Complaints and improvements

How many complaints?

(Bar graph shows investigation stage complaints only)

Investigation stage complaints

• We received 821 complaints in 2024/25 (compared to 527 in 2023/24) that's an increase of 56%.
• Of the 821 complaints received, 696 were responded to within 10 working days, 125 required an extension.
• 33% were upheld, 22% were partially upheld, 41% were not upheld and 4% are still in progress.
• The month with the highest number of Investigation stage complaints was July 2024 with 90, the lowest number of complaints were received in December 2024.

Review stage complaints

• We received 215 complaints in 2024/25 (compared to 115 in 2023/24) a 85% increase in Review stage complaints with the highest number of reviews for Repairs.
• 42% of Review stage complaints were upheld, 20% partially upheld, 38% were not upheld.
• We received the lowest number of escalation requests in October 2024 with 12 and the most in January 2025 with 25.

What were the complaints about?

The service areas where we received the most complaints includes responsive repairs (263 complaints) and community housing (159 complaints). These are two of the largest teams in whg, handling thousands of service requests for customers every month.

Repairs complaint themes

Housing complaint themes

How quickly did we deal with complaints?

We completed more than 97% of stage one and stage two complaints within required timescales. This includes complaints where we agreed extensions. Read more to understand complaint timescales.

Regulator of Social Housing median reported for Private Registered Providers in 23/24 was 86.9% for stage one and 87.5% for stage two.

How were complaints resolved?

We will deal with all points raised in a complaint and provide clear reasons for any decisions. Complaints can be resolved in a number of ways.

Why we might refuse a complaint

We do not accept certain complaints, including those that:

• have already gone through our full complaints process (so the next step is the Housing Ombudsman Service)
• are made too late, outside our complaints policy timescales.

Complaints referred to the Housing Ombudsman Service

We work closely with the Housing Ombudsman Service to make sure we are dealing with complaints in line with the complaints handling code, and to help us improve our services.

12 complaints were investigated by the Housing Ombudsman.

4 cases of maladministration (non-compliance with our policies) and 1 case of severe maladministration was identified.

Examples of non compliance included:

• time taken to complete repairs
• our response to reports of neighbour noise nuisance

In 2024 we made improvements to our Lessons Learnt process. We now review complaints to identify the processes that are directly contributing to customer dissatisfaction. These processes are reviewed alongside individual complaint cases to understand the root cause, identify improvements and agree actions.

Improving our repairs service

You said: Some repairs have long waiting times.

• We changed the way inspections are classified to minimise the number of visits required for a repair, potentially speeding up the process. 

• We restructured our repairs team into geographically divided East and West teams, to reduce travel times and enable technicians to complete more jobs per day.

• We began replacing our aging fleet with new vans, meaning fewer breakdowns and more consistent service visits. Equipped with the right tools and materials, these vans will make jobs smoother and quicker.

Responding to pest infestations

You said: Sometimes we respond to reports of pest infestations too slowly.

• We appointed a new contractor with more flexibility and availability to reduce delays in resolving issues for customers.

• We also introduced a new system so that surveyors can update customer records while on site.

Reporting damp and mould

You said: When reporting damp and mould you were unhappy about long delays between the surveyor visit and when work actually started. Some customers said they had to wait a long time.

• We looked into the problem and found that there were some improvements that we could make to the ways of working, including improving our communication with customers.

• We set out expected timeframes after a surveyor visit.

• We created a clear step by step process for all colleagues to follow so that we do things the same way every time.

• We rolled out the new guidance across the teams.

Dealing with ASB (Antisocial Behaviour)

You said: You wanted outdoor areas to be better maintained all year round, with more frequent grass cutting, clearing of leaves and cuttings, and a service that is more reliable.

• We’ve introduced a new grounds maintenance contract with changes based on your feedback - including more frequent grass cuts and removal of clippings, to help keep shared spaces greener, tidier and well-maintained throughout the year.

You said: You wanted a more reliable, consistent cleaning service that delivers better quality and feels like good value for your service charge.

• We’ve made changes to improve the overall standard of cleaning - including longer weekly visits, an annual deep clean, and clearer expectations for contractors - so you can see a more consistent and higher-quality service across all blocks.

You said: A group of customers with lived experience of anti-social behaviour (ASB) shared their views and recommended improvements to how we respond and support those affected.

• All 11 recommendations from the Service Improvement Group have been implemented to strengthen our approach to handling ASB and deliver a more supportive service.

Our promise to you

“Our C1 rating from the Regulator of Social Housing demonstrates our commitment to customers to provide the best possible services from whg, and take complaints as an opportunity to learn, review and improve. whg takes its responsibilities under the complaints handling code seriously to ensure customers have access to redress in a timely manner if we get something wrong. With a positive complaints handling culture, evidenced through our results and self-assessment, we work with customers to identify opportunities to continuously improve. We have made learning from complaints central to our improvement activity, and improvement action plans and complaints performance is monitored by the Board.”

Response from the Governing Body

How we measure up

Housing Ombudsman Service Landlord Performance Report 2022/23

Our Self-Assessment against the Complaint Handling Code