How can landlords drive a proactive complaint-handling process?
Complaint-handling is an integral part of a landlord and tenant relationship. This Inside Housing webinar, sponsored by Localz, asks social landlords how they have increased tenant satisfaction
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The role of complaint-handling is an integral part of a healthy landlord and tenant relationship. Since the Housing Ombudsman was granted new powers in 2020, it has been highly proactive in delivering its mission to improve residents’ lives and drive up the standards of landlords’ services through its complaints service.
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In March 2022 the ombudsman updated and strengthened its Complaint Handling Code, which includes the obligations for landlords to raise awareness of the complaints process to its residents by 1 October 2022.
With the most common complaint to the Housing Ombudsman being a landlord’s failure to respond to requests for repairs, Inside Housing and Localz ran a webinar to explore how some social landlords have put systems in place to streamline efficiency and increase tenant satisfaction while reducing operational costs for service and repair appointments.
Inside Housing and Localz webinar: participants
Sian Grant, executive director of operations, Salix Homes
Sian Grant has worked at Salford-based housing association Salix Homes for 10 years.
She took on the role of executive director of operations in 2021, having previously held the role of director of customer services.
Ms Grant is responsible for frontline operational services including housing stock, repairs and maintenance, communities, neighbourhood management, income management and customer services.
Salix Homes owns and manages more than 8,000 homes in Salford, Greater Manchester, which comprise a mix of properties including tower blocks, large housing estates and sheltered housing complexes.
Lorraine Butler, customer service manager, Salix Homes
Lorraine Butler has worked at Salix Homes for almost 10 years.
She manages the complaints support team and is responsible for compliant-handling across the organisation, as well as the customer service centre, systems digital engagement manager and Salix Homes’ out-of-hours security and emergency response service.
Jahedur Rahman, head of housing transformation, London Borough of Hackney
Jahedur Rahman has worked in social housing for more than 19 years at local authorities, housing associations and ALMOs. He has worked in strategic roles, including his current role as head of housing transformation at the London Borough of Hackney, and operational roles.
In his current role as head of housing transformation, Mr Rahman is responsible for transformation of the council’s housing directorate to circa 23,000 tenants, 9,000 leaseholders and 600 circa staff. He leads the modernisation and transformation programme for the London Borough of Hackney’s housing department.
This includes the management of the complaints service, business performance and service transformation programmes in homeownership service, income management, repairs and maintenance, and tenancy management.
Mr Rahman believes it is integral to work with residents, politicians and internal stakeholders to deliver change programmes with a well-balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology.
Gary Rosier-Taylor, VP of sales, Localz
Formerly managing partner UK and Ireland at Verizon Connect, Gary Rosier-Taylor has more than a decade of experience in software and technology sales environments. He specialises in start-up organisations going through significant growth phases and increasing market exposure.
As VP of sales at Localz, Mr Rosier-Taylor works with customers to drive operational efficiencies and provide end customers with a better experience.
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