Complaints policy

Complaining will not put your home at risk

We will not end your agreement, move you, reduce your support or treat you differently because you complained. If you ever think that is happening, say so — in the complaint itself, or to anyone here — and it becomes something we have to answer for on its own.

The law is behind this too, and it changed recently. Section 21 “no fault” eviction was abolished on 1 May 2026. A landlord can now only seek possession on a ground set out in statute and has to prove it to a court, so there is no longer a route by which a landlord can simply ask an assured tenant to leave. That protection comes with a tenancy rather than with a licence, and Bluebell has not confirmed which form of agreement it grants — so ask, and read the agreement. The promise in the first paragraph above is ours and does not depend on the answer.

You do not have to complain yourself. A friend, a relative, a support worker, an advocate, a solicitor or your MP can do it for you with your say-so, and we will deal with them as we would with you.

What counts as a complaint

A complaint is you telling us you are unhappy with something we did, or did not do, or with how somebody treated you. It counts however you say it. You do not have to use the word “complaint”, you do not have to put it in writing, and you do not have to know which part of the organisation is responsible.

It includes all of these:

• A repair that was not done, or was done badly, or took too long.
• Damp or mould that was reported and not dealt with.
• The way a member of staff or a contractor spoke to you or behaved in your home.
• A decision about your agreement, your rent account or your support.
• A report of anti-social behaviour that we did not act on.
• Being given the wrong information, or no answer at all.
• Anything done by somebody working on our behalf — a contractor is still us.

Telling us about a problem for the first time is not a complaint. If your boiler has broken, report it as a repair and we will fix it. It becomes a complaint when the repair does not happen, or takes too long, or when you are unhappy with how you were dealt with. You can always ask us to treat something as a complaint, and we will.

We will not refuse to look at something because it is small, because you have complained before, or because you are also complaining to someone else. If there is a reason we cannot deal with a complaint through this process we will tell you what the reason is and where it should go instead — see the clause on complaints that go somewhere else.

How to complain

Any of these reaches us, and one is not better than another. Tell us what happened, when, who was involved if you know, and what you would like us to do about it. If you cannot manage all of that, tell us what you can and we will ask the rest.

• Use the complaints route on our contact page. It goes to the people who deal with complaints and nowhere else.
• Tell any member of staff, in person. They have to pass it on; it is not your job to find the right person.
• Ask somebody to complain on your behalf, with your say-so.

TBD — a telephone number, an email address and a postal address for complaints. The telephone number, email address and postal address a complaint can be sent to, and the office hours behind them. The Code requires a complaint to be accepted however it is made; until these exist the enquiry form and a member of staff in person are the only routes this site can honestly publish. Operations has to supply all three, with the hours behind them.

If it helps to read it outside a policy page first, how to complain about your landlord sets out the same two stages in plain English and marks which parts of it are the law.

If writing is difficult, tell us and we will write down what you say and read it back to you. If you need an interpreter, large print, easy read, or someone with you, ask and we will arrange it at no cost — that is set out in our equality and diversity policy.

Do not use a complaint to report an emergency. If someone is in danger, call 999. If someone is being hurt, frightened, controlled or neglected, that is a safeguarding concern and goes straight to the adult safeguarding team at the council for the area they live in — our safeguarding policy explains why it must never wait behind a complaints process.

Stage one

There are two stages, and having two is not a formality. At stage one somebody looks at what happened and writes back to you with an answer.

We acknowledge it within five working days

From the day it reaches us — not from the day it reaches the right team. The acknowledgement tells you what we understand the complaint to be and who is dealing with it. If we have misunderstood, that is the moment to correct us.

We answer within ten working days of acknowledging it

In writing, addressing each part of what you raised rather than the part that is easiest to answer.

If we need longer, no more than ten further working days

And only with a good reason, which we will explain to you before the first ten working days are up. “We are busy” is not a reason. If we still cannot answer after that, we will tell you why and you can escalate to stage two without waiting.

These are the Complaint Handling Code’s own time limits, and they are the ones we work to. The clause on where this policy stands in law explains exactly what that means for an organisation in Bluebell’s position, and is honest about it.

Stage two

If our stage one answer does not settle it, ask for stage two. You do not have to give a new reason, and you do not have to argue your way in — saying you are not satisfied is enough.

We acknowledge the escalation within five working days

From the day you ask, however you ask.

We answer within twenty working days of acknowledging it

Somebody who was not involved in the stage one answer looks at the whole thing again, including how it was handled the first time.

If we need longer, no more than twenty further working days

Again only with a good reason, explained to you before the first twenty are up.

Stage two is the end of our process. There is no stage three, and we will not send you round again.

TBD — who answers at each stage. The job title of the person accountable for complaint handling, and the job title of the more senior person who answers at stage two. Names are not needed and should not be published; roles are, because a resident escalating needs to know that stage two is genuinely somebody else. Operations has to name both roles.

What our answer will say

A response that does not answer the question is not a response. At both stages we will put in writing:

• What we understood the complaint to be, point by point.
• What we found out, and how.
• Our decision on each point, and the reason for it.
• Where we got it wrong: what we are going to do about it, who is doing it and by when.
• Where we do not agree with you: why, plainly, rather than in a form of words that avoids saying no.
• How to take it further, and by when.

If we got something wrong we will say so and apologise. An apology is not an admission of liability and is not a reason to delay one. Where something has cost you money or made your home unusable we will consider putting that right too; if we decide not to, we will say why.

If our answer does not settle it

The Housing Ombudsman Service investigates complaints between residents and landlords. It is free, it is independent of us, and it can tell a landlord to put something right. You can contact it for advice at any point, including before you have finished our process — you do not have to wait until we are done to ask it what your options are. Its website is housing-ombudsman.org.uk.

The Ombudsman can only investigate a landlord that belongs to its scheme, and you should know where we stand on that before you spend your time on it. Membership is compulsory for social landlords. A private landlord like us may join voluntarily, and if it does, the Complaint Handling Code and an annual self-assessment against it become conditions of that membership.

What that means for you, in one sentence: we cannot yet tell you whether the Ombudsman can take a complaint about us.

TBD — whether Bluebell belongs to the scheme. Whether Bluebell Housing is a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, and its membership number and joining date if it is. Membership is voluntary for a private landlord and is what makes the Complaint Handling Code enforceable against us; without it a resident who exhausts this process has no ombudsman to go to until the PRS Landlord Ombudsman begins operating. The board has to confirm the position either way, and supply the membership certificate if there is one. This is the most consequential open item on this website. We would rather tell you that here than let you find it out at the end of a complaint.

A separate scheme is coming. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 provides for a new ombudsman for the private rented sector, which private landlords with assured tenancies will have to join. The Government’s roadmap indicates mandatory membership by 2028. It is not operating yet, so we are not a member of it and neither is anybody else.

Nothing here affects your right to take a matter to court, to ask the council to inspect your home, or to get independent advice.

Which parts of this are law, and which are our own standard

This clause exists because the alternative is to let a reader assume something that is not true. It is also the clause a commissioner should read first.

The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code has been statutory since 1 April 2024. It is statutory for members of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme — social landlords, who must belong, and private landlords who have chosen to join. The Ombudsman has a duty to monitor its members’ compliance whether or not it has received a complaint.

Bluebell Housing is a private supported housing provider. It is not a registered provider of social housing, and it has not evidenced membership of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme — Whether Bluebell Housing is a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, and its membership number and joining date if it is. Membership is voluntary for a private landlord and is what makes the Complaint Handling Code enforceable against us; without it a resident who exhausts this process has no ombudsman to go to until the PRS Landlord Ombudsman begins operating. The board has to confirm the position either way, and supply the membership certificate if there is one. This is the most consequential open item on this website.

So, plainly: the Code does not bind us today, and we have written our complaints process to it anyway. The two stages, the five, ten and twenty working days, the single extension with an explanation, the requirement that somebody uninvolved answers at stage two — those are commitments we are making to you on this page, and you can hold us to them as commitments. They are not us claiming to be inside a regime we are not inside. We publish this document rather than waiting, because what a resident is owed does not depend on which register their landlord is on.

TBD — annual reporting. Whether Bluebell will publish an annual complaints performance and service improvement report with a self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code, and from which financial year. It is a condition of Housing Ombudsman Scheme membership; a landlord outside the scheme may publish one voluntarily and a commissioner will ask for it. It is a decision for the board.

Complaints that go somewhere else

Some things are better dealt with by another route, and sending you down ours first would cost you time you may not have. If you are not sure, complain to us anyway and we will pass it on and tell you we have.

Someone being hurt, frightened, controlled or neglected

Call 999 if it is happening now. Otherwise the adult safeguarding team at the council for the area they live in. This never waits behind a complaints process — see our safeguarding policy.

A home that is unsafe or unfit

Report it as a repair first, and complain if it is not put right. You can also ask the environmental health team at your council to inspect, and they can act whatever we say. Our repairs, damp and mould policy sets out both routes.

How we have used your personal information

Comes to us first, under a statutory route of its own, and can then go to the UK’s data protection regulator. Our privacy policy has the detail.

Anti-social behaviour

Report it under our anti-social behaviour policy. If you have reported it more than once and nothing has happened, the council can be asked to review the case.

Housing benefit, universal credit or a council decision

Those decisions belong to the council or to the Department for Work and Pensions, not to us. Each has its own appeal route, with its own time limit. We can help you find it. Complain to us about how we handled it.

We will not deal with a complaint through this process where the same matter is already before a court or a tribunal. We will say so, and say why.

If you are not sure which route you need, the residents page gathers them — repairs, safety, support, anti-social behaviour and this process — in one place.

Help to make a complaint

We are expected to make reasonable adjustments in advance, for people who have not asked yet. For a complaints process that means:

• An interpreter, including British Sign Language, at no cost to you.
• Large print, easy read, braille or audio.
• A reply by text or letter if a phone call does not work for you.
• Somebody with you — a relative, a friend, a support worker or an advocate.
• More time, where more time is what you need to take part properly.

Ask once and we should not need asking again. If you are not getting an adjustment you have asked for, that is itself something to complain about.

You can also get free, independent advice. Citizens Advice, Shelter and your local council’s housing team all give it, and none of them works for us.

What we record, and what we learn from it

Every complaint is recorded, whoever it was made to and however it arrived — including the ones settled on the doorstep in ten minutes. A complaint that was fixed quickly still happened, and a process that only counts the ones that reached stage two learns nothing.

We record what was complained about, what we found, what we decided, and what we changed.

Your complaint is personal information and is held under our privacy policy. It is seen by the people dealing with it and by whoever has to act on it, and not by your neighbours. If a complaint is about a member of staff, they will be told what has been said about them, because they have to be able to answer it — we will tell you that is going to happen.

About this policy

This page is the whole of our complaints process for residents, applicants and anybody dealing with us. There is no longer version that says something different.

TBD — the date this policy was adopted, who owns it, when it was last reviewed and when it is next due. No published date is better than a date nobody set: a review date on a policy is a claim that somebody checked it.

It will be rewritten if Bluebell joins the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, if it becomes a registered provider of social housing, or when the private rented sector ombudsman begins operating — each of which changes the escalation route above, which is the part of this page a reader relies on most.