Last updated: 26 May 2026
Our commitment
We want you to be happy with the services you receive from SLS. If something goes wrong we want to know about it so we can put it right and learn from it. We aim to handle every complaint fairly, openly, and quickly — and to treat people with respect throughout the process.
Which entity is your complaint about?
SLS is made up of two connected but distinct legal entities. The complaints process is the same either way, but the route for external review at the end of the process depends on the type of issue:
- Care and support — provided by Supported Living Services Ltd. Care complaints not resolved by us can be escalated to the Care Quality Commission for regulatory matters, or to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for service-quality complaints.
- Housing, tenancy, repairs, rent and service charge — provided by SLS Housing Association. Housing complaints not resolved by us can be escalated to the Housing Ombudsman.
- Data protection — handled under our Privacy Policy and escalated to the Information Commissioner's Office.
If you are not sure which entity your complaint concerns, do not worry — just contact us using any of the channels below and we will make sure it reaches the right team.
How to contact us
You can make a complaint in any of the following ways:
- Online: through the feedback form.
- Email: complaints@sls.ltd.
- Telephone: 020 3637 7590.
- Post: Complaints, SLS, 49 Waddington Road, London, E15 1QL.
- In person: speak to any member of staff at your service or property. They will record your complaint and pass it on.
You can ask someone to make a complaint on your behalf — a family member, friend, advocate, social worker, or care coordinator. If you would like an independent advocate, we can put you in touch with one.
Reasonable adjustments
If you need help to make a complaint, or if you need our response in a different format (easy read, large print, audio, braille, another language), tell us when you contact us and we will make reasonable adjustments. We have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to do this.
Our two-stage process
Stage 1 — Local resolution
- We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it.
- We will give you a full response within 10 working days of the acknowledgement.
- If we need more time because the complaint is complex, we will tell you why and give you a new date — no more than 10 additional working days, unless agreed with you.
- Our Stage 1 response will explain our decision, what we will do to put things right, and how to escalate if you are not satisfied.
Stage 2 — Escalation
- If you are not satisfied with our Stage 1 response, you can ask us to escalate the complaint to Stage 2. You have 6 months from our Stage 1 response to do so.
- Stage 2 will be reviewed by someone senior who has not been involved in Stage 1.
- We will acknowledge your escalation within 5 working days.
- We will give you a final response within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.
- If we need more time we will tell you why and agree a new date with you — no more than 20 additional working days.
- Our Stage 2 response will be the final response from SLS and will tell you how to take your complaint to the relevant Ombudsman if you remain unhappy.
External review
You can take a complaint to an external body at any time — you do not have to wait until you have completed our internal process, although usually it helps to try local resolution first.
Housing Ombudsman (for housing, tenancy, repairs and landlord matters)
The Housing Ombudsman is an independent service that resolves disputes between residents and landlords. Their service is free.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (for adult social care)
The LGSCO looks at complaints about adult social care services. Their service is free.
Care Quality Commission (for regulatory concerns about care quality and safety)
The CQC regulates health and adult social care providers in England, including Supported Living Services Ltd. They do not investigate individual complaints but use information about providers to inform their inspections and regulatory decisions.
Information Commissioner's Office (for data protection complaints)
The ICO is the UK regulator for data protection. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data:
What we will not do as part of a complaint
- We will not retaliate against you for making a complaint. You will continue to receive the same standard of service.
- We will not share your complaint with anyone who does not need to see it to resolve it.
- We will not charge you for raising a complaint at any stage.
What we may not be able to consider
We may not be able to investigate a complaint in the following limited cases:
- the issue happened more than 12 months ago and there is no good reason for the delay;
- legal proceedings have already been started about the same issue;
- the matter has already been considered through a previous complaint and there is no new information.
If we decide not to consider a complaint we will explain why and tell you what else you can do.
Learning from complaints
We treat complaints as a chance to learn and improve. The senior leadership team reviews complaint themes regularly, and the Board receives a report on complaints performance at least annually. Anonymised lessons are shared with teams across SLS.
Reviewing this policy
We review this Complaints Policy at least once a year, and whenever the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code is updated. The next planned review is 26 May 2027.
