Complaints

The Homes and Communities Agency is committed to delivering an efficient and professional public service and we aim to provide prompt, polite and helpful advice. We are always keen to hear our customers’ views about our performance, particularly where we may not have followed our standards of service.

If you are unhappy about the service that the HCA has provided to you, the information below explains how you can make a complaint.

If you wish to make a complaint about a registered provider please click here and here.

What you can complain about

Handling complaints quickly, fairly and helpfully is a key part of our approach to service delivery. Examples of complaints about a service provided by the HCA might include:

• Not answering your query or complaint fully and promptly
• A failure to follow proper procedures
• Rudeness or not doing something we said we would do
• Discrimination
• Undue delays
• Failure to apologise properly for mistakes
• Dissatisfaction with the way our land, property and other assets are maintained
• Not responding to requests for our services to be provided in a different format

It’s important to stress that the HCA’s complaints procedures are designed to address any failures in the service that we’ve given you. There are some types of complaints that we are not able to handle and these should be directed to the bodies responsible:

• Complaints against the service received by an individual housing associations which should be directed to the housing association in question in the first instance and subsequently to your councillor or MP who can help you engage with the independent Housing Ombudsman. More information on the HCA's regulatory function with regards housing associations can be found here.
• Complaints against local Councils which should be directed to the Council concerned and subsequently to the Local Government Ombudsman
• Complaints that are the subject of police investigations or court proceedings

In addition the complaints procedures do not cover complaints about information requested under the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection Act. These complaints are subject to different procedures further information can be found here. 

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint in writing, by letter, fax, email, telephone or in person. If you are emailing, please let us know if a reply by email is acceptable and if not please provide a telephone number or postal address.

For complex issues we recommend that you should arrange to have your complaint sent to us in writing and a copy kept for your reference.  A letter often helps us to understand any complicated details that may be misunderstood during a telephone conversation. In cases where the complainant may be unable to provide details of their complaint in writing as a result of a disability the HCA will consider verbal complaints or accept complaints submitted on behalf of the complainant. 

Complaints submitted by a third party must be signed or agreed with the complainant.

Complaints should be made no later than 3 months after you became aware of the problem, or should reasonably become aware of it.

What happens next

We will do our best to:

We hope that our first response to your complaint will resolve the problem. However, if you are unhappy with the reply or need further help you can write to the HCA Enquiries team who will consider the issues afresh and try to resolve them.

• Explain our complaints procedure and keep you up to date on the progress of your complaint
• Treat a complaint seriously whether it is made in writing, by letter, fax, email, telephone or in person
• Respond promptly. Our target for replying to complaints is 20 working days from the date of receipt. If it is not possible to give you a full response within this time – for instance because detailed investigation is required – we will give you an interim response telling you what is being done to investigate your complaint, when you can expect the full response and from whom.
• Ensure that making a complaint is as easy as possible
• Include in our response: an apology where we have not acted in accordance with our standards of service, an explanation of the position and information on any actions taken
• Learn from complaints made against the HCA and use them to improve our service and publish information on complaints in our Annual Report and Financial Statements

Their address is:
Complaints
Homes and Communities Agency
Maple House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London
W1T 7BN
Email: mail@homesandcommunities.co.uk

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days of receipt and will respond to you within 20 working days. If the investigation into your complaint takes longer you will be kept informed of progress.

External Complaints Reviewer

If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint you can refer it to an external complaints reviewer who will carry out an independent and impartial review. For further information visit the CEDR.

Review by the Parliamentary Ombudsman

If you are not happy with the way the complaint has been handled by the HCA and CEDR you can ask a Member of Parliament to request that the Parliamentary Ombudsman conduct an independent review of your complaint and how it has been handled. The Ombudsman will investigate complaints against the HCA but will expect you to have gone through the HCA’s Complaints Procedure before they will consider your complaint.

If the Ombudsman is satisfied that your complaint has been dealt with fairly he will close the case and normally we will not respond to further approaches about the matter. Further information about the independent review arrangements can be obtained from the Ombudsman’s office: 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Tel. 0345 015 4033

Email: phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk
www.ombudsman.org.uk

The Homes and Communities Agency is able to provide literature in alternative formats including large print, Braille and audio. Please contact us on 0300 1234 500 or by email at mail@homesandcommunities.co.uk for further information.