NHF opposes Localism Bill’s complaints measures

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has signaled its intention to oppose measures that would prevent tenants taking complaints direct to the housing ombudsman.

Measures in the Localism Bill mean that if a tenant wanted to take a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman they would have to go through their MP, councillor or tenants’ panel; something the NHF intends to oppose.

“We believe that tenants should be allowed to involve an elected representative if they wish. However, forcing them to go through a third party would disempower them and create significantly more bureaucracy and cost for all the parties concerned,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.

“The Federation is also concerned that the proposal would force tenants who might have an in-depth knowledge of the policies surrounding the particular issue at hand to make their complaint via someone who in effect would be a third party generalist.

“One way to illustrate the flaw in the proposed measure would be to show the full extent of the breadth of knowledge held by tenants. And in order to show the illogicality of the proposal, we are asking members to introduce us to tenants who know the social housing world well – perhaps tenants who are members of staff or tenant board members.

While we know that these tenants are extremely unlikely to want to pursue a complaint, having case studies to hand that highlight the extent of their knowledge would illustrate the absurdity of their being forced to involve a less well-informed third party.

Clearly our members want to provide the best possible service, but this is only achievable with an effective complaints procedure.”

The Localism Bill is due to start its passage through the House of Lords early this month.