Complaining to the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations

Complaints can also be made to the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has produced a complaints procedure. In initiating a complaint, contact should first be made with the co-ordinator of the SFHA's Equality and Standards section. Complaints will only be considered if they are a breach or could potentially breach the SFHA's Members' Charter or one of the Codes of Conduct issued by SFHA. The current Codes of Conduct are:

• Code of Governance: Governing Body Members (February 2003)

• Code of Conduct: Stock Transfers (June 2001)

• Code of Conduct: Equal Opportunities (May 2002).

The Codes of Conduct are available on request from SFHA's website.

If the complaint is not a breach of the Members' Charter or a Code then the SFHA will advise the complainant of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman service. Any complaint should be made in writing; if not, the complainant will be sent a record of her/his complaint, asking her/him to sign and return it in confirmation. Complainants are expected to exhaust the registered social landlord's own complaints procedure in the first instance.

If a landlord refuses to co-operate with corrective action recommended by the SFHA, the SFHA's Equal Opportunity and Standards Committee has several options, including:

• conducting further correspondence and/or visits

• placing an article in Federation Focus (the SFHA's monthly magazine)

• advising the complainant of the Ombudsman and the Scottish Housing Regulator as other options for pursuing her/his complaint

• suspending the landlord from SFHA and removal of the SFHA Service Mark

• expelling the landlord from the SFHA.

The last two options would only be taken as a last resort where the complaint was considered to be of such a nature that to continue a landlord's membership would be to the detriment of the SFHA and wider social housing movement (for example, ongoing racially discriminatory practices). The SFHA would also inform the Scottish Housing Regulator if these sanctions were applied.