As the Member Responsible for Complaints at Arpeggio Properties, I am pleased to be able to share this comprehensive Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report for the financial year 2024/25 with our residents, colleagues and key partners on behalf of the Arpeggio Properties Board.

Ensuring that we are listening to our residents and that we are working together to provide the services and support that matters most is at the heart of our strategy at Arpeggio Properties. While on one hand, it is disappointing to see even a small number of complaints about our services, we also see the complaints as providing us with valuable information to identify any weakness in our processes or delivery of services. This report sets out some reasons why the complaints arose. I am confident that our complaint process is accessible to those who need it and am assured that our operational teams are focused on putting things right for our residents and improving customer experience right across the organisation.

This report demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement and our commitment to working with our residents. A copy of the report has been shared with our Board for review and discussion. Through regular quarterly complaint reporting, we continue to support the Arpeggio Board as well as the leadership team of our managing agents to identify areas for focus and improvement.

As a Board we are particularly encouraged by the following:

Focus on learnings: The new approaches to learning from complaints, including risk meetings and reporting to the Board, demonstrate a proactive approach to improvement.

Service improvements: Keeping of relevant records to improve our understanding of resident experience.

Compliance: The annual self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code confirms Arpeggio Properties’ compliance with the recently updated Code, demonstrating our commitment to best practice and engagement with the Service.

The Board recognise the need to provide a responsive and effective complaint handling service to residents and fully support the new complaints team structure for the coming financial year. The focus on resolving complaints as early as possible to improve the experience of our residents and to put things right promptly is welcomed and the progress of this new approach will be monitored through the Customer Service Committee.

As the Member Responsible for Complaints, I am confident that Arpeggio Properties will continue to work together with our residents to improve our services, learning from each complaint and improving services to meet the expectations of the Housing Ombudsman, and most importantly, our residents.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report outlines the annual complaint performance for financial year 2024/25 and the key learnings and service improvements made following resolution of complaints. The report is a requirement of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code (section 8.1).

It is important to us that our complaint process is accessible to our residents and work has taken place this year to ensure that residents are aware of the complaint process and feel comfortable to contact us about concerns. Awareness has been supported by national and social media campaigns, including the Department for Levelling-up, Housing and Communities “make it right” campaign.  We now have a dedicated complaints officer role to ensure that the process is given the required priority.

As part of our commitment to maintaining a positive complaint handling culture within the organisation, learnings and service improvements will be identified from complaints and HOS cases. These learnings have and will continue to influence changes in service delivery and policy in the past year and will continue to do so in the coming year.

In line with the HOS Complaint Handling Code, a self-assessment against the requirements of the revised Code, which came into effect on 1st April this year, has been completed. The self- assessment has determined that our complaint policy and processes are fully compliant with the Code requirements.

BACKGROUND

As a member of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, Arpeggio Properties must comply with the Complaint Handling Code.

Section 8 and 9 of the Code outline the reporting, scrutiny and oversight requirements for scheme members to ensure compliance with the Code. Landlords are required to complete an annual complaints performance and service improvement report, to share this report with their Board, and to publish the report with a response from the Board on their website by no later than 30th June each year.

COMPLAINTS PERFORMACE 24/25

During the year, we received a total of nine complaints compared to four the previous year. The increase in complaints was as a result of customers being encouraged to raise any issues that they were having through our communications channels.  All of these of these complaints were resolved at the first stage and none of the complaints were escalated to the second stage. However, one of the complaints was not responded to in the required timescale in writing. Although the customer was spoken to and the complaint dealt with verbally within the required timeframes, the learning was picked up for the operational teams to ensure that formal replies are provided as well.

This complaint was also sent to the Ombudsman but after full information was provided on the case, the complaint was not upheld.

SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE LEARNING

This year the Housing Ombudsman Service published two Spotlight reports sharing best practice with housing providers on thematic issues. The reports related to Knowledge and Information Management and Attitudes, Respect and Rights. We have reviewed these reports in detail and identified several learnings which are being taken forward by teams across Arpeggio Properties.

In addition, a governance and consumer standards specialist has been brought in to ensure that our policies and procedures are fit for purpose and to ensure that we have incorporated best practice across our housing management function for all our customers.

ANNUAL SELF ASSESMENT

The Housing Ombudsman Service Complaint Handling Code requires all scheme members to self- assess their complaint policy and processes against the requirements of the Code. The self- assessment must be reviewed and approved by the Board at least annually. Once approved, the self-assessment is published on our website along with this annual complaint performance and service improvement report.

This year’s self-assessment can be viewed on our website and outlines our full compliance with the revised Code which came into effect from 1st April. To ensure compliance, the Complaints Policy was updated and approved by the Board. The Complaint Policy can also be found on our website.

Governing body’s response to Annual Complaints and Service Improvement Report 2025

Arpeggio Properties Limited understands that things can, and do, go wrong. Resident complaints give us an invaluable opportunity to hear concerns, understand experiences, and effectively address issues. This feedback is crucial—it helps us learn, adapt, and improve.

We pride ourselves in ensuring residents have been provided with clear routes of communication to feedback any issues, either to the management team on the ground or directly to our central office. The focus of Arpeggio Properties’ Board is to provide the best services to residents and service users. Members rigorously scrutinise the quality of services, analyse trends, and challenge performance to ensure we are working to the highest standards.

As the Board Lead for Complaints, I am deeply committed to making it easier for residents to raise concerns and ensuring issues are promptly resolved. I recognise the importance of the work of the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing increasingly holding the sector accountable for the quality of services provided. Our Annual Complaints and Service Improvement Report shows an increase in the number of complaints—a trend that mirrors the reported experience of housing providers across the country.

While we are compliant with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code, there is always room for improvement. With fellow Board Members, my role is to ensure that Arpeggio Properties is never complacent. We are committed to working closely with residents to understand their concerns and continually improve the quality of our

services. Resident feedback is essential in helping achieve this, and we are dedicated to making meaningful improvements based on residents’ insights.

Simon Berrill, BoardMember