Discussing Complaints: A Condensed Podcast Series in Three Instalments
In a recent mini-series, the focus has been on the changes to the Complaints Handling Code (CHC) by the Housing Ombudsman, and how these updates are set to strengthen social housing consumer regulation.
Key Changes in the Complaints Handling Code
The key changes in the CHC for 2025 are designed to promote more effective local complaint resolution, increase oversight by governing bodies, and ensure residents have better access to fair complaint processes.
Mandatory Self-Assessment
Registered providers of social housing with more than 1,000 homes must now self-assess their compliance against the Code and submit this to the Housing Ombudsman by 30 September 2025. This requirement sharpens providers' internal review and accountability processes.
Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC)
The Code requires landlords to appoint a Member Responsible for Complaints on their governing body. This individual's role is to provide assurance to the board on the effectiveness of the complaints system, challenge complaint data, and oversee systemic improvements.
Focus on Positive Complaint Handling Culture
The Ombudsman’s corporate strategy (2025-30) emphasizes evolving the duty to monitor compliance with the CHC and expanding learning resources to develop local complaint handling capabilities. The strategy stresses fairness, transparency, resident awareness, prompt resolution, and learning from complaint outcomes as core cultural traits.
Resident Awareness and Support
The Code promotes increasing resident awareness of the right to complain and providing adequate support and signposting to the Ombudsman service, improving access and empowerment for social housing consumers.
Learning and Sector-wide Improvement
The Ombudsman uses complaint data to identify root causes and systemic issues at member and sector levels, sharing insights to prevent recurrences and improve service quality across the social housing sector.
The New Statutory Status of the Complaints Handling Code
The new statutory status of the Complaints Handling Code means it carries more legal weight, potentially requiring more proactive and systematic approaches to complaints handling from housing providers. The shift from "should" to "must" in the Code signifies a more mandatory approach to complaints handling.
In Part 3 of the mini-series, Catherine and Sue discuss key changes in the Complaints Handling Code, focusing on the implications of these changes for the way housing providers handle complaints. Part 3 is 7 minutes long and provides valuable insights into the new Code.
Empowering Social Housing Consumers
The updates to the Complaints Handling Code drive a stronger regulatory framework by emphasizing organizational self-assessment, leadership accountability, a positive complaint culture, and resident empowerment. This reinforces social housing consumer regulation by ensuring complaints are effectively managed locally, reducing unnecessary escalations to the Ombudsman, and facilitating continuous improvement and transparency in social housing services.
In Part 1 of the mini-series, Sarah Klueter, Director of Customer Experience at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, shares her experience on complaints and tenant satisfaction measures. Part 2 of the mini-series covers trends in complaints handling and organizational culture, the relationship between complaints handling approach and outcomes, and top tips for housing providers and local authorities on complaints handling.
Overall, the mini-series discusses the Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code and its connection to changes in social housing consumer regulation, offering valuable insights for housing providers and local authorities alike.
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