A complaint response is only as strong as the records behind it. Pull them before you write, so the reply is built on what happened rather than what anyone remembers.
For any complaint
- The tenancy agreement and any renewals, and who the landlord is.
- Your correspondence log with the tenant on this subject: emails, letters, portal messages, call notes, with dates.
- Correspondence with the landlord about it, including any instructions or authority given.
- Your management agreement: what you're responsible for and what the landlord is.
Repairs and condition
- When the problem was first reported, and how (the date you had notice matters).
- Job sheets, contractor instructions, invoices and completion notes.
- Any access attempts: dates, notice given, and why visits didn't happen.
- Inspection reports and photos from before and after.
- For damp and mould: inspection notes, moisture readings, ventilation or extractor checks, and what was advised or done.
Safety
- Gas: the current and previous gas safety records, and the dates each was given to the tenant. The regulations require a check at least every 12 months, the record to be given to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and records kept for two years.
- Electrical: the current electrical installation condition report, when the tenant received it, and evidence any required remedial work was done.
- Alarms: evidence smoke and carbon monoxide alarms were fitted and tested on the first day of the tenancy, and how any reported fault was dealt with.
Money
- Deposit: the date the deposit was received, the date it was protected, the scheme and certificate, and when the prescribed information was served.
- Fees and charges: what was charged, when, and under which permitted payment in the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
- Rent: the rent schedule, any rent increase notices and when they were served.
Handling of the complaint itself
- Your complaints procedure as it stood at the time.
- The acknowledgement and any holding responses, with dates.
When the complaint includes a request for "all my information"
A request for a copy of the personal data you hold is a subject access request under UK GDPR, whatever it's called. You normally have one month to respond, extendable by up to two further months for complex requests. Treat it alongside the complaint but track the deadline separately.
Casebriar reads a complaint and lists the specific records each issue needs, so the file is complete before you start drafting.
Casebriar separates a tenant complaint into its issues, checks the legal claims it covers against legislation.gov.uk and lists the records you’ll need. It’s in a free pilot with letting agents in England.
Join the pilot