Definition of a complaint - Council housing complaint report 2025 to 2026
Based on the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman’s Code, Oxford City Council defines a complaint as:
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the Council, its staff, or those acting on behalf of the Council, affecting an individual citizen or group of citizens.
Service requests made for the first time and reports of anti-social/nuisance behaviour are not considered to be complaints for the purpose of our procedure.
Complaints about Councillors, Freedom of Information, Environmental Information and Subject Access Requests, objections to planning applications, or complaints from employees (unless being made as a qualifying resident) are subject to their own separate procedures and are also not included.
We may also not consider complaints where the issue has already been addressed in a previous complaint, where legal proceedings have started, or regarding incidents that occurred more than 12 months ago.
Complaints about Council services that do not relate to our role as a landlord are not included in this report.
