Rent Smart Wales provides a model complaints procedure and other management resources. A useful record keeps the issue, dates, evidence, response and further action together, including work delegated to an agent.
Make the complaint easy to identify
Record the substance of a complaint even when it arrives as an informal message.
- Confirm the property, issue, dates and outcome sought. Separate an urgent repair from the complaint process so safety work is not delayed.
- Identify whether the owner, agent or another provider is responsible for the action.
- Give the complainant a clear contact and the applicable process and response times from the licence conditions or policy.
Investigate against the records
Use the actual correspondence and work history.
- Review reports, appointments, contractor findings and earlier promises. Ask for missing information without repeatedly requesting documents already held.
- Distinguish established facts, disputed accounts and points still being checked.
- Explain the decision, corrective work and follow-up in plain language. Do not close the complaint solely because it has been passed to an agent.
Escalation and learning
Keep the available external route separate from your own response.
- Check the agent's applicable redress or regulatory arrangements and Rent Smart Wales requirements. Give accurate information about the next step.
- Preserve the complaint record and any settlement or agreed action. Obtain advice before making unsupported admissions or legal conclusions.
- Review whether a repeated issue needs a change in instructions, staffing or contractor management.
Example: the agent and landlord each refer the tenant elsewhere
A fictional repair complaint circulates between an owner and agent. Assign one person to coordinate the answer, establish who can instruct the work and give the tenant a single update. The internal division of responsibility should not leave the complaint unattended.
What to do
- Identify who receives and responds to complaints.
- Follow the applicable procedure and keep the complainant informed.
- Check licence conditions and any agent redress route if the matter remains unresolved.
Evidence to keep
- Procedure and management agreement
- Complaint, response and supporting records
Sources and guidance
- Code of Practice for licensed landlords and agentsWelsh Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Resource library and official templatesRent Smart Wales · checked 20 October 2026