Introduction
We are committed to high standards of customer service. However, there may be occasions when we do not meet the high standards we set for ourselves. We welcome feedback and we also take any form of complaint seriously. Working with our local housing managers we will try wherever possible to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction. Our aim is for your complaint to be resolved as quickly as possible.
Board Chair's Statement – Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2025
I am pleased to present this statement on behalf of the Board of Habitare Homes, reflecting our collective oversight of performance across the complaints function during 2025.
The Board has maintained close scrutiny of both the challenges and the improvements that have characterised this year across the services delivered on our behalf by our three managing agents: Amplius Living, Raven Housing Trust, and Touchstone Property Management.
Our portfolio grew substantially during 2025 — by 80% — and yet total complaints reduced from 44 to 38, with complaints per 1,000 homes falling from 17.0 to 7.9. The Board regards this as a genuinely positive result, reflecting the hard work of our executive team and managing agents in improving how complaints are handled and how underlying issues are addressed. We recognise, however, that as a fast-growing provider delivering new homes and onboarding new partners, we will continue to encounter challenges — particularly around the resident move-in experience and new-build defects. Importantly, the Board has ensured that lessons learned from earlier schemes, including Lewes, have been applied to strengthen the quality, defects, and snagging processes at new sites. This more robust approach has already shown encouraging results at Aldershot. The Board has asked the executive team to keep service delivery in these areas under constant review.
The Board is not complacent about the scale of what remains to be done. New-build defects continue to be the leading driver of complaints, representing 55% of all complaints in 2025. The concentration of complaints at our Grantham and Lewes schemes — accounting for 68% of all complaints — has been of particular concern to the Board throughout the year. Where developer insolvency has complicated resolution, the Board has been keen to ensure that residents are not left without recourse, and that Habitare and its managing agents and wider partners are doing everything possible to progress these cases.
The Board was pleased to see the Stage 2 escalation rate fall from 42% to 31%, indicating that more complaints are being resolved effectively at the first stage. The introduction of enhanced processes to improve the consistency and quality of complaint responses is one of several improvements the Board has encouraged the executive team to implement and embed. The Board has also pressed for stronger oversight of managing agent performance, more frequent resident updates, and clearer accountability across all parties involved in defect resolution.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Board's focus is to ensure that the improvements made this year are sustained and built upon — particularly in resolving outstanding defects, improving resident communication, and driving consistent complaint handling standards across all our managing agents.
This Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report, together with the Self-Assessment against the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, has been reviewed, scrutinised, and formally approved by the Board. The Board is satisfied that this report accurately reflects Habitare Homes' performance, learning, and compliance with the Code, and confirms its ongoing oversight of the actions set out within it.
Signed on behalf of the Board of Habitare Homes
Chair, Habitare Homes Board
You Said:
New-build properties had too many defects, and the process for fixing them was slow and unclear.
We Did:
- Strengthened our contract terms with developers for new developments and emphasising our commitment to a zero defects policy at handover
- Improved our contracts to ensure developers complete works on time
- Implemented monthly reviews with our managing agents and developers to track defects more effectively
You Said:
The initial complaint handling (Stage 1) needed to be more effective.
We Did:
- Regular review meetings with managing agents
- Focus on resolving Stage 1 issues
- AI tool for efficient complaint review
You Said:
Communication during the complaints process needed improvement.
We Did:
- Added more staff to the complaints team
- Required more frequent updates from managing agents
- Improved monitoring system
We're working hard to address these points and are committed to continuously improving our processes in order to deliver better services to our residents.
Complaints Process
We define a complaint 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. All complaints are recorded and managed in accordance with the two stage process summarised below.
If you are dissatisfied with any services provided by Habitare or any of our partners we would like to hear your feedback and resolve the matter quickly to restore your trust in us and to help us improve our work. The quickest route to resolution is to contact your local managing agent directly and their contact details can be found below. Alternatively you can email and we raise your complaint directly with our partners.
Our 2 Stage Complaints Process
Stage 1 Complaint
You can raise a formal complaint, if you are dissatisfied with a service we have provided or we have been unable to resolve an issue to your satisfaction under our informal – quick resolution process. This stage is normally where several issues have occurred, and a more in-depth review of the issues is required. Please send your request to our managing agent, see details.
You will receive an acknowledgment of the Stage 1 complaint within 5 working days. Your complaint will be fully investigated and responded to within 10 working days from the date of receipt of your Stage 1 complaint. In some cases, it may take longer to provide a full response if so, our managing agent will agree a timeframe with you.
Stage 2 Complaint
If you remain unhappy with the Stage 1 response, you can request for your complaint to be escalated to Stage 2. Please send your request to our managing agent, see details.
Our managing agent will then review your request in line with the complaint policy and will notify you if the request has been approved or refused.
Once the request has been approved by the managing agent, your complaint will be investigated by an independent member of staff and a response will be sent to you within 20 working days. In some cases, it may take longer to provide a full response if so, our managing agent will agree a timeframe with you.
If your Stage 2 review request has been refused, our managing agent will write to you confirming the reasons why your complaint hasn't been escalated.
All Stage 2 escalation requests will be reviewed by the Asset Manager of Habitare Homes to ensure that our residents are receiving an effective and swift resolution.
External Review
Housing Ombudsman
At any stage during your complaint, you can approach the Housing Ombudsman for independent advice regarding your complaint. In addition, if you remain unhappy once our managing agent have exhausted their complaints process, you can contact the Ombudsman for a further investigation.
Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ
Telephone: 0300 111 3000
Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk
Board review of complaints and self-assessment
Annual review of complaints
The Board noted that defects and communication have been drivers of dissatisfaction and noted actions underway to address this. The board will receive updates on progress to resolve the outstanding matters at a future meeting. Louise Leaver has been appointed Board Member responsible for complaints.
Resources: Annual complaints review, Housing Ombudsman Complaint Form, Housing Ombudsman Self Assessment
Designated Person
This can be an MP, local councillor, or customer panel, if available with our managing agent. Our managing agent will treat all enquiries received from a designated person the same way as a Stage 1 complaint request and responded to within 10 working days.
Monitoring
We will meet with our managing agents regularly to discuss complaints and other negative feedback. The purpose of these meetings is to ensure that the standard of customer service remains high. On a monthly basis our managing agents will send us a report on all complaints received. Additionally, our managing agent will notify us as soon as possible where a Stage 2 complaint or Ombudsman referral has been received.