Most landlords “still have work to do” to embed positive complaint culture: Housing Ombudsman
Some 95% of landlords have reported that following the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code has helped to embed a positive complaint handling culture, with 92% also reporting that it has helped them provide a more consistent approach to complaint handling.
In this quarter’s complaint handling report, the first since the Code was put on a statutory footing, the Ombudsman called on landlords to make better use of the complaints they receive in order to provide a better service to residents.
The report expands on the previous data gathered to include information on landlords' engagement with the Code, as well as continuing to publish Complaint Handling Failure Orders (CHFOs) issued. This includes examples of landlord non-compliance with the Code.
Most of the report is dedicated to insights from the Ombudsman’s review of sector approaches to promoting a positive complaints culture.
The Ombudsman highlighted instances of good practice, such as a landlord who went “above and beyond” to make its annual report transparent to residents and another that used a previous severe maladministration decision to update its policies and practices in accordance with the Code.
However, the Ombudsman warned that a high number of complaint handling failure orders are still being issued.
Landlords with more than one CHFO in the first quarter of this year include:
- Soho Housing Association
- L&Q
- Haringey Council
- Harrow Council
- Warwick District Council
- Hexagon Housing Association
- A2Dominion Housing Group
- Southwark Council
- Newham Council
- Lewisham Council
There are several landlords meanwhile that did not comply with the CHFO, forcing further action to remedy the situation for the resident, the Ombudsman said. These included:
- Warwick District Council
- Soho Housing Association
- London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
- Haringey Council
- North Northamptonshire Council
- Lewisham Council
- Southway Housing Trust
- Hexagon Housing Association
- L&Q
- Hackney Council
- Sandwell Council
- Havering Council
- Metropolitan Thames Valley
- Orchard Housing Association
- Westminster Council
- Sovereign Network Homes
- Newham Council
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Good complaint handling is not just about ticking a box or meeting statutory obligations. Whilst essential this is done, landlords must adopt an ethical complaint handling stance, which looks at the person behind the complaint and understands the impact the situation can have when services fall short. There is also the need for increased scrutiny and oversight by governing bodies are how complaints are approached.
“I have been encouraged to see a significant improvement in approaches in recent years, but most landlords still have work to do to embed a positive complaint culture with residents and build confidence in their procedures. Landlords must also go further apply lessons from complaints to prevent them, as well as using complaints to test its culture.
“Without tackling the root causes of complaints, trust in landlords will be eroded, with communities and the economy adversely impacted.”
Blakeway added that there are two areas of concern.
“There are 10 landlords who received more than 1 CHFO in the last quarter and in some cases multiple times. In many cases these are also landlords where we have seen high maladministration rates and have had to intervene over several quarters. In some cases these landlords are now subject to regulatory intervention.
“CHFOs are issued rarely and may signal wider concerns – these warnings must be heeded to avoid unnecessary detriment to residents.”
Related to this is the second concern about complaint handling resources and staffing levels, Blakeway said.
“This function is a vital touch point for the resident-landlord relationship which should be central to any landlord's existence as well as helping the organisation manage risk. Again, under the self-assessment of the Code, landlords must be confident they have adequate resources in place so there is not a disconnect between policy intent and actual practice.”
Harry Rodd
