Complaint Handling Code annual submissions form
About the Complaint Handling Code annual submissions
The Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code became statutory on 1 April 2024 following a consultation with landlords, residents and other bodies.
Part of the new statutory nature of the Code means that landlords are required to submit an annual submission of their performance against the Code to ensure they are compliant.
Changes to the year 2 (2025-26) annual submission dates
Thank you to all landlords that have completed the Complaint Handling Code annual submission form for 2024-25. It was an important process, which fulfils your statutory requirements against the Complaint Handling Code.
Feedback captured during a review of the process found the submission timescale challenging to meet due to various operational requirements. We also carried out extensive engagement work through in-person events and surveys to further understand the barriers landlords faced.
We have listened to your feedback and made some changes for year 2:
- submissions for landlords with over 1,000 homes to be provided by 30 September
- submissions for landlords with under 1,000 homes to be provided within 6 months after their financial year-end
- we have a new and updated annual submission form for year 2 (2025-26), which is now accepting submissions - please note the self-assessment questions have not changed
- we are developing more tools for the Member Responsible for Complaints and the next conference is 15 October 2025 - registration for this will be available soon
- we have revised guidance and new FAQs to support landlords to complete the new submission
Complete the annual submission form for year 2
Frequently asked questions
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What is an annual submission?
The Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code became statutory on 1 April 2024 following a consultation with landlords, residents, and other bodies.
This means that member landlords must submit an annual submission of their performance against the Code to ensure they are compliant.
As part of the annual submission, landlords must provide a copy of its complaints policy, a published self-assessment, annual complaints performance and service improvement report and its governing body's response.
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When will landlords have to complete the annual submission?
Landlords with over 1,000 homes need to submit information to the Ombudsman by 30 September each year. Submissions for landlords with under 1,000 homes will be 6 months after the financial year-end.
Landlords will receive notification from the Ombudsman confirming its submission date and this information will also be available on our website and via our landlord newsletter.
As part of its submission the landlord must provide the following:
- its complaints policy
- a completed self-assessment
- an annual complaints performance and service improvement report
A response from its governing body (or equivalent) to demonstrate that they have scrutinised the contents of the report and the self-assessment and are satisfied that the report is an accurate reflection of the landlord’s complaint handling service position.
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Which reporting year does the data need to reflect?
Landlords will be expected to report on its complaint performance from the previous financial year in the annual complaints’ performance and service improvement report.
For example:
- a large landlord submitting on the 30 September 2025, the complaints report must cover it's financial year April 2024 to March 2025
- a small landlord with a financial year end of 31 December 2025 must provide its annual submission no later than 30 June 2026 (6 months after its year-end) and the complaints report must cover the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025
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What is a self-assessment?
Landlords are required to self-assess to test their policies and practices are compliant with the Complaint Handling Code.
The self-assessment is a tool for landlords to evaluate their complaint procedure. This exercise ensures consistency in complaint handling across all housing providers, regardless of its size or operating model.
How to access the new form
The Complaint Handling Code annual submissions form is available on our engagement platform. To complete the form, landlords are required to register and create an account or use the same account from last year's submission.
Once registered, landlords can access the form multiple times before submitting.
The form should take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete and you can save the form at the end of each page using the 'save and continue' function and return to it at a later date if required.
Annual submissions for year 1 (2024-25)
The information on this page is for those looking to complete the 2025-26 annual submission form.
For guidance and support completing the 2024-25 annual submission contact compliance@housing-ombudsman.org.uk.