to investigate fully.

9.5 Should residents decline to provide information that is required to complete a complaint investigation, they may be deemed as not engaging with the complaints process and the Council may decide to class their complaint as withdrawn.

Complaint resolution process

10.1 The Council operates a two stage complaints procedure for Housing complaints for its tenants.

10.2 Formal complaints will be logged at Stage 1 of the complaints process.

10.3 Complaints will be acknowledged and logged at Stage 1 of the complaints process within five working days of receipt.

10.4 As part of the acknowledgement process, residents will be asked to confirm the details of their complaint and the outcomes they wish to achieve if this is not clearly expressed in their original contact.

10.5 Once the full details of the complaint have been obtained, the Complaints Team will allocate the complaint to the relevant service manager for a Stage 1 investigation.

10.6 Where possible, a Stage 1 decision will be made and communicated to the resident within 10 working days from the date that the complaint has been logged. If this is not possible, an explanation and a date by when the Stage 1 response should be received will be provided; this will not usually exceed a further 10 days unless there is good reason.

10.7 Where residents raise additional complaints during the investigation, these will be incorporated into the Stage 1 response if they are relevant and the Stage 1 response has not already been issued. Where the Stage 1 response has been issued, or it would unreasonably delay the response, then any new complaints or concerns will be logged as a new complaint.

10.8 If the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction, they may request that it be escalated to Stage 2 of the complaints process. The request to escalate the complaint to Stage 2 must clearly outline why the resident is dissatisfied with the Stage 1 decision and include any supporting evidence. Escalation requests should be made within 4 weeks of the Stage 1 response being issued unless there is good reason for not doing so at an earlier date.

 10.9 In some circumstances, it may not be appropriate to escalate a complaint; we deem escalation to be inappropriate where:

  • The matter would more appropriately be dealt with by an insurer
  • Matters have progressed to court/ legal proceedings (for example, details of the claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, have been filed at court)
  • Investigations by other appropriate bodies, for example, the Police, have commenced into the same matter
  • The resident has previously withdrawn the complaint after receiving the Stage 1 response
  • The grounds for escalating the complaint are unclear

10.10 Where possible, the Stage 2 decision will be communicated within 20 working days of the request to escalate. If this is not possible, an explanation and a date by when the Stage 2 response should be received will be provided; this should not exceed a further 10 days without good reason

10.11 The Stage 2 response will provide details as to how a referral can be made to the Housing Ombudsman Service.

Third Party complaints

11.1 Where the Council receives a complaint relating to work carried out by a third party it has commissioned to provide services on its behalf, it will acknowledge receipt of these within 5 working days.

11.2 Details of the complaint will be recorded on the Council’s complaints database.

11.3 In order for the matters to be investigated, the Council will need to share the details of the complaint with the third-party organisation and will seek agreement from the resident to do this.

11.4 The Council will ordinarily ask the third party provider to investigate the issues raised and inform it of the findings.

The role of the Housing Ombudsman Service

12.1 The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law to look at complaints about housing registered organisations.

12.2 The Housing Ombudsman Service can assist residents throughout the life of a complaint and can be contacted:

  • By phone - 0300 111 3000 (9.15am-5.15pm: Monday to Friday)

By post
Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 152
Liverpool
L33 7WQ

Remedies

13.1 Where something has gone wrong, the Council will set out the actions it has already taken, or intends to take, to put things right.

13.2 The Council will offer appropriate remedy and redress, in accordance with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

13.3 The general principle is that any remedy offered should reflect the extent of all service failures, and the level of detriment caused to the resident as a result.

13.4 Examples of remedies include:

  • acknowledging where things have gone wrong
  • providing an explanation, assistance, or reasons
  • apologising
  • taking action if there has been a delay
  • reconsidering or changing a decision
  • amending a record
  • providing a financial remedy
  • changing policies, procedures, or practices.

13.5 In considering any financial remedy, the Council will assess whether statutory payments are due and if any quantifiable losses have been incurred. Consideration will also be given to the time and trouble a resident has been put to and any distress and inconvenience caused.

13.6 The service will agree the proposed remedy before a response is issued to the resident. Where agreement cannot be reached between the Complaints Manager and investigating officer, this will be escalated to the relevant Director for a final decision.

Withdrawal of complaints

14.1 Residents may decide to withdraw their complaint verbally or by email or letter. The Council will confirm the withdrawal of the complaint by email or letter. In some instances, the Council may continue to investigate the matter internally.

Monitoring and Performance

15.1 The monitoring and review of complaints gives valuable information about resident perception and service performance and helps to identify areas for organisational learning from complaints to drive service improvement.

15.2 The Housing Ombudsman expects landlords to carry out regular self-assessment against the Code and take appropriate action to ensure their complaint handling is in line with the Code. The Housing Ombudsman expects local authority landlords to report the outcome of their self-assessments to elected members. The Housing Ombudsman may request sight of the assessment and evidence in support. The Housing Ombudsman may require landlords to periodically repeat the self-assessment, for example following any amendments to the Code or significant change to the landlord organisational structure.

15.3 An annual report is produced on the overall performance of Ombudsman complaints across the Council and is presented to the Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Regular reviews will take place covering issues and trends arising from complaint handling, including discussion of the Housing Ombudsman’s yearly landlord performance report and the inclusion of any organisational learning from the Council’s Annual Report.

15.4 The Housing Ombudsman expects landlords to publish the outcome of their assessments. The Council will review the published self-assessment form annually.

Review of policies

16.1 The Council’s Housing Complaints Policy will be published on its website (www.oldham.gov.uk). This policy will be reviewed annually (or as a change is required). The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Low Carbon and Cabinet Member for Housing has delegated authority to agree these changes in consultation with the Director of Finance.