Complaints, compliments and feedback - let us know

We are committed to being open and accountable for our staff. If you have serious concerns about a member of Leeds City Council’s staff or the misuse of council resources, come forward and let us know. All concerns will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

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Complaints about councillors or members of parliament are not covered under the council’s corporate complaints policy.

For complaints about councillors write to:

For complaints about councillors email:

For complaints about members of parliament write to:

For complaints about members of parliament email:

For complaints about members of parliament call:

When dealing with complaints, it is our aim to resolve the complaint and leave you feeling that it was handled fairly and appropriately. We will aim to respond to your complaint within 10 working days.

Complaints about either adult or children’s social care issues, or housing issues, are dealt with under separate statutory timescales. Refer to our compliments and complaints policy for further details.

Leeds City Council has a 2 stage policy. However complaints about either adult or children’s social care issues are dealt with under separate statutory timescales. Refer to our compliments and complaints policy for further details.

Stage 1

Stage 1 of a complaint is the first formal stage and our policy is to respond in full to you within 10 working days of receipt of your complaint, wherever operationally possible.

Stage 2

If you remain dissatisfied following our investigation at stage 1, you can ask for your complaint to be looked at again by a more senior officer. Our policy is to respond within 20 working days.

Next steps

There is no further right of appeal to the Council. Our response at stage 2 will contain the contact details for the Local Government Ombudsman’s office.

The Housing Ombudsman Complaints Handling Code became a legal requirement from 1 April 2024. The code helps us respond to complaints effectively and fairly.

There are 72 provisions in the Code that we assess ourselves against. There is currently 1 provision where we do not fully meet the requirements and we’re working towards complying with this.

We publish the findings from our self-assessment in relation to the main themes in the code. You can email complaints@leeds.gov.uk or call 0113 222 4405 for a copy.

One of the Code requirements is that we present an annual complaint and service improvement report to the Leeds Housing Board and publish their response. The Board response can be seen below.

Along with the annual complaints report you can also read the Housing Ombudsman's 2025/26 Landlord report about Leeds City Council.

The statement from the Leeds Housing Board in response to our end of year complaints report.

“The Board thank the service for the continued work to strengthen the management of complaints. The Complaints Working Group has given the Board additional insight into complaints management as they review different aspects of how we work. For example, reviewing the guidance given to Investigating Officers, and drilling down into areas of interest, such as what we can learn from more complex repair related complaints. Whilst we’re pleased to note the positive trends reported in the Housing Ombudsman’s annual report about our service, indicating we are giving a more consistent complaints service with clearer processes across Housing Leeds, we know there is more that we can do to improve customer satisfaction with our complaints handling. In the year ahead we ask the service to embed improvements made to better record and share the learning from complaints and strengthen our approach to quality assurance, so we improve customer satisfaction and more reliably meet our target of responding to 95% of complaints within Complaint Handling Code timescales.”

What a complaint is

Our complaints policy defines a complaint using the definition in the code, as an ‘expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.’ We won’t deal with complaints where there is a separate appeals process, as there is still a fair way for someone to express dissatisfaction.

How to make a complaint

Complaints can be made by telephone, face to face and in writing or using this website. Our complaints policy is available online or on request. Reasonable adjustments are made when investigating complaints, in line with our complaints policy. You can send us feedback about our services, and we actively promote contact information on all correspondence.

Information on how to contact the Housing Ombudsman is available online on this page in the ‘What happens next’ section. This information is shared regularly through customer communication and as part of our acknowledgment at stage 1 of the complaints process.

Complaints team and process

We have a 2 stage policy. When a complaint is first made, this is logged at stage 1 and given to an investigating officer.

In stage 1 complaint responses, details are included of how complaints can be escalated.

Where you are dissatisfied with investigation at stage 1, complaints are escalated to stage 2 of our policy. Stage 2 complaints are acknowledged in 5 working days and an investigation will be completed within 20 working days.

At the conclusion of our second stage, you are provided with details of how complaints can be escalated to the Housing Ombudsman Service. Approximately three out of four complaints are resolved at the first stage.

We have a central Customer Relations Team. They are responsible for complaints administration and making sure that complaints are allocated to appropriate named investigating officers, and the customer is informed by way of an acknowledgement.

Responding to your complaint

You will receive an acknowledgement of your complaint within 5 working days. This will confirm the target for completion, which is within 10 working days at stage 1, and 20 working days at stage 2.

As part of the investigation, the investigating officer should attempt to speak to you about your complaint. This is our opportunity to understand the complaint in full, and what you would like us to do to resolve the complaint. The officer will have an open and honest discussion about the realistic remedies available.

We issue monthly satisfaction surveys to customers who have had a complaint response in the preceding month. We use this information to identify service improvement opportunities, and we share this with our teams.

If for any reason the response to a complaint is going to be delayed at either stage, the Investigating Officer will update you and let you know when you can expect a response.

Complaint stages

Our 5 working day response timescale for acknowledging complaints at stage 1 and stage 2 is set out in our policy. Between April 2025 and March 2026, 95.6 percent of stage 1 complaints received an acknowledgement in 5 working days. Over the same period, 88.5 per cent of stage 2 complaints received an acknowledgement in 5 working days. 

Our 10 working day response timescale for complaints at stage 1 and 20 working day response timescale for stage 2 is set in our policy. Between April 2025 and March 2026, 92.4 percent of stage 1 complaints received a response in 10 working days or with an agreed extension. Over the same period, 90.4 percent of stage 2 complaints received a response in 20 working days or with an agreed extension.

Our overall performance is improving, and we are prioritising the improvement of complaint handling in terms of timescales and quality so that we meet a higher proportion of timescales in the future.

We resolved 74 percent of complaints at stage one, and 95 percent were resolved without involving either Ombudsman.

We accept and respond to complaints made through a representative at all stages. We are committed to giving clear and easy to understand responses and advice. There have been no cases where we have refused to escalate a complaint.

Putting things right

Where someone has told us about a failure of service, we make every effort to put things right. Where an error has occurred, we apologise and work with the complainant to find a solution.

Our financial remedy guidance reflects good practice as suggested by the Housing Ombudsman. This provides staff guidance around financial and non-financial redress, which helps ensure a fair and consistent approach.

Learning from complaints

Over the last 12 months we:

• established a High-Risk Building Team to improve how we manage more complex repairs in high-rise and older person's Retirement Life housing
• introduced a new approach to downsizing, offering extra support to tenants who would like to move to a smaller home 
• reviewed how we communicate and engage with residents across all three Extra Care schemes
• launched new repairs webpages, designed with tenants to make information clearer, easier to find and simpler to use
• introduced new Service Standards, so tenants know what level of service to expect whenever they contact us
• added more examples on our website showing how tenant feedback and complaints have helped us improve our services
• updated our Local Lettings Policy to make the lettings process clearer, fairer and more consistent
• improved support for tenants in rent arrears by making our letters clearer and easier to understand
• introduced a more consistent and transparent process for handling requests for home alterations
• implemented a new Adaptations Policy, including quality checks, post-installation surveys and better communication throughout the process
• improved the updates tenants receive after reporting damp and mould, ensuring information is clear, easy to understand and meets the requirements of Awaab's Law

Improving our complaints handling

We recognise that there have been some challenges in our complaint handling, including inconsistencies in the quality of responses and delays in acknowledging some complaints due to staffing pressures. While most complaints continue to be responded to within Housing Ombudsman timescales, we know there is still room for improvement.

To address this, we have strengthened support for our Customer Relations Team, streamlined complaint processes, and introduced additional quality checks. We also continue to listen to residents through our "You Said, We Did" updates, Tenant Satisfaction Measures and Tenant Scrutiny Board, helping to ensure feedback drives service improvements.

Complaints Working Group

Our Complaints Working Group, made up of tenant representatives and a Leeds Housing Board councillor, has now been operating for a year, providing independent oversight of our complaints service. During the year, the group reviewed our compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, analysed complaints data and performance, scrutinised complaint responses and staff training, and helped improve policies and procedures.

The group also explored how complaints are experienced by different customer groups and how we share learning with residents. In addition, it reviewed our approach to financial remedies, helping to strengthen guidance for staff to ensure compensation and other forms of redress are considered fairly, consistently and proactively where service failures have occurred.