1. Scope of the policy

This policy sets out how complaints are managed across all mhs homes (including Heart of Medway). At mhs homes (“we”), our aim is to resolve complaints promptly by being fair, putting things right, and learning from the outcomes. The policy applies to complaints raised by both residents and non-residents (where appropriate) and covers the following:

• Housing related complaints (housing and repairs)
• Building safety complaints
• Heat Network related disputes

The policy differentiates between housing and heat network related complaints, which are respectively governed by the Housing Ombudsman and the Energy Ombudsman

2. Our approach

We are committed to providing excellent customer service. We recognise, however, that sometimes things go wrong. If you are dissatisfied with something we have done or not done, or with the level of service you received, we want to know so we can put things right and develop and improve our services.

3. Who can make a complaint

mhs homes accepts complaints from tenants, leaseholders, and shared owners or third parties who have a connection to a mhs homes resident or property. This policy refers collectively to people who may make a complaint as “residents.”

A complaint that is submitted via a third party or representative will be managed in line with this policy, so long as permission (in writing) has been given for that third party to communicate with us directly.

If a complaint is being made on the complainant’s behalf by an advocate, for example family, friend, advocate, or MP, written or expressed permission may be required from the complainant to allow us to communicate with this person directly.

If we receive a complaint from a non-mhs resident, this will be dealt with through this policy. However, non-mhs complainants do not have the right of appeal to the Housing Ombudsman.  

4. How to make a complaint

A complaint can be made in any of the following ways:

Email to: [email protected]

My Account: Log in to My Account | mhs homes

On the mhs website:  Feedback, compliments and complaints | mhs homes

By phone: 01634 565 333

Via Mail: Complaints Officer, MHS Homes, Broadside, Leviathan Way, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4LL

Social media: private message us on Facebook or Instagram

Directly to any staff member or contractor working on our behalf: verbally or in writing.

Housing related complaints

5. What is a complaint?

The Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code defines a complaint as:

An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, of those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.

A resident does not have to use the word “complaint” for it to be treated as such. Whenever a resident expresses dissatisfaction, we seek to offer the choice to make a complaint and will seek to distinguish between a complaint and a service request.

A Service Request is “a request from a resident to the landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right.” Service requests are not complaints, but are recorded, monitored, and reviewed regularly.

We will raise a complaint when a resident expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing. We will not stop our efforts to address the service request if a resident complains.

In our formal acknowledgement to a complaint, we will include the following:

• A unique reference number of your complaint
• The details of the Complaint Handler that will be investigating your complaint. If required, we will try to contact you by telephone to gain any further information required to start our investigation, before sending an acknowledgement. In the event we do not get hold of you, we may also include the following in your written acknowledgement:
• Our understanding of your complaint
• Any details requiring clarification
• Clarity in the areas of the complaint we are responsible for and outline areas that we are not (where appropriate).
• A request for any further evidence that may support your complaint.
• The outcomes you wish to seek and if appropriate details on whether your desired outcome is unreasonable or unrealistic.
• The timelines for our handling of the complaint

6. What is not a complaint?

There are circumstances in which we will not consider a formal complaint. These include (but are not limited to):

• Where a complaint is made more than 12 months after the matter has come to the residents’ attention. We do understand that there may be circumstances that mean this time scale is not possible, and we will consider individual situations outside of this time limit and adjust as appropriate.
• A matter already fully considered under our complaints policy, or matters which are, or have been, the subject of court, mediation, or tribunal proceedings.
• An initial request for service / a service request, e.g., a repair which mhs homes has not yet had an opportunity to put right. A claim for damages that should be managed as an insurance claim.
• Anti-social behaviour. Reports about anti-social behaviour are not complaints and will be managed in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy. Failure to follow the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy will be dealt with as a formal complaint.

Additionally, a complaint will not be investigated once legal proceedings have commenced. Legal proceedings start when details of the Claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim are filed in court. At this point, the complaint ceases to be part of the complaints process and will be dealt with by our legal representatives. We endeavor to resolve complaints prior to legal proceedings, wherever possible.

Where we decide not to accept a complaint, an explanation will be provided in writing setting out the reasons why and that the decision may be escalated to the Housing Ombudsman for review.

7. Overview of the complaint process

There are only two stages in our complaint process. Any resident has the right to request the involvement of the Housing Ombudsman at any point during the process or ask for a formal investigation once the complaint process has been completed.

Acknowledge Stage One complaints	Within five working days of receipt
Respond to Stage One complaint	Within 10 working days of acknowledgement of stage 1 complaint
Acknowledge Stage Two complaint escalation	Within five working days of receipt
Respond to Stage Two complaint	Within 20 working days of acknowledging receipt of the Stage Two escalation

 

We might need to extend these timelines in exceptional circumstances. We will inform you of any extension request prior to any response due dates. We are allowed to apply the extension timelines below:

 

Stage One response	Extension by no more than 10 working days
Stage Two response	Extension by no more than 20 working days

8. Complaint resolution – Stage One

The complaint will be acknowledged within five working days of receipt. You will receive a complaint reference number and the details of the complaint investigator.

Within our acknowledgement at Stage One, we will invite the complainant to bring any vulnerabilities to our attention and to confirm whether we need to make any reasonable adjustments and provide support to them throughout the process and resolution of the complaint.

As part of our complaint resolution process, we will always try to speak to you to discuss your complaint and agree a resolution with you. Your complaint will be investigated by an independent member of the complaints team that has not previously been involved in the service you are complaining about.

During this resolution / investigation stage we will incorporate additional related areas of complaint providing this is prior to the response being sent unless it unreasonably delays the response. However, if it would unreasonably delay the response, the additional complaints will be raised as new complaints. Furthermore, if the issues raised are unrelated to the existing complaint, then a new complaint will be generated, so it can be appropriately investigated.

Where a response has already been sent and it is related to the original issue then this can be included in an escalation at Stage Two, or if unrelated will need to be raised a separate complaint.

A full response will be provided in writing and within 10 working days from acknowledging the complaint. This will include the outcome of the investigation, whether your complaint is upheld or not, the resolution and any compensation, if applicable.

Following the response, there may be outstanding actions, for example a repair to be completed. Any outstanding actions will be completed within an agreed period, and we will provide updates on these outstanding actions when a definitive answer is known.

If you are not satisfied with the Stage One response, you can request to escalate to the second stage of the complaints process. This needs to be done within 12 months of receipt of the Stage One response. There is no requirement to provide a reason(s) for requesting an escalation to Stage Two.

We will consider escalation requests outside of this deadline where there is a valid reason to do so (for example a seasonal recurring issue).

9. Complaint resolution – Stage Two

The request to proceed to Stage Two can be made in any of the ways as explained earlier in this policy. The fastest way to do this is to email to [email protected].

The Stage Two complaint will always be managed by a different staff member than the Stage One complaint.

The escalation request will be acknowledged within five working days of receipt.

As part of our complaint resolution process, we will always try to speak to you to discuss your complaint and agree a resolution with you.

Stage Two is a review of the Stage One decision and any further evidence provided by you.

A full response will be provided in writing and within 20 working days from acknowledging your complaint. This will include the outcome of the investigation, whether your complaint is upheld or not, the resolution and any compensation, if applicable.

Following the response, there may be outstanding actions, for example a repair to be completed. Any outstanding actions will be completed within an agreed period, and we will provide updates on these outstanding actions when a definitive answer is known.

If you are not satisfied with the Stage Two response, you can escalate it to the Housing Ombudsman Service (or Building Safety Regulator if the complaint is a Building Safety Complaint (see below).

In certain circumstances, there may be a reason we decided not to escalate a complaint to Stage Two. Where this decision is made, we will provide a response in writing setting out the reasons for such decision.

10. Putting things right

Where something has gone wrong, we will acknowledge it, and clearly set out the actions already taken, or we intend to take, to put things right. This can include:

• An apology
• Acknowledge where things have gone wrong
• Provide and explain, assistance or reasons
• Act if there has been a delay
• Reconsider or change a decision
• Amend a record or add a correction or addendum
• Change policy, procedure, or practices
• Share learning from a complaint
• Provide compensation

Compensation payments will be considered in line with the Compensation Policy and the Housing Ombudsman’s remedy guides. These payments are made without prejudice and awarded on a discretionary (ex-gratia) payment basis.

We reserve the right to deduct any outstanding rent arrears or any other debts due to us, from compensation payments made. However, payments made for actual losses incurred will be paid directly to the resident at the discretion of the relevant manager.

This policy does not affect a tenant’s statutory right to compensation under Right to Repair; Home Loss and Disturbance payments; and compensation payable at the end of a tenancy for conducting improvements.

11. The Housing Ombudsman

The Housing Ombudsman Service can be contacted directly at any point during the complaint process, or at the end of the complaint process. Their contact details are:

Online complaint form: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/make-a-complaint/

Phone: 0300 111 3000

Email: [email protected]

Postal address: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool L33 7WQ

Building Safety Complaints

12. What is a building safety complaint?

The Building Safety Act 2022 (“the Act”) introduces obligatory internal complaints procedures that are specific to building safety concerns, so that parties can raise concerns that fall within the scope of the Act.

For a complaint to fall within the scope of the Act, we must be the Accountable Person (“AP”) or Principal Accountable Person (“PAP”) as defined by the Act. An AP or PAP have specific legal duties under the Act in relation to the management of building safety in respect of high-rise residential buildings.

High-rise buildings are buildings are defined under the Act, as a residential building which has at least (1) seven storeys or is over 18 metres in height and (2) contains at least two residential units. The current high-rise buildings owned by MHS Homes, which fall under this definition are:

• The Auditorium
• Melville Court
• Steddys Court
• Wellington Court
• Regent Court

Any person can make a building safety complaint. We treat complaints received through petitions or a group of residents in the same way as all other complaints. In terms of handling the complaint efficiently, we will ask for a single point of contact to be nominated. A complainant may be assisted by another person in the making of a complaint and in responding to the investigation of a complaint.

All complaints will be dealt with in the same way as our complaints process, as highlighted within the table above. Please note that we are required to deal with building safety complaints in order of urgency, considering the level of risk involved, so this may lead to us not being able to always meet the timeframes. As set out above, we will always write to you when appropriate to explain why we cannot respond within the timeframe.

We expect all complainants to behave reasonably and cooperate with us throughout the process.

13. What is a relevant building safety complaint?

A relevant building safety complaint is defined as “a risk to the safety of people in or about a building arising from the spread of fire or structural failure” or “the performance of an accountable person”.

We take building safety very seriously and will always do what is needed to ensure our residents and buildings are safe. Any resident who lives in a high-rise building, can also report building safety concerns directly to the Building Safety Regulator. Some examples of the types of complaints that would be classed as a building safety complaint are:

• Where a resident is concerned that a fire exit within their building is being continually blocked.
• Where a resident is concerned that the fire alarm system is not working correctly.
• Broken emergency lighting in communal areas.
• Fire doors that are missing, damaged or not self-closing.

A building safety complaint is different to a service request. A service request is defined at paragraph 5 above.

If we cannot determine whether a complaint is a Building Safety Complaint we can refer the matter to the Building Safety Regulator for a determination of that question.

14. When will a building safety complaint not be accepted?

• If you make a building safety complaint and we complete our process, we are unlikely to accept another complaint about the same issue unless you provide new information.
• If the building safety complaint has already been investigated or us under investigation by us or the Building Safety Regulator
• If it does not meet the criteria to be a building safety complaint.

15. What if you disagree with our responses?

You can contact the Building Safety Regulator at any point throughout your complaint for advice. There are however two situations where you have the right to refer your complaint to the Building Safety Regulator which are:

• If you are dissatisfied with the resolution once you have exhausted our internal complaints process; or
• If we determine that your complaint is not a building safety complaint and you disagree with our determination.

The Building Safety Regulator can be contacted as follows:

Telephone number: 0300 790 6787

Online at https: www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-building-safety-regulator

16. How your data is processed

A record of all relevant building safety complaints will be kept for a minimum of 7 years.

Heat Network related complaints

17. When can a complaint be made

If there is a problem with your energy supply or the resident is unhappy with the service they have received, they have the right to complain. This complaint can also be referred to as a dispute.

This policy will only apply to residents for which we are the heat network operator. A heat network is where a resident’s heating and hot water is provided from one communal supply.

18. Overview of the complaint process

Heat Network complaints are the only complaint type, where there is a one stage process with the right to escalate an unresolved dispute to the Energy Ombudsman.

The complaint/dispute will be acknowledged in five working days from receipt by mhs homes. This will include the name of the complaint investigator. We have 8 weeks from receiving the complaint to try and fix any problems and resolve the dispute. A written response will always be provided.

If mhs homes is unable to resolve the dispute, this will be put in writing and is called a “deadlock letter.” This letter will make it clear that the resident is now able to contact the Energy Ombudsman and include their contact details in the letter.

A resident must escalate the dispute to the Energy Ombudsman within 12 months of receiving the “deadlock letter”.

19. Resolution of the dispute

The types of resolutions that are typical in these disputes, and mhs are likely to offer are:

• An apology
• Take practical action (e.g., credit or cancel an account or change your tariff)
• Sharing of lessons learned
• Compensation

20. Escalation of the complaint

A complaint can be escalated to the Energy Ombudsman if:

• A problem reported to mhs homes (your heat network operator) is not fixed within eight weeks
• A “deadlock letter” has been issued stating your problem cannot be fixed
• The resident is dissatisfied with the response received

21. The Energy Ombudsman

The Energy Ombudsman can be contacted directly; their contact details are:

Online complaint form: Raise Your Energy Dispute | Energy Ombudsman | Energy Ombudsman

Phone: 0330 440 1624

Email: [email protected]

Postal address: Energy Ombudsman, P.O. Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF

The Energy Ombudsman’s jurisdiction includes disputes relating to Heat Networks:

• Billing issues
• Customer service concerns
• Installation and delays
• Loss of service

They do not have jurisdiction over:

• Switching suppliers
• Standing charges
• Capital replacement fund charges
• Energy performance
• Charges within the final bill
  
  

Principles applicable to all complaints

22. Reasonable adjustments

mhs homes commit to making reasonable adjustments to this policy in line with the Equality Act 2010. We will not directly or indirectly discriminate against any person or group of people because of their race, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or other grounds set out within our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy. This means we will proactively check with residents when we acknowledge their complaint, whether they require any reasonable adjustments or have any personal circumstances or vulnerabilities we should consider while resolving their complaint. This could also include, but is not limited to, how we communicate with a resident to make sure the process is accessible.

If you would like to request a reasonable adjustment, please let the complaints team know when making a complaint, or at any time during the process.

23. Unreasonable complainant behaviour

We commit to all complaints being investigated fairly, honestly, consistently and appropriately, in line with this policy. However, in a minority of cases people pursue their complaints in a way which can delay and prolong the investigation of their complaint and absorb a disproportionate amount of staff time. We have an obligation to protect employees whilst also ensuring that our residents continue to be treated fairly, consistently and appropriately. In such circumstances, we may choose to apply our Managing Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour policy to a complainant, when managing unacceptable behaviour.

24. Monitoring and Reporting

The Executive Director of Customer Experience has ultimate responsibility for compliance with this policy and reporting performance against this policy, the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code, the Building Safety Regulator, and the Energy Ombudsman to the Board.

The Board has appointed a Member Responsible for Complaints in line with the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code.

mhs homes will produce and publish an annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code and a service improvement report.

25. General Data Protection Principles

When handling complaints, we will collect and process only the personal information necessary to investigate and respond to the issues raised. This may include contact details, information about the complaint, and any supporting evidence provided by you or relevant third parties.

All personal data will be processed in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, using lawful bases such as legitimate interests or legal obligations. We store information securely within our accredited systems, restrict access to authorised staff only, and retain data for no longer than is necessary in line with our retention schedule.

You have rights over your personal data, including the right to access, rectify, or request deletion where applicable. Further details are available in our Privacy Notice.

In accordance with the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), all data protection complaints must follow the prescribed process. Individuals are required to submit their complaint directly to the organisation acting as the data controller before escalating the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

All complaints relating to data protection should be addressed to the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at:
Email: [email protected]

The DPO will review and investigate each complaint in accordance with the organisation’s MHS Homes Complaints Policy, ensuring that all investigations are conducted promptly, thoroughly, and in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

26. Review

This policy will be reviewed every 2 years or earlier if there are any substantial changes that need to be made.