Complaints Overview 25/26 | Cornerstone Housing

Our Complaints Performance and What We Are Doing to Improve

As part of the Housing Ombudsman requirements, every year we publish our self-assessment (see below) with their complaints code.

We also publish information about the complaints we receive, which we have included in a summary below.

At our May board meeting, we presented the annual complaints report. All complaints we receive are recorded and discussed to help us improve our services. Feedback is crucial for identifying what we are doing well and where there are areas for improvement.

Number of complaints

Stage one – 118 complaints
Stage two – 17 complaints

Complaints Self-Assessment 2026

Annual complaints summary for Residents

Complaints Board Response 2026

Primary Category	Number upheld	Total Complaints in Category	Upheld %
Communication	25	34	73.5%
Standard of service	20	31	64.5%
Contractor communication	18	18	100%
Standard of home	11	14	78.6%
Appointment	11	13	84.6%
Contractor performance	7	9	77.8%
Other	6	6	100%
Standard of advice given	3	5	60%
Standard of repair work completed	5	5	100%

*Other – multiple (comms, maintenance, repairs, Out of Hours service)

What we have done as a result of complaints this year

Some of the things we have done as a result of the complaints this year are:

Staff training on empathy and resident needs this includes scenario-based training covering disability, neurodiversity, domestic abuse and safeguarding.
Compulsory neurodiversity training added for staff.
Complaint handler training covering the four T’s: Timeliness, Transparency, Tailoring and Tone, alongside learning and compensation guidance.
Systems training for staff using the complaints system, to improve data quality and ensure complaint records are correct and complete.
Guidance on good apologies issued to staff using Housing Ombudsman guidance.
ASB improvements, including sector-expert training, a dedicated Community Safety Lead, a new ASB module on the customer database, and clearer escalation training for frontline staff.
Stronger contractor management, particularly for contractors working in residents’ homes.
Procedure changes for mutual exchanges, lettings, emergency management moves, communal health and safety inspections, neighbourhood inspections, parking consultation, communal door lock changes and staff absence handling.
Improved communication expectations, including changes to lettings procedures, contractor guidance on respectful communication, and reissuing guidance to staff on using resident data correctly.
Learning shared with teams, including complaints learning discussed in team meetings and toolbox talks with the repairs team.
Website accessibility improvements, including tools to translate, read aloud and adapt information.

We will continue to learn from complaints received and already have plans to improve the information that we hold to help us respond more quickly to queries.