University of Cambridge Housing Services – Residents’ Complaints Policy                      

Nov 2024

There may be occasions or circumstances when tenants in University owned housing wish to register dissatisfaction with the service being delivered and seek support from Housing Services to resolve a particular issue or concern. The process for doing so is escalatory in nature and is articulated in full below. 

Housing Services will endeavour to resolve complaints quickly and tenants are advised to raise any complaint as soon as practicable and where possible within fifteen days and certainly within three months of the event or events giving rise to the complaint.

All complaints will be treated confidentially. A third party will be only contacted about a complaint if the tenant making the complaint agrees, but it should be noted that in some cases it may not be possible fully to investigate the complaint without contacting third parties who are involved or affected.

Informal Stage

The informal stage process for all tenants is to contact their Housing Adviser by email (universityresidences@admin.cam.ac.uk) or in person to explain the issue or concern.  The Housing Adviser will aim to resolve the matter quickly and to the tenant’s satisfaction.  If the Housing Adviser is unable to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the tenant, a formal complaint should be raised by the tenant, following the procedure detailed below.

Formal Stage

Stage 1

Formal complaints should be raised in writing to an Accommodation Service Manager who will endeavour to resolve the matter quickly. The complaint should be raised by email to: universityresidences@admin.cam.ac.uk explaining the concern and including any relevant supporting detail. Emails should be titled ‘Complaint – for the Attention the Accommodation Service Manager’. The Accommodation Service Manager will acknowledge receipt of the complaint and will seek to respond formally within 15 working days, subject to the availability of all necessary information, to explain what action has been taken or is proposed to be taken. If more time is needed to complete an investigation the tenant will be informed. 

Stage 2

If the complaint cannot be resolved to the tenant’s satisfaction by the Accommodation Service Manager, or the tenant considers the issue too serious, the complaint should be elevated to the Head of the Accommodation Service. In such circumstances the tenant should write to the Head of the Accommodation Service (by email to universityresidences@admin.cam.ac.uk or by post to the Head of the Accommodation Service, University of Cambridge Accommodation Service, Kellet Lodge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QJ) explaining the nature of the complaint and attaching any supporting documentation, including photographs where appropriate. Emails should be titled ‘Complaint – for the Attention of the Head of the Accommodation Service’. The complainant should contact the Head of the Accommodation Service as soon as practicable after the event or events giving rise to the compliant, or after the Stage 1 response from the Accommodation Service manager has been received.

The Housing Services Senior Leadership Team (SLT), which comprises the Head of Housing Services, the Head of the Accommodation Service and the Head of Housing Operations, will convene to consider the complaint and may meet the complainant in person or online to discuss the matter.  They will undertake an investigation which may include meetings with other persons who are involved or affected.  Following full consideration of the complaint, the Head of the Accommodation Service will respond in writing within 15 working days, explaining what action the Housing Services SLT has proposed is taken to resolve the complaint. If more time is needed to complete an investigation the tenant will be informed. 

Stage 3

If the tenant is dissatisfied with the decision of the Housing Services SLT, the tenant may refer the matter to the relevant University Housing Designated Body (HDB) for review. A referral to the HDB must be made by the tenant in writing to the Secretary of the HDB (TBC), or to the Head of the Accommodation Service for forwarding, as soon as practicable after tenant was informed of the decision of the Housing Services SLT. The HDB may appoint a sub-committee of not less than three of its members to conduct the review.

The review will take place at a meeting of the relevant sub-committee, which will be convened as soon as reasonably practicable. Documentation put before members of the HDB, or sub-committee conducting the review, shall be made available to the tenant and to the Housing Services SLT, who shall be entitled to make representations, if the Chair deems it appropriate. The HDB will determine whether they can make a decision with the information provided or whether a meeting with the complainant or any other persons is necessary.  If a meeting is convened, this may take place remotely or in person at the discretion of the HDB.  Other persons who are involved or affected may be invited to submit evidence; the tenant, the Housing Services SLT and such other persons may be questioned by members of the HDB or sub-committee conducting the review, as deemed necessary. The Chair of the meeting, or their deputy, may determine the procedure for the conduct of the meeting.

The members of the HDB, or sub-committee conducting the review, will seek to make a decision as soon as possible. The decision will be confirmed in writing to the tenant and to the Housing Services SLT.  Such decision is the final stage of the internal complaints procedure.

External Redress

If the tenant is a student and recourse to the University’s internal complaints procedure has not resulted in the resolution of the complaint to the student’s satisfaction, the student may wish to consider pursuing the complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), providing the complaint is eligible under its rules.

Any tenant who remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal complaints process may also raise the issue externally to the Property Redress Scheme, of which the University is a member, at this link: Consumer Resource (theprs.co.uk).