A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by Innisfree, our staff, or those acting on our behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents. 

You do not need to use the word “complaint” for us to treat something as a complaint. 

If you tell us that you are dissatisfied with our service, we will consider whether the matter should be handled through our complaints process. 

You can complain if you are dissatisfied with a service provided by Innisfree or somebody acting on our behalf. 

For example, your complaint might be about: 

• the standard of a service you received
• something we did or failed to do
• delays in providing a service
• how we communicated with you
• how we handled a previous request or issue
• the behaviour or actions of someone working for or on behalf of Innisfree.  

If you are unsure whether something can be considered through the complaints process, please contact us. 

There are some things we can’t deal with through our complaints procedure. These include complaints that: 

• A first request for a service, such as a repair 
• Neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour 
• Where legal proceedings have started. This is defined as details of the claim, such as the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim, having been filed at court. 
• Where our insurers are dealing with an issue 
• Where the issue giving rise to the complaint occurred over twelve months ago 
• Where the issue has previously been considered under the Complaints Policy 

Sometimes you may simply need us to resolve a problem rather than make a complaint. 

For example, if you are reporting a repair for the first time, you should normally use our repairs service so that we can arrange for the problem to be dealt with. However, if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to the issue or with the service you have received, you can make a complaint. 

Report a Repair

Antisocial Behaviour

You can make a complaint to us in different ways. 

Use our webform:

Call 0207 625 1818:

EMAIL: complaints@innisfree.org.uk

See Contact Us

If you need help making a complaint, or need us to communicate with you in a different way, please tell us. You can also ask someone to support you with your complaint or act on your behalf where appropriate. 

See Accessibility & Communication  

Our complaints process has two stages. 

We will consider your complaint fairly, investigate what has happened and explain our findings and any action we intend to take. 

We will keep you informed during the process and let you know if we need further information from you. 

Stage 1 

At Stage 1, we will investigate your complaint and provide you with a written response explaining: 

• what we have understood your complaint to be
• what we have found
• our decision
• any action we will take to put things right
• how you can ask for your complaint to be considered at Stage 2 if you remain dissatisfied.  

We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and issue a full written response within 10 working days. 

Stage 2 

If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our Stage 1 response, you can ask us to escalate your complaint to Stage 2. 

Stage 2 is the final stage of Innisfree’s complaints process. A senior member of staff will review the complaint and our previous response and provide you with our final decision. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and issue a full written response within 20 working days. 

We aim to handle all complaints fairly and within the timescales set out in our Complaints Policy.

However, we will also consider whether the issues raised require urgent action alongside the complaint investigation, particularly where there may be an immediate risk to a resident or their home. 

For example, if a complaint tells us about an emergency repair, a safety concern, safeguarding issue or another matter requiring immediate action, we will make sure that the relevant issue is referred to the appropriate service rather than waiting for the complaint investigation to be completed. 

The complaint itself will continue to be handled through our complaints process. 

If we find that something has gone wrong, we will consider what action is appropriate to put things right. 

Depending on the circumstances, this could include: 

• apologising
• explaining what happened
• taking action to resolve an outstanding issue
• correcting a mistake
• changing a decision where appropriate
• reviewing a process or service
• considering compensation or another remedy where appropriate.  

Any remedy will depend on the circumstances of the individual complaint. 

Complaints help us understand where our services need to improve. 

We review complaints to identify themes, trends, recurring problems and opportunities to improve our policies, procedures and services. 

Our Senior Management Team reviews themes and trends arising from complaints to identify potential systemic issues, serious risks and policies or procedures that may need to be revised. We also report complaints information to our Board.  

Each year we publish an Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report, which includes information about our complaint-handling performance and improvements made as a result of learning from complaints. Our current policy also requires this report to be published alongside the Board’s response where available.  

We publish information about how we are performing in handling complaints. 

This includes information about: 

• the number of complaints received
• Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints
• whether complaints were responded to within required timescales
• themes and learning from complaints
• service improvements made as a result
• relevant findings or information from the Housing Ombudsman.  

Our complaint performance also forms part of our published Tenant Satisfaction Measures. The regulatory measures include the number of Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints relative to the size of the landlord and the percentage responded to within Complaint Handling Code timescales.  

The Housing Ombudsman is an independent service that considers disputes between social landlords and their residents. 

You can contact the Housing Ombudsman for advice and support at any stage of your complaint. 

If you remain dissatisfied after completing Innisfree’s complaints process, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman to consider your complaint. 

https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/

Our Complaints Policy and annual complaints information explain how we comply with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. 

There is a separate review process if you are dissatisfied with how we have handled a request for information under the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs). 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling or outcome of a STAIRs information request, you can ask Innisfree to review the decision. If you remain dissatisfied following that review, you can escalate the matter to the Housing Ombudsman. 

STAIRS – access to information