Kirklees Council spends £18,000 on council housing complaint compensation for tenants

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Kirklees Council paid out nearly £18,000 on housing complaints compensation last year.

In 2023/24, a total of 1,031 formal complaints were received against Kirklees Council, with a report to its cabinet setting out the local authority’s complaints handling performance in its Homes and Neighbourhoods service

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Between 22/23 and 23/24, the number of new complaints that were made had increased from 554 to 826.

There are two stages in Kirklees Council’s complaints process around housing, with tenants able to escalate their complaint to ‘Stage Two’ where they are dissatisfied with the outcome of their initial complaint.

Huddersfield Town HallHuddersfield Town Hall
Huddersfield Town Hall

If matters still aren’t resolved, complaints can be taken to the Housing Ombudsman.

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As a result of complaints handled by the ombudsman, last year saw the council forced to shell out a total of £2,320 as three maladministration determinations were made.

One occasion saw the council ordered to pay £1,250 over the way it handled a tenant’s reports of mould and damp and a subsequent complaint that was made.

In another instance, the council had to pay £650 over its handling of a complaint relating to anti-social behaviour and disrepair in a tenant’s property.

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The final case saw the council fork out £425 in compensation for delays in completing repairs to a tenant’s leaking shower, with £75 of this to make up for its “poor complaint handling”.

Of its £18,700 budget for compensation, the local authority spent £17,796.

The majority of complaints were related to repairs or the condition of properties, with “staff capacity” highlighted as a contributing factor.

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Issues are primarily said to have arisen due to “poor information” being supplied to tenants and a “lack of communication” from the council.

Around 60 per cent of all complaints were upheld, with this said to be “a clear indication” that further service, competence and conduct changes were required to improve customer satisfaction.

The report added: “If it takes on average of three hours for a manager to investigate and respond, the average cost will be in the region of at least £300 to deal with each complaint received, or almost £300,000 per year.”

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Responding to the report leader of the council, Coun Cathy Scott, who also holds the portfolio for housing, said: “We’re not the best but we’re striving to be”.

She added: “There’s a long way still to go but we are committed as a council to drive for excellence and the best for Kirklees housing.

"By carrying out this self-evaluation exercise and reporting on complaints and self-improvement we have been able to take a deep dive into what we are doing well and what we can do better.

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"Most complaints we receive are in relation to customers feeling uninformed about what action is being taken to resolve an issue, rather than a failure to resolve an issue with their home.”

“This understanding has led to a series of improvements in our customer service and complaints procedures which should mean complaints are easier to make, are dealt with quicker and complainants feel that they are kept informed of the process for resolving their complaint from start to finish."

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