Housing complaints
This page sets out our process for housing complaints.
To begin this process, read how to make a complaint.
Stage one
Once your complaint is received it will be reviewed and acknowledged by the complaints team within 5 working days.
Your complaint will be investigated within 10 working days by a member off staff within the service where the complaint was made.
A decision will be made to either uphold or close the complaint with no further action required.
If the complaint is upheld or closed, you will receive confirmation of the outcome within 10 working day.
If you are not happy with the response, you can escalate to stage two of the complaint process. You must request for the complaint to be escalated with 28 days of the initial reply.
Stage two
You must explain why you wish to escalate the complaint to a stage two. The response at stage one will explain how to escalate your complaint to stage two.
Your request will be reviewed and acknowledged within 5 working days.
Within 20 working days of the acknowledgement being sent, your complaint will be investigated by an officer of our Complaints Team. 'Working days' are Monday to Friday excluding public holidays.
Housing Ombudsman
If you are still not satisfied after receiving your stage two response, you can refer the matter directly to the Housing Ombudsman. They will only consider your complaint after you have been through stage one and two of Thurrock Council’s complaints process.
Complaints managed by the Housing Ombudsman will be investigated in two stages, as set-out within the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.
Complaints about housing services, where the council is the landlord, will be managed by the Housing Ombudsman.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigates complaints about allocations, homelessness and private sector housing.
Housing Service Resident Panel & working groups
The Housing Service Resident Panel plays a vital role in ensuring tenant voices are heard and services are improved. Panel members are council tenants who have applied to work alongside our housing teams to improve services and make sure residents have a say.
We also have a complaint’s working group that brings together residents and the complaints service to collaborate, share knowledge and perspective in the development of service improvements.
If you are interested in joining the panel or working group and would like to know more, contact our engagement team at residentengagement@thurrock.gov.uk or call 01375 652 652.
Self-assessment
The Housing Ombudsman asks all landlords to complete and publish a self-assessment of their compliance with the Complaints Handling Code. Our self-assessment is published below.