Summer 2002 Edition
Schedule Of Meetings On Schemes
Information About Repairs And How To Report A Repair
Dealing With An Emergency Repair Outside Office Hours
Methods Of Paying Your Rent
Advice And Contact Information
Advice On What To Do If You Have Secured Alternative Accommodation
Advice And Contact Information
Useful Adresses And Telephone Numbers
Advice For Applications, Transfers, Ulidia Tenants And Direct Exchanges
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COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

 

The Association aims to provide a high standard of service at all times, however there may be occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint. If so we will make every effort to resolve the problem quickly and to your satisfaction. Should this not be possible and you are unhappy with our response, you can make a formal complaint through our complaints procedure.

A complaint is only defined as such when it is a result of the services delivered by the Association. Other queries such as outstanding repairs and neighbour disputes do not fall under this category and are dealt with under our Repairs and Neighbour Disputes Procedures respectively .

Examples of complaints include

  • Failure to provide a service, fulfil a duty or carry out a policy
  • Dissatisfaction with one of our decisions, actions or policies or with the behaviour of our employees

Under normal circumstances a complaint must be reported to the Association in writing. However, if there are reasons why this is not possible please contact the Association and we shall arrange for a representative to call with you to discuss this further.  

How to make a formal Complaint

 

  1. All details of your complaint should be explained in writing and sent to our office at  20 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast. BT9 6FN. At all times your complaint will be dealt with confidentially.
  2. The written complaint will be acknowledged within 7 days and a Housing Officer will arrange a visit with you to discuss the complaint further.   Every effort will be made to carry out this visit within 14 days of the receipt date of the written complaint. 
  3. Should further action be required following the visit, the Association will investigate the matter and, if possible, issue a full reply within 14 days.   However in some cases, in order to address all points of issue and ensure a thorough investigation, this period of time may be inadequate. In such instances the Association will contact you, explaining the progress of your complaint and advise when you can expect a full reply.
  4. If after one month of receipt of the response from the Association, no further correspondence has been received regarding the complaint, the Association will assume the complaint has been satisfactorily dealt with and will take no further action. 
  5. However, if you remain unsatisfied with the Association's response, you can arrange to meet the Chief Executive Officer. The Chief Executive will discuss the complaint with you and where possible provide a written reply within 14 days.
  6. Once you have received your response and if you are still unhappy, you may appeal to the Board of Management, by writing to the Chairperson, at our Derryvolgie office. The Chairperson will endeavour to respond to your complaint within 14 days.
  7. Tenants have a right to bring complaints about the Association's actions to the Commissioner for Complaints for Northern Ireland (The Ombudsman). His office can be contacted for advice on Freephone 0800 343424 or by writing to the Ombudsman, Freepost BEL 1478 Belfast BT1 6BR. It should be noted that the Ombudsman normally expects that a tenant will have used the Association's internal complaints procedure before bringing a complaint to him.

   NEIGHBOUR DISPUTES PROCEDURE

The Association recognises that all tenants have a statutory right to the peaceful enjoyment of their home. The Association aims to protect this right through its Neighbour Disputes Policy. This Policy covers neighbour nuisance, anti-social behaviour and harassment.

Examples of common disputes include:

  • noisy neighbours
  • damage to property
  • problems with pets
  • abuse of communal spaces
  • boundary disputes.

 

If you are affected by any form of nuisance, it is usually sensible to attempt an amicable solution first, by contacting the person directly. In many cases, neighbours simply do not realise they are annoying other residents. However if this attempt fails, you can make a formal complaint to the Association, where the following Procedure will be followed:

How to report a Neighbour Dispute

  1. Under normal circumstances a neighbour disputes complaint must be reported to the Association in writing. However, if there are reasons why this is not possible, please contact the Association and we shall arrange for a representative to call with you to discuss this further.
  2. On receipt of the complaint, the Association will, under usual circumstances, write to you to arrange a visit within 7 days.  
  3. The Association will confirm your visit details within 14 days.
  4. Should further action be required following the visit, the Association will acknowledge the complaint in writing, within 14 days. The letter will confirm receipt of the complaint, details of the visit and where necessary, advise you to keep a diary of any events relating to the complaint and to contact relevant statutory bodies such as the Police Service of Northern Ireland, DHSS, Social Services, Local City/Town Council and Environmental Health. The action taken will depend on the nature of the complaint.  
  5. If the complaint indicates a clear breach of the Tenancy Agreement and can be dealt with without requiring reports/consultation with other agencies, the acknowledgement letter will explain the Association's proposed action. However, if the complaint needs to be substantiated by other agencies, this will be explained at this stage. If necessary, a letter will be sent to the tenant causing the disturbance and arrangements will be made to discuss the complaint made against them. If the complaint involves an outside agency, the agency will be identified and reasons for its involvement given.
  6. If after one month, no further correspondence has been received regarding the complaint, the Association will assume the dispute has been satisfactorily resolved and take no further action.
  7. However, if the dispute remains ongoing, the Association may offer mediation. This is when an independent third party is asked to help achieve a solution, by encouraging opposing parties to understand the other's point of view and reach a compatible solution.  
  8. If you are not satisfied with the way your case has been handled, you can arrange to speak to the Chief Executive.   The Chief Executive will discuss the complaint with you and where possible provide a written reply within 14 days.
  9. Should you remain unsatisfied, you may appeal to the Board of Management, by writing to the Chairperson at our Derryvolgie office. The Chairperson will endeavour to respond to the complaint within 14 days.
  10. Tenants have a right to bring complaints about the Association's actions to the Commissioner for Complaints for Northern Ireland (The Ombudsman). His office can be contacted for advice on Freephone 0800 343424 or by writing to the Ombudsman, Freepost BEL 1478 Belfast BT1 6BR. It should be noted that the Ombudsman normally expects that a tenant will have used the Association's internal complaints procedure before bringing a complaint to him.