Audit, Standards & General Purposes Committee
Agenda Item 24
Subject: Annual Housing Complaints Report and Self-Assessment
Date of meeting: 23 September 2025
Report of: Genette Laws, Corporate Director – Homes and Adult Social Care
Contact Officer: Martin Reid, Director for Homes & Investment and Harry Williams, Director for Housing People Services
Email: martin.reid@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Harry.williams@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: All
1. Purpose of the report and policy context
1.1 The Council's social landlord duties cover 12,145 rented properties and 2,210 leasehold properties (as of January 2025). The Council is a member of the Housing Ombudsman scheme which provides an independent and impartial service to investigate complaints and resolve disputes involving the tenants and leaseholders of social landlords.
1.2 The Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 (SHRA) placed a duty on the Housing Ombudsman to monitor social landlords' compliance with a Complaints Handling Code of Practice.
1.3 It is a requirement that the Annual Housing Complaints report (Appendix 1) and the Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment (Appendix 2) is reported to the governing body and published on its website by 30 September 2025.
1.4 The governing body’s response to the Annual Housing Complaints Report and the Self-Assessment must be published alongside this.
1.5 This aligns with the Council Plan priority, Homes for Everyone, to ensure that the Council complies with new social housing regulations. Also, our Council Plan priority, to be a responsive council with well-run services.
2. Recommendations
3. Context and background information
3.1 The legislation recognises that a positive complaint handling culture is key to effectiveness with which landlords resolve disputes. Social landlords are required to use complaints as a way of identifying issues and introduce positive changes in service delivery.
3.2 The report must include:
a) The annual self-assessment against this Code to ensure their complaint handling policy remains in line with its requirements.
b) A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the landlord’s complaint handling performance. This must also include a summary of the types of complaints the landlord has refused to accept.
c) Any findings of non-compliance with this Code by the Ombudsman.
d) the service improvements made as a result of the learning from complaints.
e) Any annual report about the landlord’s performance from the Ombudsman.
f) Any other relevant reports or publications produced by the Ombudsman in relation to the work of the landlords.
3.3 The Annual Housing Complaints report and Self-Assessment directly supports the following Council Plan outcomes: Outcome 2: A fair and inclusive city, Homes for everyone; Outcome 4: A responsive council with well-run services.
3.4 Over the past year, the council’s Housing Service has implemented several service improvements to improve efficiency and responsiveness, ensuring tenants receive high-quality support.
Digital Access Expansion: The introduction of Housing Online has simplified the process for tenants to request repairs, improving accessibility and response times.
Tenant Handbook Update: In collaboration with Seniors scheme residents, the handbook has been revised to provide clearer and more useful guidance.
Noise Nuisance Resolution: Procedures have been strengthened, with closer coordination between Environmental Health teams, leading to more effective intervention and quicker resolution.
Cleaning and Maintenance Improvements: Cleaning schedules have been restructured to ensure consistency, and van routes have been optimised to reduce travel time, increasing operational efficiency.
Anti-Social Behaviour Management: A streamlined case review process has enhanced response times and service accessibility, with ongoing refinements based on resident feedback.
3.5 These improvements reflect the council’s commitment to delivering a
responsive, high-quality housing service that meets the needs of tenants while continuously evolving based on their experiences.
3.6 In 2024/25, complaints related to repairs, maintenance, and property improvements remained the most reported issue, making up 68%of all housing related complaints. However, this represents a significant improvement from 2023/24, when these concerns accounted for 80% of complaints. Increase in satisfaction with repairs is aligned with a 12% reduction in repairs complaint.
3.7 Improvement to repairs, maintenance and property is still an ongoing priority, the council has made substantial investments to expand contractor capacity alongside the in-house team. This ensures that repairs are completedefficiently and to a high standard, improving responsiveness to tenant needs.
4. Analysis and consideration of alternative options
4.1 Not applicable as this is a statutory requirement.
5. Community engagement and consultation
5.1 The Annual Housing Complaints report for will be published on the council
website. It will also be shared with residents at Housing Area Panel and summarised in the Autumn edition of Homing In.
5.2 The Housing service are actively working towards improving collaboration and engagement with residents. Following analysis of complaints 2024/25, a series of co-produced workshops with tenants and staff took place. These focused on four key themes. Findings from these workshops will be used to form the basis for a Creating Great Homes Together plan.
6. Financial implications
6.1 There are no direct financial implications arising directly from the
recommendations of the report, however, addressing any service improvements arising from responding to complaints can have financial consequences for the service. These will be reflected as part of the regular Targeted Budget Management forecast and reports.
Name of finance officer consulted: Mike Bentley Date consulted: 27/05/25
7.1 The legal requirements to have a report are set out above. There is no
additional legal comment.
Name of lawyer consulted: Simon Court Date consulted: 27 May 2025:
8 Risk implications
8.1 Failing to meet the statutory deadline could result in regulatory scrutiny,
financial penalties, or damage to the council’s reputation for reliability and governance.
8.2 Delaying or omitting the report could lead to missed opportunities for service
Improvement.
9 Equalities implications
9.1 The Annual Housing Complaints Report and the Self-Assessment are
aligned to the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 (SHRA). This aims to
improve social housing standards and tenant experiences, with specific provisions addressing equality and diversity.
9.2 The Complaint Handling Code specifies at that we must make it easy for
residents to complain taking into consideration duties under the Equality
Act 2010. It is a requirement of the Code that we anticipate the needs and
reasonable adjustments of individuals who may need to access the
complaints process.
9.3 The council’s full complaints procedure is published on our website with brief, clear descriptions of how we operate our corporate complaints procedure. Complaints can be made through an online form, by email, post, telephone or other method if required by a resident.
9.4 Ensuring the complaints process is accessible helps ensure greater equality of opportunity to voice concerns, seek resolutions and drive service improvement.
10. Conclusion
10.1 It is a statutory requirement to report the Annual Housing Complaint report
and the Self-Assessment the governing body.
10.2 The governing body’s response to the Annual Housing Complaints report and the Self-Assessment must be published alongside the report by 30 June 2025.
Supporting Documentation
i. Appendices
1. Annual Housing Complaints Report
2. Self- Assessment