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Putting things right

Our progress to improve the way we respond to your complaints.

In July 2023, the Housing Ombudsman published a report following an investigation into our complaints handling. This highlighted several cases where residents hadn’t received the quality of service they deserved and made a series of recommendations to help us put things right.

You can read our full response to the report in our media centre.

The Ombudsman grouped the areas we need to improve into six themes:

  • Complaints handling
  • Vulnerable residents
  • Repairs
  • Antisocial behaviour
  • Staff learning and development
  • Communication and record keeping

Here, you’ll find a summary of our improvement journey and the changes that you should see.

This improvement journey builds on the activities we’re already delivering as part of our five-year strategy, Future Shape. This launched in 2021 and sets out what we’re doing between then and 2026 to place you at the heart of everything we do and make sure that we’re prioritising your homes and services.

Read our corporate strategy: Future Shape (PDF).

Our improvement journey

  • Complaints handling
    We want to make sure the way we handle complaints leaves you feeling reassured and confident that we’ll put things right. That’s why we’re putting several new measures in place throughout our complaints handling process, so you receive a more consistent and positive experience from us.

    Here are some highlights of how we're doing:
    • a member of our Group Board and Resident Services Board, which is made up of L&Q tenants and leaseholders, is overseeing our work to build a positive complaints culture
    • we've updated the way we manage compensation, so if we get something wrong, you're compensated fairly based on how you've been impacted. Read our full compensation policy (PDF)
    • we've improved the complaints information on our website to make it easier for you to tell us about things that have gone wrong.
    • as well as learning from the 104 cases highlighted by the Ombudsman, we're reviewing the past three years of our complaints data to make sure we are treating our residents fairly and equally, regardless of their background
    • we're reducing the time it takes us to resolve a complaint by recruiting more complaint handlers
    Infographic: 100% of complaint handling colleagues have completed new complaint handling training, and have their responses regularly reviewed to make sure they are meeting your needs.
  • Vulnerable residents
    We know that some residents have additional needs (the government describes this as being ‘vulnerable’, meaning residents in need of special care, support or protection because of age, disability or other risks). We want to make sure that they receive a better complaint handling experience from us that considers and responds to these.

    Here are some highlights of how we’re doing:
    • we now offer British Sign Language (BSL)* on-demand as part of our standard translation services
    • we’re consulting with residents to make sure we fully understand what type of needs we might need to make adjustments for
    • we've updated the way we identify, record information about, and support vulnerable residents, so we can recognise where you may need extra support more quickly
    • we’ve made it compulsory for all our resident-facing colleagues to receive the latest training on supporting vulnerable residents so that they can work together with the individual to provide a service that works for them
    *If you need any form of BSL or language interpretation, please let us know by contacting our customer service centre.
    Infographic: we’re continuing to carry out visits to vulnerable residents to make sure we understand their needs in full and can better meet these.
  • Repairs
    We want to deliver a repairs service that gives you confidence that if you experience an issue in your home, we’ll do everything we can to resolve it in a timely manner and keep you informed along the way.

    Here are some highlights of how we're doing:
    • 20% increase in first-time fixes for day-to-day repairs
    • 2,900 new kitchens and bathrooms installed last year
    • 20,000 home visits to prevent and tackle damp and mould. Learn more about our healthy homes programme
    • we're organising our repairs services better so that we can deliver more everyday repairs. We're doing this by delivering more large repairs through our landmark major works programme
    Infographic: £3 billion, our investment to improve every residents’ home or building over the next 15 years.
  • Antisocial behaviour
    We want to help make sure your home and neighbourhood are places where you feel safe and secure. That’s why we’re looking at all aspects of how we deal with antisocial behaviour (ASB), so when you report an issue, you’re left feeling reassured that we’re taking the necessary steps to deal with it.

    Here are some highlights of how we're doing:
    • we’re improving our working arrangements with local partners, to help us tackle noise considered ASB as quickly as possible
    • we use the experience you’ve shared with us on how we’ve handled ASB issues to help us continually improve the service we provide
    • we’re putting Domestic Abuse Champions in place in our Housing Management team, to better support residents who suffer from domestic abuse, and make sure they’re receiving the right type of support
    Infographic: we’re training colleagues to deal with antisocial behaviour more effectively, like spotting early signs of issues, so that they can support you by tackling them as soon as possible.
  • Staff learning and development
    We know that an important part of the service we provide is the way we communicate with you. So, we’re doing more to make sure that no matter who you’re dealing with, you’re listened to and feel reassured.

    Here are some highlights of how we're doing:
    • we’ve worked with residents to help us recruit new Neighbourhood Housing Leads, and new customer relations roles to support our major works programme. We’re now considering if we can roll out this approach to other resident-facing teams
    • we’re putting in place more quality checks to make sure colleagues are improving the way they communicate with you
    • we’re reviewing the job descriptions of all our resident-facing roles to make sure that we attract people who are genuinely passionate about delivering excellent customer service time and time again

    Find out more about how you can get involved in shaping L&Q through our resident involvement opportunities.

    Infographic: we’ve introduced compulsory tone of voice training for all colleagues to make sure that when we speak or write to you, you feel heard and understood.
  • Communication and record keeping
    We know how frustrating it is if the person you’re dealing with doesn’t have the right knowledge about you and your home to help resolve any complaints you may have. That’s why we’re putting measures in place to make sure our people have the information and systems they need to resolve issues with your home more easily.

    Here are some highlights of how we're doing:
    • we’re re-training resident-facing colleagues to make sure that they are accurately recording information about you and your home. This means that we can make sure you’re receiving a service that takes into account all your needs and anything that you’ve told us about yourself
    Infographic: we’re making major investments in new technologies and ways of working to improve our service to you. This includes new systems that will make sure we always have the right data and information about you and your home, at the right time in the right place. This will make it easier for you to deal with us, and help make sure we get it right first time every time for you.