View our formal complaints policy.
We have reviewed our complaints policy and procedure in line with the requirements of the joint Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
We have also reviewed it to include the Building Safety Regulator’s requirements for handling of complaints relating to High Rise Residential Buildings.
The policy is based on the principle of a two-stage process.
- The complaint will be passed to the relevant service department for a resolution
- The local service department resolution will then be reviewed by a complaints officer if you are not satisfied with the resolution at Stage 1.
The complaints policy will apply both to services we provide and to services where we have a responsibility, such as contracted services.
When replying to a complaint, we will inform the complainant of any right of further redress, such as Housing Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman, after the review stage. You can contact the Ombudsman for advice at any time during the complaint handling process.
If you are still dissatisfied by the outcome of your complaint after you have been through the Council's internal complaints process, you may wish to complain to the Ombudsman. Details about how you can complain to the relevant Ombudsman service will be explained in your review stage response letter.
The Housing Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman are independent from the Council.
The Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman Service is set up by law to look at disputes involving the tenants and leaseholders of social landlords including housing associations and local authorities. The Ombudsman service is free, independent, and impartial.
If you have exhausted Camden’s complaints procedure and you are not happy with the outcome, you can ask the Ombudsman to assess your case.
You can also contact the Ombudsman for free impartial advice at any point including before making a complaint or while Camden are investigating a complaint you have made.
Find out more about the Housing Ombudsman
The Complaint Handling Code
The Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code sets out good practice that allows landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly.
We use the code to make sure it’s easy for residents to tell us if something has gone wrong, and to ensure that we listen, understand, and take action to put things right.
It is now a statutory requirement that social housing landlords complete a self-assessment to check that they comply with the Code. From this year we are required to publish an annual complaint handling and service improvement report. This report contains the responses from the governing bodies: Housing Scrutiny Committee and Resources and Corporate Performance Scrutiny Committee.
2023/2024 reports
Previous years' reports
Find out more about the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code on the Housing Ombudsman website
Camden Council remedies policy and procedure
Remedies policy Appendix 1 Housing Repairs
The Building Safety Regulator – complaint handling
The corporate complaints policy and procedure applies to all complaints submitted. However, there is some specific information that applies to Building Safety Complaints (High Rise Buildings).
Building Safety Complaints Complaint Handling
Building Safety Complaints Complaint Handling has been specifically developed to help us meet our obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022 (Section 93) which requires the Principle Accountable Person (PAP) to establish and publish a complaints system to which building safety cases currently apply – that is High Rise Residential Buildings over 18 metres.
Complaints by Councillors and Members of Parliament
The complaints policy is intended for individual citizens to seek redress. Councillors and MPs may bring a formal complaint by acting as their constituent’s advocate.
Special Cases
We intend, where possible, to allow a complaint to be dealt with under this procedure. The only exceptions relate to some statutory and legal limitations. Some examples are:
- A Town and Country Planning appeal against refusal of planning permission.
- A complaint where the customer or the council has started legal proceedings or has taken court action but not cases where a customer has simply threatened to start legal proceedings against the council.
- A complaint that has already been heard by a court or tribunal, including the council's benefit review procedure.
- A complaint about adult social care or children’s issues covered by the statutory procedures.
- A school admission or exclusion appeal.
- A staff complaint about a personnel matter, including appointments, dismissals, pay, pensions and discipline (but not from staff as service users.)
- A complaint about council policy or an insurance matter.
- A complaint about the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice by Parking Operations (except administrative issues) and the recovery process thereof, which are subject to a separate appeal process.
- A complaint against the refusal of disabled badges for parking exemption (where a special appeal process applies.)
