Making a complaint about your council landlord: how the process works

Renting from a council with a problem in your home? Disrepair, poor service, or a tenancy row: you hold the right to a formal complaint. Here is how the process works, what to expect, and what to do when the complaint goes nowhere.

Who can make a complaint about a council landlord?

Any council tenant or leaseholder can complain formally about the council's housing services. That covers:

• Repairs left undone, or done badly
• Damp, mould, or other conditions the council failed to deal with
• Poor communication from the housing team
• Slow answers to repair requests
• Rows over rent, service charges, or tenancy terms

Complaining for someone else works too, where they gave you authority.

How to make a formal complaint

Stage 1, formal complaint: a formal written complaint to the council's housing department. Most councils run an online form or a complaints email. The complaint should:

• Set out plainly what happened and when
• Say what you want done to put it right
• Attach the supporting papers: photos, letters, repair reports

The council must acknowledge promptly, usually within five working days, and answer fully within 10 working days. Needing more time means telling you.

Stage 2, review: unhappy with Stage 1? Escalate. A more senior officer usually reviews, on the same timescales.

What if the complaint is not resolved?

The council's process may end with you still unhappy. The Housing Ombudsman Service comes next. It looks into complaints about social landlords in England, councils and housing associations alike.

No lawyer is needed for the Housing Ombudsman. The service costs nothing.

In most cases the landlord's own process must finish first. The Ombudsman may also ask whether other routes were weighed, a councillor referral for one.

What can the Housing Ombudsman do?

An upheld complaint lets the Ombudsman order the landlord to:

• Pay you compensation
• Do the outstanding repairs
• Review its policies and processes
• Apologise formally

The Ombudsman's rulings bind social landlords.

What if my complaint relates to disrepair that is harming my health?

Disrepair in a council home touching your health may mean a legal claim against the council as landlord, on top of the complaint. Council tenants hold the same rights under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 as private ones.

A court claim runs separate from the complaints process. Both can run at once, or one after the other.

What if the council is not responding to repair requests at all?

Is the council failing to answer repair requests at all, in a way touching health or safety? Another route exists. The council's environmental health team is a separate arm. Its officers can inspect the home and serve notices making the housing department act.

What about legal action?

Disrepair left unfixed, harming health and the home's fitness, may support a county court claim. Council tenants hold the same legal rights to a livable home as private ones.

A legal adviser can help you pick what fits: an Ombudsman complaint, a court claim, or both.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

Support for Tenants helps tenants with housing disrepair claims, council and housing association tenants included. Disrepair the landlord has not fixed? Call us: we check whether you may have a claim and refer you to a solicitor from our panel.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Ombudsman Service
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, Section 11 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)