The Housing Ombudsman Service is an independent organisation that helps resolve complaints between tenants and social housing landlords, including Hull City Council.
The service is free to use, impartial, and makes sure tenants are treated fairly when a housing complaint has not been resolved through their landlord’s own complaints process.
If you have made a complaint to Hull City Council’s housing service and received a final response, but still feel your concerns have not been addressed, you may be able to ask the Housing Ombudsman to review your case.
How can the Housing Ombudsman help?
The Housing Ombudsman reviews complaints about the services provided by social landlords and makes independent decisions based on the evidence available. It does not take sides, but considers what happened, whether the landlord followed the correct procedures, and whether the outcome was fair and reasonable.
The Ombudsman can investigate complaints about a landlord’s housing activities or management, on issues such as:
- Repairs and maintenance
- Damp and mould
- Delays in carrying out work
- Communication and customer service
- Anti-social behaviour reports
- Estate management
- Complaint handling
They cannot consider every complaint about housing. Some issues, such as how the Council deals with a homelessness application, or the priority given on the housing register, fall under the remit of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
What happens during an investigation?
If the Housing Ombudsman accepts your complaint, it will gather information from both you and Hull City Council before reviewing the circumstances of the case. The Ombudsman will then decide whether the Council acted fairly and in line with its responsibilities.
If the Ombudsman finds that a problem was not dealt with properly, it can recommend actions to put things right. These could include:
- An apology
- Further work or repairs
- Compensation in some circumstances
- Changes to services or procedures to help prevent similar issues in the future
Why does the Housing Ombudsman matter?
The Housing Ombudsman gives residents confidence that there is a fair and independent organisation that can review complaints and how they were handled.
The Ombudsman also helps landlords to improve the way they deliver services and deal with complaints.
Find out more
If you would like to learn more about Hull City Council’s complaints process and tenant information, visit the housing complaints section of Hull City Council’s website.
For independent advice and information about the Housing Ombudsman, visit the Housing Ombudsman Service website.
The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman are as follows:
Housing Ombudsman Service
PO Box 1484
Preston PR2 0ET
Tel: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
You complain, we learn
Feedback and complaints help us improve our services by giving us a chance to find out where we’re going wrong – and to put things right.