Social housing tenants in Cheltenham have received compensation amounting to thousands of pounds after a series of complaints against Cheltenham Borough Council tenancy services were upheld.
Between April and June 2023, tenants submitted a total of 86 complaints regarding housing services. Of these, 45 were fully upheld and 21 were partly upheld, while 20 complaints were dismissed. During the same period, the council’s housing service also received 12 compliments from residents.
A total of 14 compensation payments were made during these three months, amounting to £5,801.54. Many of these payments were related to issues identified within the council’s kitchen installation programme, as revealed in a report presented to the Cabinet Housing Committee on 29 July.
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The report highlights that the most common category of complaint was service delay, with 33 instances recorded. Following this, poor communication was the second most frequent concern, with 23 complaints, often citing a lack of updates, difficulty in contacting services, or unclear and untimely information provided to residents.
Complaints relating to contractors numbered 11, with another 11 concerning the quality of work performed. Staff-related complaints accounted for five cases, typically linked to customer service experience, service delivery, or interactions with staff members. The least reported issues pertained to property disrepair.
Ian Mason, a tenant representative, spoke at the committee meeting about the significant disparity in data availability between the council’s in-house repair teams and external contractors. He noted that detailed records exist for in-house repairs-such as the personnel involved, timing, work done, and materials used-while similar information for contractor work is minimal or absent.
“Where we’re looking at repairs being done by the in-house teams… they had so much detail. It was really impressive to see. The moment it went to a contractor they had virtually no information at all.”
Mason expressed concerns that customer services teams may lack the necessary information to effectively communicate with tenants regarding contractor-led repairs. He suggested that contractor-related complaints could easily triple, citing ongoing issues at Monkscroft, including unfinished works, contractors failing to attend, or leaving sites without completing tasks.
He recommended that the council include this topic in forthcoming meetings to improve transparency and management of contractor performance, emphasising its importance in reducing complaints and supporting the teams responsible.
Matt Ward, head of housing services, acknowledged the challenges involved in managing contractors, particularly given the extensive programme of kitchen and bathroom upgrades across Cheltenham. He confirmed that regular meetings with contractors are held to address complaints as they arise but admitted that the process remains difficult.
Councillor Julian Tooke (Liberal Democrat, Pittville) pointed out that while detailed records are standard for in-house work, similar expectations and requirements should be set for contractors to provide comparable information. He questioned whether the council has the ability to implement such standards.
The committee was also informed of improvements in the council’s complaint handling times. The average duration to investigate and close complaints has been reduced to 10.4 working days, the shortest on record so far, approaching the Housing Ombudsman’s expected target of ten days.
These measures reflect ongoing efforts by Cheltenham Borough Council to enhance service delivery and tenant satisfaction within the social housing sector.