How we meet the Complaint Handling Code.
The Housing Ombudsman publishes a Complaint Handling Code which helps social landlords, like the council, respond to complaints effectively and fairly.
As part of the Code, we must complete a self-assessment at least once every 12 months. This page is a summary of our latest self-assessment, completed in June 2024.
Our complaints procedures
See our complaints procedures page and pdf complaints policy(394 KB) for details of how we handle complaints, including our 2 stage process.
How you can make a complaint
You can make a complaint:
- online, see housing: complaints and feedback
- in person at our Citizen Service Point
- by post, write to Customer Relations (100TS), PO Box 3399, Bristol, BS1 9NE
For help with making a complaint in another language, braille or larger print, or on audio tape, you can email complaints.feedback@bristol.gov.uk.
If you make a complaint through social media, we'll ask you to use our online form to tell us about it. This is so we have all the information we need to investigate it. See our social media policy.
Our complaint handling performance
Between April 2024 and March 2025, we received:
- 1562 complaints
- 778 service requests
During this period the service refused 0 complaints.
Of the 1514 cases handled as a formal complaint:
- 87% of cases were resolved at stage 1.
- 12% of complaints were resolved at stage 2
- 1% progressed to Ombudsman stage and we responded to all requests for evidence within timeframes agreed with the Ombudsman on a case by case basis
At Stage 1:
- 1510 stage one complaints were received
- 62% of stage one complaints responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales of 10 working days
At Stage 2:
- 225 complaints escalated to stage two
- 48% were responded to within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales of 20 working days
250 complainants went on to complete an online satisfaction survey following their complaint. The overall satisfaction with complaint handling was 50%.
From our quarterly tenant satisfaction survey, 29% of residents were satisfied with the how BCC (as a landlord) handled complaints.
What we improved
As a result of complaints and feedback we received and our 2023/2024 self-assessment, we:
- introduced case review meetings as standard practice for all stage two complaints and housing ombudsman cases.
- recruited dedicated complaint handling staff to triage, acknowledge and provide written acknowledgements to residents
- refreshed our complaints handling training and it is being delivered to staff across the service.
- updated our IT systems to improve the quality of our responses
Planned improvements
Along with any ongoing learning from complaints that we receive, our planned improvements going forward are as follows:
We recognise that as a service we need to make improvements to improve the citizen's experience during the complaints process and ensure that we are compliant with the Housing Ombudsman's code.
We are taking steps to address our complaint handling performance and we will be addressing the following areas as part of our planned improvements program:
- Ensure that Bristol City Council is compliant with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code
- Improve complaint handling performance at Stage 1 and Stage 2
- Embed the complaints policy, procedures and framework
- Incorporate learning from complaints and Housing Ombudsman determinations into service delivery
- Improved complaints communication, reporting and training for staff and residents
Self-assessments
Read our completed self-assessments:
- pdf April 2025 self-assessment(327 KB)
- pdf April 2024 self-assessment(374 KB)
- pdf September 2022 self-assessment(263 KB)
- pdf December 2021 self-assessment(199 KB)
- pdf December 2020 self-assessment(474 KB)
Performance report
- pdf Complaints and service improvement report Quarter 2 2025 to 2026(300 KB)
- pdf Complaints and service improvement report Quarter 1 2025 to 2026(196 KB)
- pdf Complaints and service improvement report Quarter 3 2024 to 2025(219 KB)
- pdf Complaints and service improvement report Quarter 2 2024 to 2025(250 KB)
- pdf Complaints and service improvement report Quarter 1 2024 to 2025(238 KB)
- pdf Landlord annual complaints performance 2024-25(277 KB)
- pdf Landlord annual complaints performance 2023-24(225 KB)
Response from member responsible for complaints:
Councillors Barry Parsons (Chair) and Councillor Richard Eddy (Vice Chair) met with the Director of Housing and Landlord Services, senior officers within the Customer Relations Team and Housing and Landlord Service to scrutinise the Complaints Annual Performance report.
Key themes such as performance data, the self-assessment and service improvement actions to address areas for development.
We welcome the transparency with the service and their commitment to deliver improvements to embed a positive complaint handling culture within the Housing and Landlord Service.
The self-assessment demonstrates that any complaints received from our tenants will be dealt with in accordance with the complaint handling code.
We will continue to oversee and support the service to adhere to the Complaint Handling Code and utilise learning opportunities to deliver improvements to citizens experiences.