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Keelman Homes and Karbon Homes have a joint policy and procedure to effectively manage complaints in a collaborative way. We also adopt the Housing Ombudsman’s Code for Complaints Handling and Keelman Homes carries out a self-assessment against the code annually.
This report documents our findings for the year ending 31 March 2026.
The total number of complaints reported by Keelman Homes residents last year was 25; this was made up of 23 stage 1 complaints and 2 stage 2 escalations. The recorded number of complaints was down from a total of 34 the previous year.
The table below shows the total number of complaints Keelman received by reason and per quarter within the year.
When compared to the prior year, we received eight less stage 1 complaints, equating to a reduction of 26.47%, and were received one less stage 2 escalation, representing a reduction of 33%.
Of all complaints handled we upheld 15 (60%), partially upheld 6 (24%) and we did not uphold 4 (16%) complaints.
Complaints per 1,000 homes still tracked above the national median provided by Housemark. On average Keelman Homes handled 6.8 stage 1 complaints per month (per 1000 homes), against a national median of 5.6 per month.
Two complaints were escalated to stage 2. Therefore, 92% of complaints were deemed to have been effectively delt with at stage 1. The reasons for the 2 escalations were reported issues with timescales to complete work and quality of work completed.
Timescales represented 8 (32%) complaints and was the most common reason. This represents a 22% increase in timescale complaints when compared to last year.
Quality of service represented 7 (28%) complaints. This was an increase of 133% from the previous year.
Quality of work represented 3 (12%) complaints which was a reduction of 25% on the previous year.
Policy/process represented 8% of complaints, and likewise communication represented 8% of complaints. This was a significant improvement on the prior year by 66% and 80% respectively, with 3 fewer complaints relating to policy and process, and 8 fewer complaints relating to poor communication. Last year, these were both targeted as areas for service improvement, and so it is reassuring to see this moving in the right direction.
When analysing the service areas responsible for complaints, 92% were due to operations and support services, while the remaining 8% fell within the housing service (see table 2).
Breaking this down further we categorised the complaints within those service areas as follows:
Our analysis shows that the service which generated most complaints is our responsive repairs and damp and mould service, responsible collectively for 68% of complaints reported. Scheduling of appointments is also an area for us to improve.
Since the year end, our partner Karbon has made several service improvements in response to these findings. In summary, these are:
Keelman Homes values tenant feedback, especially in relation to complaints, so that we can work on making improvements to the services we provide in partnership with Karbon Homes.
Following a repair, our tenants are surveyed by an independent company known as Acuity Research and Practice. Results for the year are shown in table 4.
In the year, 92 tenants who had received a repair were surveyed afterwards. For context, Keelman Homes is responsible for responsive repairs to 284 households, and in the year 1470 responsive and out of hours repairs were logged.
Our reporting shows tenant satisfaction did not achieve our annual target, however we are mindful that our target exceeds the upper quartile for the sector, and indeed our annual average achieved is an upper quartile score, for example published data showed that in 24/25 the average achieved by the sector for tenant satisfaction was 73.6%.
Dissatisfaction with repairs peaked in the month of December. The main reason for dissatisfaction in that month was due to repair operatives not ‘getting it right first time’ and quality of work.
More positively, of the 92 tenants surveyed, a score of 97.3% for staff friendliness was achieved, and 93.8% of tenants felt that they were offered a convenient appointment.
At Keelman Homes, the Board and I monitor complaint levels at every meeting. As the Keelman Homes nominated member responsible for complaints (MRC), I have a particular interest in this area.
Having reviewed the complaint reporting information for this year, I am satisfied that service improvements which were implemented last year are heading us in the right direction. I would still like to see the number of complaints reported reduced further as this would be an indication that changes we have made to our services are working. However it is also important to me that the team continue to implement the best practice set out by Housing Ombudsman, ensuring that any expression of dissatisfaction is recorded and handled as a complaint. Our honest approach could reflect why we sit marginally above the national average on reported number of complaints, but I feel it is important to continue to do things in this way; our tenants must continue to feel heard if services have not been up to scratch, and we will continue to take learning from that.
While responsive repairs remains a focused area for improvement, in particular carrying out repairs in a timely manner and to a good quality, it is positive to see that most tenants surveyed after a repair felt satisfied with the service overall and with the appointments they were offered.
I will continue to review complaints, with a view to stepping in and improving delivery of our services where this is required.
As the board member responsible for complaints at Keelman Homes, tenants are encouraged to contact me directly if they have any concerns they wish to raise and can email enquiries@keelmanhomes.org, marking the email for my attention, and I will be in touch.
Regards,
Cllr G. Brierley
We are proud to work in partnership with Karbon Homes and Homes England.
