City council complaints hit five-year high

Complaints made to Lincoln City Council have reached a five-year high, with housing issues seeing the biggest rise.

The authority said the increase was expected due to a new complaints policy, which better records tenants' dissatisfaction.

There were 562 complaints made in 2024-2025, compared to 418 the year before, with most of the increase related to tenancies, maintenance, repairs and other housing issues.

More than half (53%) of the total complaints made were upheld, a similar proportion to the previous year.

Social housing standards have become a bigger focus in recent years following the Grenfell Tower fire and the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak due to black mould in his council home.

The Housing Ombudsman Service introduced a complaint-handling code last year, which all social housing providers are legally required to follow.

A City of Lincoln Council report said they changed their complaints policy and "trained front-line staff to recognise and record expressions of dissatisfaction as formal complaints in line with the best practice outlined in the code".

The report added the council now records all informal complaints, something they did not previously do, which has contributed to the increase.

The lowest number of complaints in the last five years was 2020-21, when there were 260 altogether, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

When complaints are upheld, residents are given an apology and may be offered a form of redress.

The report also said several complaints about the Central Car Park were upheld and "as a result various improvements have been/will be undertaken this year".

The results will be discussed at a meeting later.

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