Housing policies
Complaint Handling Code - Self-assessment
The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, introduced in July 2020, sets out good practice that will allow landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly.
The code sets out what should expect from us as your landlord when you complain. The requirements in the code also provide residents with information about how to make a complaint and how to progress it through the landlord’s internal complaints procedure.
We, as a landlord, must carry out an annual assessment against the code to ensure our complaint handling remains in line with its requirements:
This self-assessment form should be completed by the complaints officer and discussed at the landlord’s governing body annually. Evidence should be included to support all statements with additional commentary as necessary.
Section 1 - Definition of a complaint
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | A complaint must be defined as: ‘an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.' | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out the following: A complaint is telling us about something that has gone wrong. It will fit one or more of these descriptions:
North Northamptonshire Council’s Compliments, Comments and Complaint’s Policy. Revised policy being taken to Executive in July 2024. |
| 1.3 | The resident does not have to use the word ‘complaint’ for it to be treated as such. Whenever a resident expresses dissatisfaction landlords must give them the choice to make complaint. A complaint that is submitted via a third party or representative must be handled in line with the landlord’s complaints policy. | Yes | Residents are not required to use the word ‘complaint’, if a resident expresses dissatisfaction this will be investigated and responded to within the complaints process. |
| 1.4 | Landlords must recognise the difference between a service request and a complaint. This must be set out in their complaints policy. A service request is a request from a resident to the landlord requiring action to be taken to put something right. Service requests are not complaints, but must be recorded, monitored and reviewed regularly. | Yes | Where a service request is received by the complaints team, this will be logged and passed to the relevant person to respond to the service request. Improvements to be made to the website’s complaints page to explain the difference between service requests and complaints and this will be addressed within the revised version of the Corporate Complaints Policy. |
| 1.5 | A complaint must be raised when the resident expresses dissatisfaction with the response to their service request, even if the handling of the service request remains ongoing. Landlords must not stop their efforts to address the service request if the resident complains. | Yes | Residents can make a complaint at any time during the handling of a service request, this will be investigated following the complaints process. The service request will still be addressed. |
| 1.6 | An expression of dissatisfaction with services made through a survey is not defined as a complaint, though wherever possible, the person completing the survey should be made aware of how they can pursue a complaint if they wish to. Where landlords ask for wider feedback about their services, they also must provide details of how residents can complain. | Yes | The Tenant Satisfaction Survey 2023-24 of all NNC tenants asked whether tenants would be happy to share their details with NNC in order to assess further any dissatisfaction. The Housing service are reviewing operational satisfaction surveys and will add a link to the Corporate Complaints Policy to the bottom of future surveys. |
Section 2 - Exclusions
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Landlords must accept a complaint unless there is a valid reason not to do so. If landlords decide not to accept a complaint they must be able to evidence their reasoning. Each complaint must be considered on its own merits. | Yes | All complaints are considered on their own merits, and will be accepted as a complaint, unless they fall within the exclusions set out in the Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy. |
| 2.2 | A complaints policy must set out the circumstances in which a matter will not be considered as a complaint or escalated, and these circumstances must be fair and reasonable to residents. Acceptable exclusions include:
| Yes | Section 3 of North Northamptonshire Council’s complaints policy sets out exclusions. The exclusions are outside of the Housing Ombudsman jurisdiction and are normally where there are Government regulations that set out how we make a decision. The appeals process for such decisions would be separate from the complaints process. |
| 2.3 | Landlords must accept complaints referred to them within 12 months of the issue occurring or the resident becoming aware of the issue, unless they are excluded on other grounds. Landlords must consider whether to apply discretion to accept complaints made outside this time limit where there are good reasons to do so. | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Policy sets out that complainants should contact us as soon as possible after the matter they wish to complain about. It is always best to sort things out when information and recollection is fresh. The current Corporate Complaints policy states that we can’t investigate things more than eleven months after they happen. However, in practice this is 12 months and this will be changed as part of the review of the policy. |
| 2.4 | If a landlord decides not to accept a complaint, an explanation must be provided to the resident setting out the reasons why the matter is not suitable for the complaints process and the right to take that decision to the Ombudsman. If the Ombudsman does not agree that the exclusion has been fairly applied, the Ombudsman may tell the landlord to take on the complaint. | Yes | If correspondence falls within the list of exclusions, and therefore follows an alternative process to the complaints process, an explanation will be provided to the resident. |
| 2.5 | Landlords must not take a blanket approach to excluding complaints; they must consider the individual circumstances of each complaint. | Yes | All complaints are considered on an individual basis. |
Section 3 – Accessibility and awareness
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Landlords must make it easy for residents to complain by providing different channels through which they can make a complaint. Landlords must consider their duties under the Equality Act 2010 and anticipate the needs and reasonable adjustments of residents who may need to access the complaints process. | Yes | There are many ways to complain to us:
|
| 3.2 | Residents must be able to raise their complaints in any way and with any member of staff. All staff must be aware of the complaints process and be able to pass details of the complaint to the appropriate person within the landlord. | Yes | Reminders of the process to be circulated to staff. Complaint’s training to also be organised for managers. |
| 3.3 | High volumes of complaints must not be seen as a negative, as they can be indicative of a well-publicised and accessible complaints process. Low complaint volumes are potentially a sign that residents are unable to complain. | Yes | Complaint levels indicate that the Corporate Complaint’s policy is easily accessible. |
| 3.4 | Landlords must make their complaint policy available in a clear and accessible format for all residents. This will detail the two stage process, what will happen at each stage, and the timeframes for responding. The policy must also be published on the landlord’s website. | Yes | All documents on the Council’s website are produced in an accessible format with clear language. |
| 3.5 | The policy must explain how the landlord will publicise details of the complaints policy, including information about the Ombudsman and this Code. | Yes | Contact details for the Housing Ombudsman are included in the Corporate Complaints Policy. Details of the Complaint Handling Code will be included in the revised Corporate Complaints Policy. |
| 3.6 | Landlords must give residents the opportunity to have a representative deal with their complaint on their behalf, and to be represented or accompanied at any meeting with the landlord. | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints policy states: Provided that you have their written consent, we welcome compliments, comments and complaints on someone else’s behalf. |
| 3.7 | Landlords must provide residents with information on their right to access the Ombudsman service and how the individual can engage with the Ombudsman about their complaint. | Yes | The Housing Ombudsman details are included in the Corporate Complaint’s Policy, as well as complaint responses. To revise the complaint acknowledgement templates to ensure the Housing Ombudsman contact details are included from the outset. |
Section 4 – Complaint handling staff
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Landlords must have a person or team assigned to take responsibility for complaint handling, including liaison with the Ombudsman and ensuring complaints are reported to the governing body (or equivalent). This Code will refer to that person or team as the ‘complaints officer’. This role may be in addition to other duties. | Yes | The Council has a Corporate Complaints Team who are responsible for acknowledging complaints and passing to the relevant service area for investigation. The Corporate Complaints Team is responsible for the record keeping of all complaints. The Council’s Corporate Performance Team is responsible for reporting complaints performance to Councillors and the Corporate Management Team. There are currently plans to recruit a Complaint’s Officer within the Housing team to co-ordinate all Housing complaints. |
| 4.2 | The complaints officer must have access to staff at all levels to facilitate the prompt resolution of complaints. They must also have the authority and autonomy to act to resolve disputes promptly and fairly. | Yes | The Complaints process has recently been reviewed. The investigation and responses of complaints are now dealt with within each service area, this helps to improve access to relevant staff and systems. |
| 4.3 | Landlords are expected to prioritise complaint handling and a culture of learning from complaints. All relevant staff must be suitably trained in the importance of complaint handling. It is important that complaints are seen as a core service and must be resourced to handle complaints effectively. | Yes | Once a complaint response is sent to the resident, a learning plan must be produced and sent to the Corporate Complaints Team along with the complaint response. |
Section 5: Complaint handling process
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Landlords must have a single policy in place for dealing with complaints covered by this Code. Residents must not be treated differently if they complain. | Yes | The Council has one Corporate Complaints Policy, which covers all aspects of Council services. |
| 5.2 | The early and local resolution of issues between landlords and residents is key to effective complaint handling. It is not appropriate to have extra named stages (such as ‘stage 0’ or ‘informal complaint’) as this causes unnecessary confusion. | Yes | North Northamptonshire Council has a two stage Complaints process. There is no additional ‘informal’ stage. |
| 5.3 | A process with more than two stages is not acceptable under any circumstances as this will make the complaint process unduly long and delay access to the Ombudsman. | Yes | North Northamptonshire Council has a two stage Complaints process only. |
| 5.4 | Where a landlord’s complaint response is handled by a third party (e.g. a contractor or independent adjudicator) at any stage, it must form part of the two stage complaints process set out in this Code. Residents must not be expected to go through two complaints processes. | Yes | This is not applicable as complaints are not dealt with by a contractor. |
| 5.5 | Landlords are responsible for ensuring that any third parties handle complaints in line with the Code. | Yes | This is not applicable as complaints are not dealt with by a contractor. |
| 5.6 | When a complaint is logged at Stage 1 or escalated to Stage 2, landlords must set out their understanding of the complaint and the outcomes the resident is seeking. The Code will refer to this as “the complaint definition”. If any aspect of the complaint is unclear, the resident must be asked for clarification. | Yes | The Council’s complaints responses include the understanding of the complaint. |
| 5.7 | When a complaint is acknowledged at either stage, landlords must be clear which aspects of the complaint they are, and are not, responsible for and clarify any areas where this is not clear. | Yes | If there are aspects of the complaint that the Council is not responsible for, this will be explained in the acknowledgement. The new NNC Tenant’s handbook will be finalised in July 2024 and will include areas that the Council is responsible for. |
| 5.8 | At each stage of the complaints process, complaint handlers must:
| Yes | The Council’s Complaints process complies with this. |
| 5.9 | Where a response to a complaint will fall outside the timescales set out in this Code, the landlord must agree with the resident suitable intervals for keeping them informed about their complaint. | Yes | The service areas are responsible for liaising with the resident where an extension is needed in order to investigate the complaint and agree suitable intervals to keep the resident informed. The service area should then report the extension to the Corporate Complaints Team for recording. |
| 5.10 | Landlords must make reasonable adjustments for residents where appropriate under the Equality Act 2010. Landlords must keep a record of any reasonable adjustments agreed, as well as a record of any disabilities a resident has disclosed. Any agreed reasonable adjustments must be kept under active review. | Yes | The Council welcomes complaints from all sections of the community and may encourage people to seek support from friends or other representatives who may be able to assist them in making a complaint. The Council will advise people on where to find such assistance as appropriate. Assistance will be given where appropriate to people who have difficulty with written or spoken English and to disabled people. People will also be able to make complaints in their own language if this is preferable. The Council’s intention is that all members of the public should have full access to the Compliments, Comments or Complaints Procedure. |
| 5.11 | Landlords must not refuse to escalate a complaint through all stages of the complaints procedure unless it has valid reasons to do so. Landlords must clearly set out these reasons, and they must comply with the provisions set out in section 2 of this Code. | Yes | The Council complies with section 2 of the code. |
| 5.12 | A full record must be kept of the complaint, and the outcomes at each stage. This must include the original complaint and the date received, all correspondence with the resident, correspondence with other parties, and any relevant supporting documentation such as reports or surveys. | Yes | The majority of complaints are made through the online website form. All complaints are logged centrally by the Corporate Complaints Team before sending to the service areas for a response. The responses are then logged by the Corporate Complaints Team. |
| 5.13 | Landlords must have processes in place to ensure a complaint can be remedied at any stage of its complaints process. Landlords must ensure appropriate remedies can be provided at any stage of the complaints process without the need for escalation. | Yes | A new Remedy Policy has been drafted and approved. This policy sets out appropriate remedies. |
| 5.14 | Landlords must have policies and procedures in place for managing unacceptable behaviour from residents and their representatives. Landlords must be able to evidence reasons for putting any restrictions in place and must keep restrictions under regular review. | Yes | Sometimes people may behave unreasonably, be unacceptably persistent, stop us looking into the matter or make repeated complaints about the same subject as well as contacting us many more times than is necessary to resolve a matter. We call this type of complaint persistent or vexatious. In these cases, we may limit our responses or advise residents that we cannot respond. The Council’s Unacceptable or Unreasonable Communications and Behaviour Policy has been reviewed and approved. |
| 5.15 | Any restrictions placed on contact due to unacceptable behaviour must be proportionate and demonstrate regard for the provisions of the Equality Act 2010. | Yes | The Council’s Unacceptable or Unreasonable Communications and Behaviour Policy has been reviewed and approved. The new version of the policy strengthens the proportionate element. |
Section 6 – Complaints stages
Stage 1
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | Landlords must have processes in place to consider which complaints can be responded to as early as possible, and which require further investigation. Landlords must consider factors such as the complexity of the complaint and whether the resident is vulnerable or at risk. Most stage 1 complaints can be resolved promptly, and an explanation, apology or resolution provided to the resident. | Yes | Improvements will be made to the Council’s internal complaints resource on the Intranet. The page will include a copy of the following:
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| 6.2 | Complaints must be acknowledged, defined and logged at stage 1 of the complaints procedure within five working days of the complaint being received. | Yes | Where a resident feels a concern is not resolved at the initial point of contact, North Northamptonshire Council would not obstruct access to the complaint’s procedure. The Council’s policy is to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. |
| 6.3 | Landlords must issue a full response to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. | Yes | The Council’s current Corporate Complaint’s Policy has a 20-working day timescale for responding to stage one complaints. The policy is currently being reviewed and will be changed to align with the Housing Ombudsman Complained Handling Code of 10 days. The report is being taken to July Executive meeting. |
| 6.4 | Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint and then inform the resident of the expected timescale for response. Any extension must be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident. | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out that if a complaint is complex, or we need more information, it may take longer – however we will let residents know when this is required, and when they will hear from us. |
| 6.5 | When an organisation informs a resident about an extension to these timescales, they must be provided with the contact details of the Ombudsman. | Yes | Extensions to timescales are usually made via telephone or email with the resident. To create a checklist for managers dealing with complaints and add in the need to confirm an timescale extension in writing and at this stage to provide contact details for the Ombudsman. |
| 6.6 | A complaint response must be provided to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned promptly with appropriate updates provided to the resident. | Yes | Any outstanding actions following the complaint response will be included in the learning plan along with dates when the outstanding actions will be completed. |
| 6.7 | Landlords must address all points raised in the complaint definition and provide clear reasons for any decisions, referencing the relevant policy, law and good practice where appropriate. | Yes | The Council’s complaint responses will set out what happened, why and what we are doing about it. It will give the remedies available to the resident and include the lessons that we have learnt where we have got things wrong, so that we don’t make the same mistakes in future. |
| 6.8 | Where residents raise additional complaints during the investigation, these must be incorporated into the stage 1 response if they are related and the stage 1 response has not been issued. Where the stage 1 response has been issued, the new issues are unrelated to the issues already being investigated or it would unreasonably delay the response, the new issues must be logged as a new complaint. | Yes | The Council complies with this. |
| 6.9 | Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage 1 in clear, plain language:
| Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out: Our reply will set out what happened, why and what we are doing about it. It will give the remedies available to you and include the lessons that we have learnt where we have got things wrong, so that we don’t make the same mistakes in future. The Council has letter templates for each stage to ensure all relevant is included in the responses. |
Stage 2
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.10 | If all or part of the complaint is not resolved to the resident’s satisfaction at stage 1, it must be progressed to stage 2 of the landlord’s procedure. Stage 2 is the landlord’s final response. | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out: Once the resident has received the result of our investigation, they may feel that we have not sorted things out in the way they expected, or they may disagree with our findings. You can now make a stage 2 complaint. You should do this within 20 working days of the date on our stage 1 reply and your complaint should be sent to our Complaints Team. |
| 6.11 | Requests for stage 2 must be acknowledged, defined and logged at stage 2 of the complaints procedure within five working days of the escalation request being received. | Yes | All stage two complaints are logged, and an acknowledgement sent within 5 working days. |
| 6.12 | Residents must not be required to explain their reasons for requesting a stage 2 consideration. Landlords are expected to make reasonable efforts to understand why a resident remains unhappy as part of its stage 2 response. | Yes | The Council complies with this. |
| 6.13 | The person considering the complaint at stage 2 must not be the same person that considered the complaint at stage 1. | Yes | Stage two complaints will not be investigated by the same officer as the stage one complaint. |
| 6.14 | Landlords must issue a final response to the stage 2 within 20 working days of the complaint being acknowledged. | Yes | The Council’s timescales for responding to stage two complaints is 20 working days. |
| 6.15 | Landlords must decide whether an extension to this timescale is needed when considering the complexity of the complaint and then inform the resident of the expected timescale for response. Any extension must be no more than 20 working days without good reason, and the reason(s) must be clearly explained to the resident. | Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out that if a complaint is complex, or we need more information, it may take longer – however we will let residents know when this is required, and when they will hear from us. |
| 6.16 | When an organisation informs a resident about an extension to these timescales, they must be provided with the contact details of the Ombudsman. | Yes | Extensions to timescales are usually made via telephone or email with the resident. To create a checklist for managers dealing with complaints and add in the need to confirm an timescale extension in writing and at this stage to provide contact details for the Ombudsman. |
| 6.17 | A complaint response must be provided to the resident when the answer to the complaint is known, not when the outstanding actions required to address the issue are completed. Outstanding actions must still be tracked and actioned promptly with appropriate updates provided to the resident. | Yes | Any outstanding actions following the complaint response will be included in the learning plan along with dates when the outstanding actions will be completed. |
| 6.19 | Landlords must confirm the following in writing to the resident at the completion of stage 2 in clear, plain language:
| Yes | The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy sets out: Our reply will set out what happened, why and what we are doing about it. It will give the remedies available to you and include the lessons that we have learnt where we have got things wrong, so that we don’t make the same mistakes in future. The Council has letter templates for each stage to ensure all relevant is included in the responses. |
| 6.20 | Stage 2 is the landlord’s final response and must involve all suitable staff members needed to issue such a response. | Yes | Managers are responsible for approving stage two responses which will then be sent to the Corporate Complaints team for recording. |
Section 7 – Putting things right
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Where something has gone wrong a landlord must acknowledge this and set out the actions it has already taken, or intends to take, to put things right. These can include:
| Yes | The Council’s revised Remedies Policy supports this stage. |
| 7.2 | Any remedy offered must reflect the impact on the resident as a result of any fault identified. | Yes | The Council’s revised Remedies Policy supports this stage. |
| 7.3 | The remedy offer must clearly set out what will happen and by when, in agreement with the resident where appropriate. Any remedy proposed must be followed through to completion. | Yes | The Council’s revised Remedies Policy supports this stage. |
| 7.4 | Landlords must take account of the guidance issued by the Ombudsman when deciding on appropriate remedies. | Yes | The Council’s revised Remedies Policy supports this stage. |
Section 8 – Self-assessment, reporting and compliance
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | Landlords must produce an annual complaints performance and service improvement report for scrutiny and challenge, which must include:
| Yes | This is a new requirement of the Complaint Handling Code. The annual complaints performance and service improvement report will be produced following the Executive meeting in July 2024 in which the self-assessment will be presented. |
| 8.2 | The annual complaints performance and service improvement report must be reported to the landlord’s governing body (or equivalent) and published on the on the section of its website relating to complaints. The governing body’s response to the report must be published alongside this. | Yes | The self-assessment will be presented as part of the report on the updated Complaint’s Policy for the Council at the July Executive meeting. |
| 8.3 | Landlords must also carry out a self-assessment following a significant restructure, merger or change in procedures. | Yes | This self-assessment has been reviewed following the 2024 changes to the Code and will be reviewed following any significant restructure or change in procedures. |
| 8.4 | Landlords may be asked to review and update the self-assessment following an Ombudsman investigation. | Yes | The Council will comply with this. |
| 8.5 | If a landlord is unable to comply with the Code due to exceptional circumstances, such as a cyber incident, they must inform the Ombudsman, provide information to residents who may be affected, and publish this on their website Landlords must provide a timescale for returning to compliance with the Code. | Yes | The Council will comply with this. |
Section 9 – Scrutiny and oversight: continuous learning and improvement
| Code section | Code requirement | Comply: Yes or no | Evidence, commentary and any explanations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | Landlords must look beyond the circumstances of the individual complaint and consider whether service improvements can be made as a result of any learning from the complaint. | Yes | Learning plans are produced along with complaint responses. Further work to be undertaken on learning from complaints and linking in with service improvement projects. |
| 9.2 | A positive complaint handling culture is integral to the effectiveness with which landlords resolve disputes. Landlords must use complaints as a source of intelligence to identify issues and introduce positive changes in service delivery. | Yes | The new policy supports this. The way complaints are handled within the service area is currently being reviewed, with the forthcoming recruitment of a Complaints Officer. This will ensure there is more work on learning from complaints and linking in with service improvement. |
| 9.3 | Accountability and transparency are also integral to a positive complaint handling culture. Landlords must report back on wider learning and improvements from complaints to stakeholders, such as residents’ panels, staff and relevant committees. | Yes | The Corporate Performance team report on complaints. The way complaints are handled within the service area is currently being reviewed, with the plan to recruit a dedicated Complaints Officer. This will ensure there is more work on learning from complaints and linking in with service improvement. To agree plans for complaint reporting. |
| 9.4 | Landlords must appoint a suitably senior lead person as accountable for their complaint handling. This person must assess any themes or trends to identify potential systemic issues, serious risks, or policies and procedures that require revision. | Yes | Confirmed as Simon Mills, Assistant Director Customer Experience. |
| 9.5 | In addition to this a member of the governing body (or equivalent) must be appointed to have lead responsibility for complaints to support a positive complaint handling culture. This person is referred to as the Member Responsible for Complaints (‘the MRC’). | Yes | Confirmed as Cllr Lloyd Bunday, Executive Member for Finance and Transformation. |
| 9.6 | The MRC will be responsible for ensuring the governing body receives regular information on complaints that provides insight on the landlord’s complaint handling performance. This person must have access to suitable information and staff to perform this role and report on their findings. | Yes | Complaint information is regularly presented as part of the monthly performance report to Executive. |
| 9.7 | As a minimum, the MRC and the governing body (or equivalent) must receive:
| Yes | The Corporate Performance Team provide regular complaints performance to Executive. |
| 9.8 | Landlords must have a standard objective in relation to complaint handling for all relevant employees or third parties that reflects the need to:
| Yes | Improvements will be made to the Council’s internal complaints resource on the Intranet. The page will include a copy of the following:
Training to be provided for managers and staff. |
Council housing anti-social behaviour policy
This policy for the Kettering area aims to:
- tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) promptly and effectively on our estates using appropriate and proportionate interventions
- protect residents, prevent ASB and promote sustainable communities
- encourage and develop partnership working with a variety of agencies in order to prevent and reduce ASB
- provide clear and consistent information about how we will respond to complaints of ASB
Discharge of Homelessness Duties policy
The Discharge of Homelessness Duties (Accommodation Offers) policy sets out how the Council will seek to discharge its duties through offers of accommodation to homeless households (in both the social and private rented housing sectors) which must comply with the relevant suitability requirements.
Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024 to 2029
This strategy sets out our commitment to prevent and tackle homelessness across North Northamptonshire, including our focus on preventing and reducing rough sleeping locally.
As a new unitary council, we have also included what we have achieved to date since April 2021 and outline the priorities and actions we plan to take in tackling the challenges faced locally by working with our partners.
Homelessness Prevention Fund policy
The Homelessness Prevention Fund policy sets out when households who are owed certain homelessness duties could be considered for a payment from the Fund. This payment may enable them to remain in existing accommodation, secure alternative accommodation, or prevent or delay the provision of temporary accommodation.
How homeless households will be helped to secure alternative accommodation in the private rented sector is detailed in the Private Rented Sector Access Fund Policy.
Keyways housing allocation scheme
The Keyways housing allocation scheme sets out how we allocate social housing.
Northamptonshire housing protocol for care-experienced young people
Young people leaving care are one of the most vulnerable groups in society and often lack the benefit of a supportive family. The transition to adulthood can be overwhelming, particularly the demands associated with living independently in a new home.
Northamptonshire's joint housing protocol for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and / or require accommodation
Our protocol confirming how we deal with 16 and 17 year old who may become homeless, require accommodation or need support in this area.
Private sector housing policy
The private sector housing policy sets out the areas the Council covers in relation to private sector housing including disabled facility grants and other grants, empty properties, immigration inspections and houses in multiple occupation, in addition to support for tenants. Information is included on the application process and conditions relating to grant funding and minimum standards for houses in multiple occupation. The document should be read in conjunction with the Council's joint enforcement policy.
Private Rented Sector Access Fund policy
The Private Rented Sector Access Fund policy sets out when households who are owed certain homelessness duties could be considered for a payment from the Fund to secure suitable and affordable accommodation in the private rented sector (it also details that the Fund will be used to make offers of suitable private rented sector accommodation to discharge certain homelessness duties).
Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) policy
The policy confirming the arrangements that the Council will put into place to ensure that anyone who is known to be sleeping rough in its area during periods of severe weather are not at even further risk:
Temporary accommodation policy
The Temporary Accommodation policy sets out how the Council will meet its statutory duties and exercise its powers in relation to the provision (and withdrawal of) of suitable temporary accommodation for homeless households. This includes when temporary accommodation will be provided, and how different types of temporary accommodation will be allocated and prioritised.
Last updated 24 July 2024