Making a complaint about housing services

If you have a problem with the service you received from the council, we want to hear from you. We have a two-stage procedure for residents who wish to raise a complaint about Housing.

A complaint is known as 'an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the landlord, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting a resident or group of residents.'

We would prefer you to submit your complaint using our online form, as this is the easiest and quickest way of contacting us. However, you can complain using any of the following methods:

• Completing our online complaints form
• By phoning our Resolution Centre on telephone number 020 8496 3000
• Writing to: Complaints Team, Waltham Forest, Town Hall, Forest Road, London, E17 4JF
• By attending one of our Libraries and asking for assistance with completing the online form
• By emailing us at  information.officer@walthamforest.gov.uk
• By asking a friend, family member, third party, or advocate to complain on your behalf. They can do so as long as you give them your written consent to represent you. 

Stage 1

A response will be sent to you within 10 working days for complaints regarding Landlord Services, for example, responsive repairs, rent statements or grounds maintenance. For all other Housing related Stage 1 complaints, we will respond within 20 working days.

If you do not feel the Stage 1 response addressed all of the issues you raised, you can request in writing that the complaint is reviewed independently at Stage 2.  Please note that only the issues raised in your stage 1 complaint will be reviewed. Any new issues will need to be raised as a new enquiry.

Stage 2

The council has 20 working days to investigate and respond to complaints related to Landlord Services. For all other Housing related complaints, we will get back to you within 25 working days. 

We know things can occasionally go wrong. As a housing resident, you have the right to voice your concerns and complaints about any issues that impact your living conditions. Whether it is about maintenance, repairs, waste management, caretaking, noise, safety, or any of the services we are responsible for providing to you as a council tenant or leaseholder. 

We would like to hear from you so we can work together to find a solution. That is why we have a complaints procedure that is easy to follow and transparent. We welcome complaints and feedback as a valuable opportunity for us to learn from our mistakes and to make improvements for the future. For more information, please read our Complaints Handling Policy.

Once made aware of an issue, we expect our staff to listen and put things right quickly as the first point of contact.

For complaints about our Landlord Services, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service at any time during the complaint process for general help and assistance.

If you remain dissatisfied with our response at the end of our complaints process, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service to request that they investigate how we dealt with the matter. The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman Service are:

• Online complaints form
• Phone: 0300 111 3000
• Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
• Postal address: Housing Ombudsman Service, PO BOX 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigates complaints about allocations, homelessness and private sector housing.

Our Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report for 2024/25 covers key themes, learnings and service improvements and details of mentions in Housing Ombudsman Service publications, in compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

Our annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code evidences our compliance with the code. These documents were scrutinised and approved by the Leader’s Mission Board: Place.

Please refer to the documents below for further information:

• Annual Complaints Handling Performance and Service Improvement Report 2024/25 (PDF)
• Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment 2025 (PDF)
• Housing Complaints Policy (PDF)

Previous reports and assessments

• Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment 2024 (PDF)
• Performance report - Statutory Housing Complaints within the jurisdiction of the Housing Ombudsman (PDF)

We’re happy to be open and honest with our residents, trying our best to fix any problems you have. Sometimes, residents behave in ways that make it hard for us to help. 

We won’t tolerate people being violent, aggressive, or intimidating towards our staff or contractors. Further information is available in our Policy on dealing with Unreasonable Behaviour (PDF).