Annual complaints handling and service improvement report
We hear from customers in many different ways, and complaints help us understand how our services are experienced. Looking across complaints helps us spot shared themes and learn from similar experiences, so we can focus on changes that make a difference for customers now and in the future. By stepping back from individual issues, we can see what’s working well and where things could be clearer. If we get it wrong we want to put it right as quickly as possible and agree the resolution with the customer.
Alongside this learning, we look carefully at what could work better and keep customers informed, so they understand what’s happening and what comes next.
Each year, we review how our complaints process is working to make sure it remains clear, fair and effective. We publish our self‑assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code on our website, and we continue to meet the code in all areas.
"As Chair of VIVID's Customer Service Committee, I take a keen interest in every complaint, working with colleagues to ensure we understand what matters most to our customers and what more we need to do to improve the service we offer.
We're working harder than ever to use data driven insight to improve the customer experience, working closely with customers who continue to play an active role in shaping our services through scrutiny panels, insight meetings, feedback sessions and service improvement groups. Our approach will continue to be open, transparent and focused on improvement, recognising where things are going well, but targeting improvement actions where we know we have more to do."
- Jo Moran, Chair of Customer Service Committee
Complaints resolution 2025-26
3,339
complaints resolved overall
72.6%
stage 1 complaints resolved
27.4%
stage 2 complaints resolved
99.7%
complaints resolved within targets
Complaint themes
We take time to understand all our complaints, which helps build a clearer picture of the themes behind them and where changes could make a difference for more customers.
Click on each button to learn more about this year’s top 3 themes:
Themes of resolved complaints
standard of work
customer service
appointments
Other themes were neighbourhoods (7.43%), quality of home (5.17%) and tenancy (4.62%)
Ombudsman performance summary and learnings
If a complaint is not resolved to a customer’s satisfaction through our complaints process, they can contact the Housing Ombudsman for an independent review. We work with the Ombudsman as part of this process to support a fair outcome.
The chart below shows how many complaints the Ombudsman contacted us about. Enquiries are cases where our complaints process had not yet concluded and were referred back to us to complete. Referrals are cases where we had already issued our final Stage 2 response, and the customer asked the Ombudsman to review how we handled their complaint.
Over the year to 31 March 2026, we received 3,377 complaints, with the Housing Ombudsman carrying out independent investigations into 57 cases. Each investigation results in a determination, which may include more than one outcome, referred to as findings.
Of the cases reviewed, 2 were outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and four were withdrawn by customers. In 20 cases, no maladministration was found. There were 26 findings of service failure and 33 findings of maladministration, including 2 findings of severe maladministration.
Where we saw that things hadn’t worked as they should, we were open about this and offered redress within our complaints process on 29 additional occasions.
Redress
No maladministration
Maladministration
Severe maladministration
Service failure
Outside jurisdiction
Determination and compliance
The Housing Ombudsman will decide whether the complaint can be investigated further and, where an investigation is carried out, their determination is published on their website.
The website includes a filter that can be used to find all determinations relating to us, listed under ‘VIVID’. We also link to this page from our own website, alongside information about our complaints process, our self‑assessment and our annual Ombudsman performance.
Findings of non-compliance with the code
The Housing Ombudsman can issue orders for non‑compliance with the Complaint Handling Code, known as Complaint Handling Failure Orders (CHFOs). We have no findings of non‑compliance with the code.
Housing Ombudsman performance report
Each year, the Housing Ombudsman publishes a report summarising our performance for complaint cases escalated to them, including how we compare with other landlords. The most recent report covers April 2024 to March 2025 and shows that our overall maladministration rate reduced from 73% in 2023-24 to 53%. Over the same period, the national average maladministration rate was 71%.
Learning from complaints
We are committed to learning and improving, and feedback from customers and the Housing Ombudsman plays an important role in shaping that work. Each quarter, we share what we’ve learned, and the changes made as a result, with the VIVID Customer Scrutiny Panel (VCSP). We also hold regular feedback sessions, including monthly insight meetings where we look closely at what complaints are telling us. We have customer sessions too – so we can keep learning and improving, together.
These conversations help ensure we’re listening carefully and adapting our services to better reflect customer needs. Some of the initiatives introduced over the past year include:
Spotlight reports
The Housing Ombudsman issues ‘spotlight reports’ which are designed to focus on an area of service provision where they see a high level of landlord failure.
Last year, we contributed to the ‘Repairing Trust' Spotlight Report on repairs and maintenance’, welcoming a visit from the Ombudsman ahead of the publication in May 2025.
The report highlights a significant increase in complaints relating to repairs and property condition, across all registered landlords and identifies recurring causes of service failure, and reinforces the importance of trust, communication, accurate information, and timely resolution in delivering effective repairs services. The themes and recommendations within the report closely align with issues identified through our own complaint analysis during the year.
It was positive to see reference in the report to our automatic calling and texting system - to confirm appointments ahead of time - alongside our process to capture and monitor our complaint outcomes and communication with customers and how this can contribute to an effective repairs service, building trust with our customers.
We’ve taken time to look at the findings and recommendations from the Repairing Trust report and used what we’ve learned to improve how we approach repairs, complaints and service improvement.
Key actions include:
- Repairs and diagnosis: We’ve reviewed how repairs are diagnosed and monitored, with a focus on reducing repeat repairs and avoiding temporary fixes where a permanent solution is required
- Communication and customer experience: We’ve reinforced expectations around clear, timely, and respectful communication with customer’s, particularly where repairs are delayed or complex
- Property and knowledge management: We’ve improved how property information is recorded and shared across teams, recognising the Ombudsman’s emphasis on accurate records as a foundation for effective service delivery
- Learning from complaints: Complaint outcomes and Ombudsman determinations relating to repairs are regularly reviewed to identify patterns, themes, and opportunities for service improvement
- Contractor oversight: We’ve developed a ‘contractor portal’ and strengthened contract management and expectations of contractors, including conduct in customer’s homes and communication standards
Making better use of what we know
Over the past year, we’ve focused on making better use of the information we already have, from complaints and recurring issues to the patterns we see across services. This helps us identify where things need to improve and take action more quickly.
Bringing everything together is helping us improve repair quality, reduce waiting times, and make it easier for customers to access simple fixes through our online account help and support.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue to build on this approach, making it easier to turn information into practical improvements and ensuring support is easier to access when it’s needed. Customers can also find more about their rights and the services we’re required to provide here.
