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Complaint to the Housing Executive or a housing association about repairs (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for tenants
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For a tenant of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive or a housing association whose repairs have not been done, or not done properly — damp and mould, leaks, heating. The letter makes a formal complaint, or asks for the final stage of the landlord’s complaints procedure, setting out the problems, when you reported them, the effect on your household and what you want done. Both take complaints online or by phone too, free. After the final stage, the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman can look at it, normally within six months.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You rent from the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland and the mould keeps coming back.
- Your housing association sent someone who painted over the damp and left.
- You have reported the same repair again and again and nothing changes.
- You want to make a formal complaint about repairs to your social home.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- Town or city
- Tenant's postcode
- Date
- Housing Executive office or housing association
- Its postal address, with the postcode on the last line
- Stage of the complaint
- Tenancy or complaint reference (optional)
- The repairs needed, room by room, and when each problem began
- When and how you reported the problems, and any reply
- Effect on your health, belongings or use of the home (optional)
- When you can give access for an inspection or repairs (optional)
- First-stage answer: its date and why it did not resolve the complaint (optional)
- What you ask the landlord to do (e.g. repairs by a date, compensation)
Common questions
- How do I complain to the Housing Executive about repairs that are not done?
- Report the repair first, through the Housing Executive’s repairs line or online, and note the reference. If it is still not put right, complain — online, by phone or in writing, all free. A local manager answers at the first stage; if you are still unhappy, ask for the final stage, where a Director or the Chief Executive reviews it. This letter works for either stage and keeps a record.
- When can I go to the Ombudsman about my Housing Executive or housing association home?
- Once the landlord’s own complaints procedure has ended — after its final-stage answer. The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman looks at complaints about the Housing Executive and housing associations, free, and a complaint should normally reach it within six months of the end of that procedure (section 26 of the Public Services Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016). Send it the landlord’s answers and your evidence.
- What evidence helps a complaint about damp and mould in a social home in Northern Ireland?
- Dated photos of each room over time, the date and reference number of every repair report, notes of visits and what was promised, letters from a GP or health visitor about the effect on anyone’s health, and any damaged belongings and their cost. Say what you already do to heat and ventilate the home. A clear timeline makes the answer — and any later complaint to the Ombudsman — much quicker.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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