Compliments or Complaints, Comments or Suggestions – we need your feedback
Your feedback is important as it tells us what we are doing well, and when we need to improve. Whatever your experience, good or bad, we need to hear from you so we can continually improve and take action to put things right when they have gone wrong. If you have any suggestions on how we could do things differently or make improvements please let us know.
There are several ways you can give us feedback:
- housingfeedback@wealden.gov.uk
- In writing – Housing Services, Wealden District Council, Council Offices, Vicarage Lane, Hailsham. East Sussex BN27 2AX
- In person to a member of staff or contractor
- Completing and returning satisfaction surveys
Compliments – tell us when things have gone well
Please let us know when you have been happy with something we have done, this tells us what parts of our service are working well, for example:
- When a service we provide has improved things for you
- When a repair or property improvement has been done well
- Contact with a member of Housing staff has been positive and helpful
- Compliment a member of staff or one of our contractors who has gone the extra mile to get things done
Complaints – we need to know when things go wrong
It is also important that we know as soon as possible when things have not gone so well. This is so we can investigate what has happened and take action to put things right if needed. Please get in touch using any of the methods above so we can contact you as soon as possible.
View further information on what is considered a formal complaint. If your problem is not considered a “formal complaint” under our complaints procedure please still contact the Housing Service and we will work with you to try and resolve it. Formal complaints are dealt with by our corporate team and other complaints within the Housing Service.
The Council also has a formal two stage complaints procedure. View more information to help you understand whether you have grounds for a stage 2 review of your case, as well as potential outcomes of complaints.
View more information on our corporate complaints procedure
View more about the formal housing complaints that we have received.
Escalating your complaint:
If you remain unhappy having been through our two stage formal complaints process you can:
If you are a council tenant, you can contact the Housing Ombudsman Service
info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or 0300 111 3000. Find out more about the process.
If you are a housing applicant, you can contact the Local Government Ombudsman
or telephone 0300 061 0614
National campaign
The Government has launched a new ‘Make Things Right’ campaign which will help social housing residents to raise complaints if they are unhappy with their landlord and are struggling to get their problems resolved. More information is available on their website.
We have been listening – You Said, We Did
We have been listening to feedback from our customers (whether through surveys, direct feedback or through one of our tenant involvement options) and we are pleased to tell you about some changes we have made as a result.
Finding your new home
You told us:
There should be more time to view and move into a property that you have been offered.
What we have done:
Unfortunately we can’t give people more time to move, because an empty property costs us money in lost rent, which means we then have less money for work such as modernisations and improvements.
We also recognise that is important to having as much information as possible before looking around a property. We have therefore increased the information and photos that are available when an empty property is advertised.
You told us:
Some of you were not satisfied with the condition and cleanliness of the property when you moved in
What we have done:
We have raised this issue with our contractor through our monitoring meetings. Our contractors now employ cleaners to clean our empty properties before the new tenants move in.
Allocations Policy
Our Allocations Policy lists all the rules that apply when applying for Social Housing in Wealden.
You told us:
That the Policy was too long and you didn’t understand it or the process to get social housing.
What we have done:
We have developed a Housing Allocations Policy Key Facts which is now on the website. We have also broken down the process of applying for social housing into 3 stages so it is easier for customers to understand exactly what happens and what is needed from them and when.
Housing Officer
You told us:
You wanted to be able to see your at a time which suits you.
What we have done:
We have created an online booking system which allows you to access the housing officers diary and book a Teams meeting with them.
Tenant Incentive Scheme
You said you would like an immediate email confirmation when you apply for the Transfer Incentive Scheme online. We asked our Digital Services Team to make this amendment, and it is now live.
You also told us that you would like practical help and support with moving and not just a financial incentive. We have worked with Brighton Housing Trust to be able to provide this and our Tenant Incentive Scheme was updated in 2024 to include this.
Recording your information
Following feedback, we have added a gender neutral Title to our housing database system so that those individuals who wish to be known as something other than the standard titles (Mr, Miss, Mrs etc) can now use Mx followed by their first name and last name. We want to be seen as giving individuals the opportunity to be known by what they wish to be known as, rather than what our computer system dictates.
Reintroducing void surveyor follow up visit
You told us:
On the New Tenant Survey that it would have been helpful to be shown how to use the heating system and how electric water systems work.
What we have done:
We used to offer a visit from a 6-week follow up visit by the void officer after a new tenant has moved in to check everything was okay. There was limited take up on this offer not long after we started it and it had to be stopped while we were short staffed. It has now been reintroduced.
Reintroducing void surveyor follow up visit
You stated on the New Tenant Survey that it would have been helpful to be shown how to use the heating system and how electric water systems work. We used to offer a visit from a 6-week follow up visit by the void officer after a new tenant has moved in to check everything was okay. There was limited take up on this offer not long after we started it and it had to be stopped while we were short staffed. As a result of several comments from the New Tenant Survey, and with the start of a new void surveyor, we will reintroduce our follow up visit with this purpose in mind.
Lighting
You told us:
You were concerned about your safety due to poor street lighting in Moore Park.
What we have done:
With the support of other residents who also wanted additional lighting. Approval was granted for solar lighting to be installed and funded from the Community & Environmental Budget, with works completed in January 2024.
Also see our learning from our formal complaints
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