Annual Complaints Report Summary

This article summarises the complaints received about the Council's Housing Assets Service which is responsible for the management and maintenance of the Council's housing stock between the 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.  

It excludes complaints which are submitted about other housing services provided by the Council. 

All complaints are dealt with in accordance with the Council's Corporate Complaints and Compliments Policy.   With effect from 18 March 2024, the Council's Corporate Complaints and Compliments Policy was updated to ensure that it is consistent with the Housing Ombudsman's 2024 Complaint Handling Code. This means that from 18 March 2024 the Housing Assets Service has a two-stage complaint process, prior to this there were three stages.

Complaint numbers and performance

The tables below summarise the number and types of complaints received. 

The Council received 167 formal complaints in 2024/25, compared to 100 in 2023/24.

Number of complaints received per stage

Outcome of complaints

Outcome of complaints by stage

Category of complaints

Note - all other areas under 4 recorded complaints

Service Improvements from complaints

Complaints are an important part of feedback about the service which tenants are receiving.  When considering complaints, especially where complaints are upheld in full or part, improvements are identified by the investigating officer which will either prevent an issue identified in a complaint from happening again or improve the service provided. In some cases, actions are identified which are specific to resolving the complaint or which apply more widely.

Improvements to address areas where there was service failure identified as a result of a complaint investigation, or where the service can be improved by changing the way it works were identified in 44 complaints (34 at Stage 1 and 10 at stage 2), although some complaints identified more than one improvement.

Examples of some of the improvements identified as a result of complaints are below:

• quality inspections are to be undertaken after works completed
• increased priority has been introduced to action tenancy changes when staff shortages occur to minimise the customer impact
• when works are raised by a surveyor to the repairs and maintenance service for works to address damp and mould issues, the request is to include a requirement for repairs and maintenance to confirm the completion of works to the surveyor to support management of the case. Where works are unable to be completed within the published repair timeframes or deemed no longer to be required the tenant will be updated accordingly
• tenants are supported in advance of the Right to Buy application where possible and case notes are to be clear on the files with notes of any outstanding information. The evidence required is also to be added to our website
• if recommendations from damp and mould surveys are unable to be completed in the normal repair timeframes, regular updates are to be communicated to tenants to ensure they are fully aware of the progress and any reasons for delay in works
• officers are reminded to share information on what to do if tenants are unable to meet Direct Debit instalment payments. For example, they can cancel it and pay by an alternative method. The methods should be explained and discussed to agree a suitable payment method
• the corporate complaints team will review their process to ensure responses are sent within the expected timeframe
• Tenancy Services staff to be reminded that when a tenancy breach is identified and appropriate advice is given, a tenancy breach case must be opened and not be closed until it is confirmed either the breach has been rectified, or appropriate, reasonable and proportionate actions have been delivered to enforce the breach of tenancy

Housing Ombudsman Complaint Investigations

• the Housing Ombudsman Service considers complaints about the services provided by social landlords.  
• the Housing Ombudsman produces reports on landlords which have five or more findings against them.  The latest reports are for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. The landlord report for Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
• no Complaint Handling Failure Orders have been issued by the Housing Ombudsman against the Council during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, these orders are issued when a landlord does not comply with orders (or the timescale to complete orders) made as a result of a determination by the Housing Ombudsman into a complaint

• During the year April 2023 to March 2024 the Council had a maladministration rate of 57% compared to the national average of 73%. Hence GYBC performed well when compared to similar landlords by size and type.

  For April 2024 to March 2025 the Council's maladministration rate was 86% compared to the national average of 71% although the rate for landlords of a similar size and type to GYBC was 77%. The Council acknowledges that the maladministration rate has increased however, the number of cases and findings did reduce compared to the previous year. Additionally, all recommendations and orders from the Housing Ombudsman were complied with promptly. Feedback of this nature gives the Council a solid evidence base upon which it can improve its landlord services for tenants and leaseholders taking learning from each case where the Council has not performed in line with tenant expectations.

During 2024-25, the Housing Ombudsman issued GYBC with 2 determinations for complaints it had investigated.

In one case GYBC received no (zero) maladministration for:

• the reasonable redress offered in the landlord's handling of the resident's temporary move.

2024-25 Maladministration (6 instances) out of 7 findings relating to:

• damp and mould and remedial repairs in the property (severe)
• handling of reports of damp and mould
• handling of the claim for compensation
• handling of management of the tenancy, including audits and alleged breach
• handling of the complaint
• record-keeping