Housing Complaints
Making a Housing Complaint
As per 3.2 of the Housing Ombudsman's 2024 Complaint Handling Code (Opens in a New Window): Residents must be able to raise their complaints in any way and with any member of staff. A complaint is defined as 'an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the landlord, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting a resident or group of residents.’ The main ways to make a complaint are detailed below.
Phone
Any Broxtowe Borough Council member of staff you are speaking to on the phone must take a complaint on your behalf if you wish them to do so. They will need to gather some contact information from you so the Complaints Team can get back in touch with you.
Online Form
You can make a complaint using this online form: Customer Complaints (Opens in a New Window). You will be given a reference number and the Complaints Team will get in touch with you. Your complaint must be acknowledged within 5 working days and the stage 1 response sent within 10 working days of the acknowledgment.
Letter
Broxtowe accepts complaints in writing. Please send complaints to the Broxtowe Borough Council Offices, Foster Avenue, Beeston, NG9 1AB and make sure to address the letter with The Complaints Team so it is correctly directed.
You can email complaints directly to complaints@broxtowe.gov.uk
Person
We can take complaints in person also. This might be easiest done by visiting the reception desk at Broxtowe Borough Council Offices, Foster Avenue, Beeston, NG9 1AB and speaking to the staff there who can take the details and pass it on to the Complaints Team.
It is still important to distinguish between a service request and a complaint. A service request is a request from a resident to the landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right. For more information on the difference see Complaint Policy (Opens in a New Window)
Overview of the Housing Complaints Panel
The Housing Complaints Panel meets quarterly to review how the Housing department have handled closed complaints. We provide a random selection of complaints from a Housing team chosen by the panel and invite the manager who has responded to those complaints along to the meeting. This allows panel members to directly question our complaints response with the relevant manager. We also provide specific performance information benchmarked against other local authorities to compare our service with similar housing providers. The panel is not to discuss personal complaints, but complaints handling by the Housing team as a whole.
Some recommendations from the panel include for complaint responses to demonstrate more compassion, avoid using acronyms and explain when actions are governed by specific policies.
The next meeting is on Thursday 22nd January from 1-3pm in Council Chambers at Council Offices, Beeston. We will be discussing Capital Works (new kitchens/bathrooms, aids & adaptations, energy efficiency...). We can provide transport or reimburse mileage if this is required to attend the meeting. If you are unable to attend meetings, you can feedback via email.
For more information call 0115 917 3935 or email housingengagment@broxtowe.gov.uk