| General
Comment- |
Housing
is an emotive issue and with the complicated processes involved it can generate
endless problems and complaints. The main regulatory bodies are the Independent
Housing Ombudsman (England and Scotland), Local Government Ombudsmen
(England and Scotland), Housing Performance and Finance Division
(Wales) and Northern Ireland Ombudsman. We are working on a comprehensive
complaints guide and have outlined the broad procedures below. In the meantime
we refer you to the Citizens Advice Bureau’s website that contains all the
information you should need (see link below). If you want to air your views
on policy why not use our Open
Forum facility to post a message or opinion for others to see and respond
to. |
| Step
1 - |
Local Resolution
1: You should address your complaint to the individual you would normally
deal with within the local authority, housing association or simply to
your landlord if applicable. If you are unable to resolve your complaint
at this level proceed to step 2.
|
| Step
2 - |
Local resolution
2: There are formal internal complaints procedures in place and you
should ask your landlord/housing officer for a leaflet. The Citizens Advice
Bureau link below has a contact list giving details of directories of
social landlords and local authorities.
|
| Step
3 - |
Authorities:
For Social Housing (and some private landlords - see below) in
England and Scotland, your
complaint should be addressed to the Independent Housing Ombudsman (IHO).
In Wales, you should send your complaint to the Housing
Performance and Finance Division, National Assembly for Wales.
For
Council Housing in England, Wales and Scotland, send your complaints
to the respective Local Government Ombudsman. If you are based in Northern
Ireland, you should send your complaint, via a MLA, to the Northern Ireland
Ombudsman.
The IHO has developed a voluntary registration scheme for private landlords.
The IHO can deal with complaints against the private landlords registered
- you can access the database on the IHO's website linked below.
|
| Step
4 - |
Court: Failing
all else you can still go to court to resolve your dispute. Details of
small claims court and other procedures are given in the Legal Section
of this site. You can also contact the Community Legal Service (justask.org.uk)
that gives access to free advice. Otherwise your local Citizens' Advice
Bureau will give you advice and will sometimes organise free legal representation
for you.
|
 |
The Citizens'
Advice Bureau site which includes a lot of information related to housing.
It also details the circumstances under which you can complain to the various
bodies, for example problems with repairs. Price disputes are not included
unless you are being charged more than someone else in equivalent accommodation.
|
|
Housing
Corporation website: the regulatory body of registered social landlords
(i.e. Housing Associations, Local Housing Companies) |
|
Independent
Housing Ombudsman. This aims to solve complaints between social landlords
(and some private landlords) and tenants in England, including Housing Companies
and landlords who have taken over local authority homes. This does not include
your local council. You can search the database of private landlords on
the website to see if yours has joined the scheme. The website has a good
FAQs section. It also includes a complainants form to complain electronically.
|
|
Northern
Ireland Ombudsman |
|
Local
Government Ombudsman for England including advice and instructions on
how to make a complaint. |
|
Local
Government Ombudsman for Scotland including advice and instructions
on how to make a complaint. |
|
Local
Government Ombudsman for Wales including advice and instructions on
how to make a complaint. |
|
Tenants
Participation Advisory Services: a non-profit organisation that gives
advice to tenants on housing management. |
|
The
Housing Net offers a thorough list and information service on private
and social housing organisations throughout the country. Includes the Housing
Association directory |
|
Chartered
Institute of Housing website: this is the professional body for all
housing professionals. The site includes their code of practice, information
on latest government housing policies and links to various housing websites
|
|
Welsh
Federation of Housing Associations website: offers information on Housing
Associations, a comprehensive question and answer section and information
on complaining about a landlord or tenant . Includes the Housing Association
directory |
|
Communities
Scotland: Oversees housing management of local authorities and of registered
social landords in Scotland.. |
|
Website
of Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. Gives directory of
housing associations. |
|
National
Housing Federation: represents the independent social housing sector
in England |
