Complaints procedure

Any dissatisfaction with a council service is a complaint.

You can make a complaint online, call 01227 862 000, or write to us at:

Canterbury City Council   
14 Rose Lane
Canterbury   
CT1 2UR

Your complaint may be directed straight to the service area, or through the customer contact centre.

Complaints are different from a request for service. For example, a one-off message to say that a bin has been missed could be a request for service, whereas an ongoing situation with repeated missed bins is likely to be a complaint.

What happens after I make a complaint?

Stage one

We aim to acknowledge your complaint within five working days, and provide a reply within 10 working days of the acknowledgment. 

If the complaint is very complex and needs an extension to this timescale, then we will tell you when you can expect a reply. Any extension will be no more than 10 working days without good reason, and we will clearly explain the reasons for the extension to you.

If you're unhappy with the response, please contact the department or individual who dealt with it. The majority of queries are usually resolved at this stage.

Stage two

If you're still not satisfied with our response, you can ask for another officer to review your case. 

We aim to acknowledge your request for a review within five working days, and provide a reply within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.

If the complaint is very complex and needs an extension to this timescale, then we will tell you when you can expect a reply. Any extension will be no more than 20 working days without good reason, and we will clearly explain the reasons for the extension to you.

Referring a complaint to the Ombudsman

If you are still not satisfied with the reply you can then refer your complaint to the relevant Ombudsman.

If your complaint is about Canterbury City Council as a landlord, you should contact the Housing Ombudsman. 

For any other complaints, contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Both Ombudsman are independent of Canterbury City Council.

Their role is to investigate specific complaints about local authorities. The Ombudsman will usually only consider a complaint after it has been through both stages of our complaints procedure, so please make sure you have exhausted our complaints process before contacting them.

Complaints procedure documents

Response to the housing self-assessment and service improvement plan

The Annual Complaints Performance Report, Service Improvement Report, and the self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code were presented to Cabinet on 30 June 2026. All councillors that were present were invited to comment.

The Cabinet member for housing, Cllr Pip Hazelton, provides the following additional response to the Cabinet minutes:

"As the Cabinet member responsible for housing complaints, I have had sight of the council’s complaints performance information for 2025–2026, including the self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and the associated service improvement plan.

I am satisfied these documents provide a comprehensive and accurate reflection of the council’s complaint handling performance and arrangements.

I welcome the progress made over the past year, particularly in strengthening oversight, improving complaint handling processes and embedding learning from complaints into service delivery.

However, it is clear there remain areas requiring continued focus, including maintaining timeliness of responses and addressing underlying service issues that drive complaints.

I am satisfied there is a clear and appropriate service improvement plan in place, supported by ongoing monitoring and management oversight, and I will continue to receive regular updates to ensure that further improvements are delivered.”