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Beyond the code
Cultivating a learning culture from complaints in social housing
REGULATION
Francesca Macey
Consultant, Campbell Tickell
Francesca Macey
Consultant, Campbell Tickell
Issue 81 | December 2025
The publication of the latest Housing Ombudsman Annual Report encourages critical reflection on key findings across the sector. On one hand, it has highlighted where we continue to fall short, but on the other, it offers encouraging signs of progress and a clear narrative for improvement.
One thing remains crystal clear – effective complaint handling cannot just be about regulatory compliance; it needs to be about embedding a culture where residents feel heard, colleagues are able to swiftly resolve problems and organisations truly learn and improve by looking at the wider picture.
The Ombudsman’s review
The 2024-2025 review painted a picture of increasing demand for the Ombudsman’s service, with more than 7,000 decisions made and an overall upheld rate of 71%. This means that in the vast majority of cases, the Ombudsman found maladministration or service failure, or required the landlord to take further action because their internal resolution was insufficient.
Here are the critical takeaways:
- The persistent repairs problem: Unsurprisingly, property condition/repairs remains the biggest driver of complaints, with findings in this category soaring by 43%. Issues like leaks, damp, mould and heating failures are not just inconveniences; they profoundly impact residents’ health and wellbeing. The recently implemented Awaab’s Law will only intensify the focus on proactive, preventative action in these areas.
- Glimmers of hope: While overall upheld rates are high, there’s a tentative positive trend in how landlords are handling complaints. The maladministration rate for complaint handling itself saw a slight dip and there’s evidence that more landlords are offering reasonable redress earlier in their internal processes. This suggests the message about early resolution and taking ownership is starting to translate into the service provided.
- The governance gap: The review highlights that many landlords are still not fully embedding the Code’s principles – particularly around timeliness, communication and clear differentiation between service requests and complaints. Local authorities and medium-sized housing associations often face the biggest challenges here.
rate of upheld complaints, meaning the Ombudsman found maladministration or service failure
rise in findings about property condition/repairs
Beyond performance to culture
At Campbell Tickell, we believe compliance metrics and performance numbers aren’t enough; we need to understand the underlying culture that drives those results.
That’s why we are currently undertaking a sector research piece focused specifically on the culture of complaint handling in English social housing providers. We’re looking beyond the numbers to explore what makes a positive complaints culture and the current position of the sector, exploring:
- Learning and systemic change: How effectively is the sector embedding learning to drive systemic improvement from complaint findings?
- Resident-facing capability and resident focus: What is the state of operational delivery and where are the key cultural gaps in resident-facing complaint resolution?
- Strategic commitment and accountability: To what extent does strategic accountability and visible leadership effectively drive the desired culture across social landlords?
Introducing the CT Complaints CultureScan tool
To support this vital work, we are thrilled to be piloting a new Complaints CultureScan tool, working with Gentoo, SNG, Community Gateway Preston, Barnsbury Housing Association and West Lancashire Borough Council.
This innovative diagnostic goes beyond compliance audits. It provides a holistic, objective assessment of your organisation’s internal complaints culture. Through a survey, the tool measures an organisation’s performance against seven key cultural pillars based on academic cultural studies: Progressive, Structured, Empowered, Empathetic, Accessible, Cultivating, and Accountable.
This supports organisations to:
1. Identify root causes: Celebrate successes and pinpoint the cultural blockages preventing effective complaint resolution and proactive service improvement, with your internal culture described in the context of your complaint handling performance.
2. Benchmark your performance: Understand how your culture aligns with best practice of your peers.
3. Develop targeted actions: Receive an actionable set of recommendations to continually develop your complaints handling culture.
“This innovative diagnostic goes beyond compliance audits. It provides a holistic, objective assessment of your organisation’s internal complaints culture.”
Building stronger services
The Housing Ombudsman’s Annual Review is a powerful reminder that housing management is under intense scrutiny. By truly embracing a culture of learning from complaints, we can move beyond simply reacting to failure and instead build stronger, more responsive services that genuinely put residents at their heart.
We’re inviting social landlords to learn more about our research and will be posting more updates on the pilot of the tool soon.
If you are interested in carrying out a Complaints CultureScan of your organisation, please contact Francesca Macey or Catherine Little
