Cabinet received Minute OSC22/28 arising from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) held on 17 October 2022 that had considered the proposed Rother District Council Owned / Leased Accommodation Complaints Handling Policy.  In 2020, Rother District Council had become a Registered Provider of accommodation and thus far, owned 24 units of accommodation and one unit of accommodation that the Council leased and managed. The number of units of accommodation the Council owned and leased was set to rise further as the scale of the Temporary Accommodation Support Scheme and leasing scheme were increased.

The Complaints Handling Policy would apply to all activity undertaken by Council staff or contractors that might be involved in property management and support of tenants.  An annual report would be made to the Audit and Standards Committee whose remit included an overview of all complaint handling, in accordance with the statutory requirement; should more frequent reports be requested, i.e. twice yearly, this could be accommodated, although very few complaints were likely.  

Cabinet was pleased to acknowledge that this Policy was required as a direct consequence of the Council becoming a registered provider of accommodation and recommended that the Rother District Council Owned / Leased Accommodation Complaints Handling Policy be approved and adopted.

RECOMMENDED: That the Rother District Council Owned / Leased Accommodation Complaints Handling Policy be approved and adopted.