Working in housing puts professionals in a position of trust in relation to their customers, employers and the public who rely on them to make professional judgements. CIH has a responsibility to maintain professional standards in the sector and to ensure housing professionals are equipped to make effective decisions in challenging situations.
CIH’s professional standards, code of ethics and code of conduct provide a profession-wide shared view of the standards of ethical and professional behaviour that are expected of others working within housing and related sectors. All CIH members are required to adhere to these principles.
Professional conduct of CIH members is overseen by the CIH professional standards committee.
What we can investigate
We can investigate complaints about current individual CIH members.
Public conduct issues
If a CIH member breaches the code of conduct in the public domain.
For example, if a CIH member is:
- Convicted of a criminal offence
- Found guilty of fraudulent activity or malpractice
- Removed from their employment/role due to unlawful, inappropriate, offensive, discriminatory or unethical behaviour
- The subject of media coverage following their breach of the code of conduct.
Complaints raised by others
We can investigate breaches of the Code of Conduct reported by a member of the public or another CIH member.
For example, if a CIH member breaches the principles and any of its sub-items listed in the code of conduct:
- Act with integrity and respect
- Maintain professional competence
- Be responsible and accountable.
What we do not investigate
We cannot investigate complaints about:
- Individuals who are not CIH members
- Organisations or employers which CIH members are employed by
- Housing providers, landlords, or housing associations
- Local authorities or housing services
- Tenancy disputes or service complaints (for example repairs, allocations, or evictions)
- Recruitment or job application decisions made by housing organisations
- Matters covered by general law (employment legislation, criminal activity, GDPR breaches, etc)
- Complaints which are currently being investigated as part of a disciplinary process by the member’s employer
If your complaint is not about a CIH member, there are other organisations that may assist a complainant in these circumstances where the professional standards committee will not investigate.
- GOV.UK - Help, advice and information about public services in England and Wales.
- Acas - Confidential, free advice for anyone who needs employment law or workplace advice.
- Housing Ombudsman Service - Free, independent and impartial service for complaints about housing organisations, and dispute resolution involving the tenants and leaseholders of social landlords (housing associations and local authorities).
- Protect - Free expert and confidential advice on how best to raise concerns and protection as a whistle-blower.
How to submit a complaint about a CIH member
Before submitting a complaint, we would recommend you try to resolve your concerns directly first. This can be the quickest and best way to deal with a complaint or problem..
Step 1: Check you have evidence
At CIH, membership is considered on an individual basis. You must be able to evidence a direct interaction with the member in question, where their conduct breaches the CIH code of conduct or falls short if its principles.
You must submit evidence of your complaint against an individual current CIH member: evidence is something that proves that the facts of your complaint are true and can support your complaint; the evidence must be relevant to the complaint, and please ensure these are well organised (for instance, in chronological order).
Essential evidence to gather and submit with your complaint:
- Documentation: such as receipts, invoices, contracts, the outcome of a complaint process (example from the Housing Ombudsman Service)
- Correspondence: such as emails, letters, phone calls records (including names, dates, and times).
- Visual/audio evidence: such as photographs, videos, screenshots.
Please note:
- We are unable to assist with complaints against organisations: these should be addressed through the organisation’s complaints process.
- We will not be able to assist if you are unable to provide evidence.
- Personal accounts of an issue cannot be admitted as evidence.
Step 2: Send us your complaint
Being involved in a complaint can be a frustrating process, however we do expect you to engage with us in a way that does not hamper our ability to carry out our work effectively and efficiently.
We have a zero-tolerance approach to any threats of harm or harassment towards our staff members.
However, if you do need to make a complaint to CIH about a CIH member, please send us:
- Name and contact details of complainant
- Name of the individual the complaint refers to
- Your relationship to the individual (colleague, client, contractor, etc)
- The specific allegations you are making against the individual (including reference to the specific criteria within the code of conduct to which this refers)
- Evidence to support your complaint including details of any communication to date with the member the complaint is against.
Any form of malicious complaints are subject to be investigated as a breach of the code of conduct and disciplinary action.
Submit your complaint about a CIH member
Submit online
The quickest and easiest way to submit your complaint is to use our online form.
Submit by email or post
Alternatively, if you are unable to use the online form, you can download and complete a form and send it to us:
- Download and complete the form
- Email: professionalstandards@cih.org
- Or post:
FAO Professional Standards Team– Complaints against CIH members
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)
Suites 5 and 6, Rowan House, Westwood Way
Coventry, CV4 8HS
Please note: CIH can only investigate complaints about the professional conduct of a current individual CIH member in relation to the CIH code of conduct.
Initial informal investigation by CIH professional standards manager
- We will inform the member in question that a complaint has been made against them, providing the details, to seek their views informally and establish the facts of the situation.
- Within 10 working days of receipt of the complaint, an outcome is recommended to professional standards committee: no case to action if the complaint is too trivial/ no evidence has been submitted by complainant, mediation or formal referral to professional standards committee.
- Professional standards manager provides a written confirmation of outcome of informal investigation and next steps (if any) both to complainant and member.
Formal investigation by professional standards committee
- Chair of professional standards committee informs member in question of move to formal investigation - setting out nature of allegation, identifying specific code of conduct criteria that may have been breached and requesting their observations
- Member provides a written response within 10 working days (or can request an oral hearing, accompanied/represented by a person of their choosing) . The member must provide their views via a form (insert form 2) within 10 working days. The investigation will continue its course even if the form and comments have not been received
- Professional standards committee carries out full investigation.
Timings: 40 working days
Communicate outcomes of investigation
- Within 40 working days of stage 2, outcome of investigation is communicated by the chair of professional standards committee to the complainant, member and CIH governing board.
Potential outcomes:
Following a full investigation of a complaint, the following sanctions can be applied:
Action:
- PSC provides written confirmation of the outcome to the complainant, the member and the CIH governing board, no further action is taken
The member’s conduct has not breached the code however it falls short of CIH’s acceptable standards of professional practice
Action:
PSC provides written confirmation of the outcome including guidance to address the issues identified to the complainant, the member and the CIH governing board.
PSC provides written confirmation of the outcome to the complainant, the member and the CIH governing board.
According to the severity and impact of the findings, the member may:
- Be issued with a formal warning to rectify their conduct
- Be suspended for a maximum of two years, when the member needs to re-apply for membership, and demonstrate they are ready to return to membership after meeting with the review panel
- Be removed from the CIH membership
Members who have been found to have breached the code of conduct have the right to lodge an appeal based on the following specific circumstances:
- You have new facts or evidence that were not available to you during the investigation stage, and which may be relevant for the original decision; or
- You are challenging the facts or evidence on which the professional standards committee relied when making their decision, as inaccurate
Please note, we will not be able to review the professional standards committee’s decision due to you disagreeing with the decision made on the original evidence presented.
The appeal must be lodged in writing within two weeks of receiving notification of the outcome of the complaint, attaching the new facts or evidence, explaining how these should change the original decision. Appeals will be considered by nominated members of the governing board, the outcome of this investigation will be communicated in 60 working days. Should it take longer due to the complexity of the case, this will be communicated to the member.
Except in exceptional circumstances, when we deal with a complaint, we are committed to protecting the confidentiality and reputation of both sides as far as possible. We disclose a complaint only if it reaches a professional standards committee hearing, with information only disclosed if necessary to properly investigate the matter, and in accordance to the Data Protection Act 2018. We ask that both you and the member have the same respect for confidentiality.
In the event of finding that there has been a breach of the code of conduct, CIH reserves the right to give publicity to the breach, and any subsequent disciplinary actions, in the interests of CIH and the public, always in accordance to the Data Protection Act 2018.
Being involved in a complaint can be very difficult; for further support you can reach out to:
- Citizens Advice is an independent organisation specialising in confidential information and advice to assist people with legal, debt, consumer, housing and other problems
- For England and Wales: Citizen’s Advice Bureau
- For Scotland: Citizen’s Advice Scotland
- For Northern Ireland: Citizen’s Advice Northern Ireland
- Employee assistance programme provided by own organisation
- Trade Union if affiliated.
We are committed to providing a high-quality, professional service to everyone who contacts us. If something goes wrong, please tell us and we will do everything we can to sort out your concerns. You can use our complaints procedure if you remain unhappy with our service.
Contact us
If you have questions about the complaints process, need help completing the form, or are unsure whether your complaint can be investigated, please get in touch with the CIH Professional Standards Team:
- Email: professionalstandards@cih.org
- Phone: 024 7685 1700
