We aim to deliver high quality services, but we know that sometimes things go wrong and that you might not always be satisfied with our services.
Try to make your complaint as soon as possible after the problem occurs, as this makes it easier for us to put things right.
How to make a complaint
You can make your complaint in a number of ways:
- telephone our customer services team on 0114 293 0000 (Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5:30pm)
- complete our corporate complaints form
- visit one of our neighbourhood offices
- write to us at: Housing and Neighbourhood Service, PO Box 5967, Sheffield, S2 9GH
How your complaint will be handled
All complaints will be handled through the process set out in the Sheffield City Council’s Corporate Complaint Policy. We will do this no matter where and how they make their complaint.
Complaints submitted through a third party or representative may also include an advocate. This could be a friend, relative or a representative from an external organisation.
We will consider all requests to make our complaints policy available in an accessible format.
All complainants will receive an acknowledgement letter within 5 working days of the complaint being received. This happens whether we respond within the timescales outlined in the Code or not. Within the acknowledgment, we will set out:
- our understanding of the complaint
- the outcomes the customer/resident is seeking
- which aspects the Council is and is not responsible for
If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, then we will seek clarification from the complainant.
We will respond to the complaint as soon as we have an answer and plan of action. Actions will then be tracked and completed promptly. We will provide ongoing updates for the actions.
Stage 1
A manager will contact you during the investigation to discuss your complaint. We will write to you confirming the outcome of the investigation, explaining any actions we will take.
Stage 1 responses should be sent within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.
If we are unable to respond within the above timescales, we will contact you to explain why and will agree a date for a response.
Any extension will be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and any reasons will be clearly explained to you.
If we inform you about an extension to these timescales, they will be provided with the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman.
Stage 2
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can ask for a more senior manager to review your complaint.
Please contact the manager named in our response letter to you or contact Customer Services.
Provide details of why you are not satisfied and what further action you want to be taken.
We ask that you request an escalation to Stage 2 within the next 28 calendar days from the date of the Stage 1 response letter.
Stage 2 responses should be sent within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged.
If we are unable to respond within the above timescales, we will contact you to explain why and will agree a date for a response.
Any extension of these timescales must be no longer than an additional 20 working days, with good reason and agreement with you.
If we inform you about an extension to these timescales, they will be provided with the contact details of the relevant Ombudsman.
This review is the final stage of the Council's complaints procedure.
If you remain dissatisfied
If you are still not satisfied with our review response, or you feel we have not handled your complaint properly, you can refer your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. The Housing Ombudsman will take an independent look at how we dealt with your issue.
The Ombudsman will not normally look into a complaint until the Council has had an opportunity to deal with it. However, you can contact their Advice Team at any time.
The Housing Ombudsman website provides further information about their service and how to refer a complaint to them.
Landlord self-assessment
A Complaint Handling Code was introduced in July 2020 by the Housing Ombudsman and updated in April 2024. It sets out how the Housing Ombudsman expects social landlords to manage customer complaints, describes best practice and supports landlords in responding to complaints effectively and fairly.
The Code requires social landlords to:
- assess their complaints handling, annually, against the Code and
- publish the assessment on their website and in their annual report
We have carried out our own self-assessment and identified areas of improvement that we will be working on over the coming months. You can read our self-assessment and annual improvement report on this page in the "Appendices and Reports" section.
You can also read the response from our Strategy and Resources Committee to our self-assessment, within the Governing Body Statement on Complaints Handling document, again in the appendices and reports section.