4. Housing Complaints and Feedback
Our Complaints Process
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the council, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.
You will need to raise your complaint within 12 months of when you first noticed the issue. We will not normally consider a complaint made after that time.
We will review each complaint individually, consider the circumstances and take the complaint on its own merit.
You can make a formal complaint if you think we have:
- done something wrong
- behaved unfairly or impolitely
- not carried out a service to an agreed standard
- not responded to your request for a service within our stated timescale
- or if you think we have got something wrong in an Exeter City Council policy decision.
A service request is not a complaint e.g. reporting a repair or ASB incident with a neighbour. A service request can become a complaint, if there has been a service failure, e.g. the reported repair has not been dealt with.
Dissatisfaction with the service received or lack of service is a complaint e.g. correspondence outlining that a reported repair or incident of ASB has not been dealt with.
It becomes a complaint when we haven’t actually addressed the problem.
We may refuse a complaint, using the following exclusions:
- Service request (e.g., a repair / enquiry) has not been logged
- 12 months since the original incident (discretional)
- Duplication of a complaint already raised
- Legal proceedings have commenced. This is defined as details of the claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, having been filed at court
- Accident or Incident – handled by Housing Compliance team
- Housing Disrepair Protocol in progress
- Complaint is vexatious.
If Exeter City Council decides not to accept a complaint, a detailed explanation is provided setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process and how to refer the matter to the Housing Ombudsman.
Complaints made in a vexatious manner
When is a complaint considered to be vexatious?
- Complaints which are obsessive, harassing, abusive or repetitive
- Insistence on pursuing non-meritorious complaints and/or unrealistic, unreasonable outcomes
- Insistence on pursuing what may be meritorious complaints in an unreasonable manner
- Complaints which are designed to cause disruption or annoyance
- Demands for redress which lack any serious purpose or value.
Exeter City Council takes each complaint seriously and will always raise genuine issues and concerns for its residents. However, we will follow our internal processes when dealing with vexatious complainants.
When a tenant demonstrates persistent and vexatious behaviour, we invoke our ‘Acceptable Behaviour Contract’ which manages communication in line with the Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy.
Who can make a complaint?
Anyone can make a complaint on your behalf, if you are unable to do so. They will need signed authorisation from you.
Housing complaints can be made in writing by letter, email, or via our Housing complaints form. You can also call us, visit us in person at the Council Offices, on social media, via our housing drop-in surgeries, or arrange a visit to your home using the contact details below.
We will accept a complaint made via social media, but it will be handled through our normal processes (outside of the social media platform itself).
Stage One - Investigation of your complaint
We will acknowledge your housing complaint within five working days. A Department Lead will investigate and respond within 10 working days. We may extend this by 10 working days if the investigation is complex. We will normally respond within the additional 10 day extended deadline unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Where additional investigation time would take the complaint outside of the extension period, e.g. beyond the extended deadline date, an agreement would be made by both parties.
Where agreement over an extension period cannot be reached, we will provide the Housing Ombudsman’s contact details so the resident can contact them directly.
Stage Two – Independent review of your complaint
If you remain dissatisfied after our Stage One investigation, you can request an escalation where a new senior officer will conduct an independent review. We will log your escalation to the complaint within 5 working days. Your request must be made within 3 months of the resolution of the Stage One complaint. We will complete a Stage Two review within 20 working days and send you a final response. This timescale may be extended if the investigation is complex by 10 working days. We will normally respond within the additional 10 day extended deadline unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Where additional investigation time would take the complaint outside of the extension period, e.g. beyond the extended deadline date, an agreement would be made by both parties.
Where agreement over an extension period cannot be reached, we will provide the Housing Ombudsman’s contact details so the resident can contact them directly.
Before we carry out a Stage Two review, please explain to us why you remain dissatisfied and why you are requesting a review. Dissatisfaction with the outcome of your complaint will not be sufficient. We will require evidence of any errors, inaccuracies in our findings or evidence of factually incorrect statements.
We can only escalate a complaint to Stage Two once it has completed Stage One of the Complaints process.
We will not investigate a complaint at Stage Two if it was not part of the original Stage One complaint, but we would open a new complaint at Stage One for any additional elements raised by the complainant.
We will not refuse a reasonable request to escalate a complaint to Stage Two of our process, unless for example legal proceedings have commenced. (see below Legal Obligations)
Stage One and Stage Two Responses
When responding to complaint we will use plain language, include the reasons for any decisions made and, where appropriate, provide details of any remedy to put things right and details of any outstanding actions.
We will issue our complaint response when the answer is known, or by the deadline provided and not wait until any outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed.
If a complaint response is handled by a third party (e.g. a contractor) at any stage, it will form part of the two stage complaints process set out in the Complaint Handling Code.
When responding to a complaint about an individual, we refer to staff members by their title in our communications.
After your complaint
If your complaint remains unresolved at the end of our complaints process you have the following options available to you:
- Use the Housing Ombudsman’s Early Resolution Service. This is an alternative process to formal investigation where they will work with you and us to resolve the dispute as fairly and quickly as possible
- Refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman to be formally investigated.
The Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman Service is available to our tenants and leaseholders. They provide a free, independent and impartial dispute resolution service.
See how you can contact the Housing Ombudsman.
Housing Ombudsman self-assessment
The Housing Ombudsman ask that housing providers publish a self-assessment of their complaints service. You can download our current self-assessment document.
The role of the Regulator and Housing Ombudsman Service
See further information about the role of the Regulator of Social Housing and Housing Ombudsman Service and how residents can seek support.
Legal Obligations
Where key issue of a complaint relates to the parties’ legal obligations, we will clearly set out legal obligations of all parties concerned.
Housing Complaints Policy
Our Housing Complaints Policy explains how we will abide with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, while taking into account our own internal procedures, and how we process complaints. You can view our current Housing Complaints Policy document.
Housing Complaints Performance Data
Our complaints and service improvements are reported in the Tenant Annual Report, to the Council Housing & Development Advisory Board, Housing staff members and our resident engagement groups. We will publish our Housing performance data on our website for residents to view shortly.
Exeter City Council contact details
Telephone: 01392 265759
EMail: Housing.Complaints@exeter.gov.uk
Post: Exeter City Council, Housing Complaints, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 9SA