Housing complaints

Here you can see how our housing landlord service has performed on handling complaints raised by Council tenants and leaseholders.

Number of complaints opened

We have two stages to our complaints process. Stage one is where you can first express dissatisfaction. If you remain dissatisfied after stage one, you can request a stage two review. If you remain dissatisfied after the stage two review, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman to investigate your complaint.

Reasons for complaints

Complaints can be about different areas of our landlord and leasehold services. In some instances, we may receive complaints that cover more than one service area, which is why the total figure may be different to the figure of total number of complaints.

Stage One and Stage Two complaint response timescales

We aim to provide a full response to stage one complaints within 10 working days of the acknowledgement of the complaint and 20 working days of the acknowledgement for stage two complaints.

Complaint outcomes

Once a complaint is investigated a decision is made on the outcome. You should be given the reasons for the decision. When we get things wrong, we apologise and put things right. 

How we have learned from complaints and made improvements to services

Improvements resulting from learning from complaints are crucial for creating a positive and effective complaint handling culture. This year, we have implemented several enhancements based on feedback and insights gathered through our complaints management processes. Some notable improvements include: 

• Introduction of a new complaint handling management system in January 2025. This enables improved control of our complaint handling process, which includes, acknowledging complaints, assigning complaints for investigation, and monitoring our compliance in line with the Complaint Handling Code timescales.
• We have recruited and established a Customer Communication and Engagement team. This dedicated team enhances our capacity to manage complaints effectively whilst improving engagement and communications with residents. 
• Establishment of the Housing Complaints Panel in February 2025, chaired by the Member Responsible for Complaints. The panel includes representatives from our Dartford Tenants and Leaseholders Forum, as well as officers from the Customer Communication and Engagement team. This panel’s primary role is to scrutinise complaint handling and performance. Its establishment aims to create a comprehensive complaint handling culture within the Housing Service. 
• Audits of complaints are conducted during the Housing Complaint Panel meetings, allowing the Customer Communication and Engagement team to assess the quality of complaint handling. This process helps identify learning opportunities and areas for improvement.
• The Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report has allowed us to better understand complaint trends and feedback, guiding our strategies for future improvement. 
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys have been created to understand our effectiveness in handling complaints and are now distributed upon the closure of complaints, enabling us to gather feedback and continuously refine our processes.