The complaints committee annual report: what belongs in it and how to prepare it in hours
At a Dutch housing association, the complaints committee reports every year to the board and to the tenants' organisation. The report contains at least an extract from the complaints register, the number of complaints received, the nature of the complaints, which were admissible, which were referred back to the housing association, and how many were upheld, partly upheld or not upheld (complaints regulations for housing associations, Article 13(2)).
In Adminio, you prepare the annual report in hours rather than days or weeks. The figures come straight from your own committee's case files. You decide which sections to include and in which house style, and the chair, members and secretariat write it together in one online editor. See below how that works. This guide also covers what belongs in an annual report, how to count every case exactly once, and how your figures compare with those of other housing complaints committees.
What the regulations require
For housing associations in the Netherlands, the complaints regulations that the minister has designated for all housing associations apply (Housing Act, Article 55b(3)). They are annexed to the Decree designating the complaints regulations for approved housing institutions. Article 13 covers three things.
Article 13(1)
The register
The committee keeps a register of complaints received: for each complaint the number and the subject, the number of inadmissible complaints with the reason, the number of referrals to a housing association, the number of complaints being handled, the processing time, the advice issued and the gist of each piece of advice. It discusses the register periodically, internally and with the board.
Article 13(2)
The committee's annual report
Every year, to the board and to the tenants' organisation. It contains at least an extract from the register, the number of complaints received, the nature of the complaints, which were admissible and which were not, which were referred to the housing association, and the split between upheld, partly upheld and not upheld.
Article 13(3)
The housing association's annual report
The housing association accounts for its handling of complaints in its own annual report. It states the number of complaints about its conduct that were lodged with the committee, and the percentage of cases in which it did not follow the advice.
Two other provisions affect the report. The retirement schedule is published on the website of the housing association and of the committee (Article 3(6)). And advice is only made public in anonymised form (Article 11(5)). Keep the report and the register extract free of names and addresses as well. What applies in other sectors is covered in the frequently asked questions.
The chapters of an annual report
The committee decides what else goes into the report. In the annual reports we read, the mandatory part is usually accompanied by the composition of the committee, its working method, processing times and recommendations to the housing associations. The structure below includes both. The chapters required by Article 13(2) are marked.
- Foreword by the chairA short look back: what stood out, what changed, and whom the committee wishes to thank.
- Composition of the committeeThe members and deputy members, on whose nomination they were appointed, and the retirement schedule (Article 3).
- Working methodThe steps and time limits in the regulations, in plain language, and what was different this year.
- Key figuresThe number of complaints received, which were admissible and which were not, and which were referred to the housing association.Article 13(2)
- OutcomesHow many complaints the committee found upheld, partly upheld or not upheld in its advice, and how many were withdrawn.Article 13(2)
- Per housing associationThe figures for each association, if the committee works for more than one. Each association needs them for its own annual report (Article 13(3)).
- SubjectsWhat the complaints were about.Article 13(2)
- Processing times and hearingsHow long cases took, and whether the time limits in the regulations were met.
- Observations and recommendationsPatterns across several complaints, and what the committee recommends to the housing associations (Article 2(3)).
- Looking aheadWhat the committee expects in the coming year.
- Annex: extract from the registerFor each complaint, the number, the subject and the outcome, without names or addresses.Article 13(2)
The annual report in Adminio: from days or weeks to hours
If you prepare the annual report by hand, you first have to gather the figures from mailboxes, spreadsheets and separate case files. Then come the counting, the recounting and the formatting, before a single word has been written. In Adminio, the committee works in one environment all year: the secretariat records every complaint in its case file, from receipt to advice. Under Annual report, Adminio turns that into an annual, quarterly or monthly report, generated automatically from your own committee's data. You decide what goes in, in your own style, and write it together in the online editor. That brings the annual report down from days or weeks of work to hours.
This is how the annual report is produced in Adminio, in eight steps. The screens show a demo committee in the Dutch-language version. The committee, the cases and the names are fictitious. Click a screen to see it at full size.
1Choose the period
Under Annual report, on the Generate tab, you choose an annual, quarterly or monthly report and the period. If the committee has saved its choices as a preset, Adminio loads them automatically for a new report.
Part 1, Settings. You choose an annual, quarterly or monthly report and the year. 2Choose the sections
You decide which sections to include, from Foreword by the chair to Colophon, and in what order. For anything the standard sections do not cover, you add a custom section, with its own table if needed.
Report contents. Each section can be switched on or off, and the arrows change the order. Financial framework is a custom section here. 3Figures from the case files
The key figures come from the cases the committee handled in Adminio throughout the year: complaints received, admissibility, outcomes, hearings and processing times. If the housing associations' stock figures have been recorded, Adminio also calculates the number of complaints per 1,000 rental units for each association.
Part 3, Figures and preview. The key figures come from the case files the committee handled in 2026. Top housing associations: the number of complaints for each association, also per 1,000 rental units. 4First drafts of the text
Each section starts with a standard text based on the figures. The button with the two circular arrows has Adminio write a new text to go with the figures. Improve has Adminio rewrite your own text in clear, businesslike language. Generate analysis drafts the substantive analysis from the summaries and advice in the closed cases, without the complainant's name.
The substantive analysis after Adminio has written a first draft. Each section shows whether it is Completed or still has the Standard text. 5Writing together
The chair, members and secretariat work at the same time in the same online editor. You can see who else is working on it, everything is saved automatically, and you can comment on any passage and use @ to ask a colleague to respond.
A member of the secretariat is working on the report. The header shows that everything has been saved and that the chair is viewing. 6In your own house style
Under Layout, style and templates you choose a design, a colour theme, the fonts, your own cover and page numbers. Your choices apply to the preview, the PDF and the Word document.
Part 4, Layout, style and templates: colour theme, page numbers and your own cover. Twenty cover designs and the typography. Your choices apply to the preview, the PDF and the Word document. 7Check, export, publish
You check the report in the preview and export it to PDF, Word or Excel. If the committee wishes, you then publish the report on the committee's own website.
Export: as a PDF, as an editable Word document or with the figures in Excel. Save PDF to history keeps a copy of the report. Nothing is published until you confirm. The report then appears on the committee's public documents page, under Annual reports. 8Look back and compare
History holds the earlier reports. You can download them again as a PDF, reuse last year's settings for a new report, or put two reports side by side to see what changed in the key figures.
History: every saved report, with buttons to download, duplicate and publish it. Tick two reports to compare them. The 2026 annual report next to the 2025 report, with the difference for each key figure. Green is a higher figure, red a lower one.
What Adminio does differently
One source for the figures
The figures come from the same case files the committee works in all year. No separate list needs to be kept. If a case file is corrected, the correction appears in the next report you produce.
Careful with small numbers
With fewer than ten cases, the report shows no percentages but, for example, 1 of 2. With fewer than five cases, Adminio writes no evaluative sentences. That way small numbers do not suggest false precision.
Per housing association, without judgement
Adminio lists the complaints and rulings for each association, with the number per 1,000 rental units. If the number of homes changes during the year, Adminio weights each figure by the period in which it applied. The standard text states that the ranking is based on numbers and is not a judgement on the quality of the associations.
Text that matches the figures
Adminio drafts text based on your committee's figures. If a draft mentions a number that does not appear in those figures, Adminio warns you so that you can check that passage.
The financial account too
Members' expense claims and the division of costs per housing association come from the expenses module and can be included in the annual report.
Faster every year
Save this year's choices as a preset, including the chair's foreword, the notable cases and the conclusion if you wish. Next year's report starts from there.
What Adminio does, and what the committee does itself
Adminio
- Counts the complaints, outcomes, hearings and processing times from the committee's cases.
- Provides a standard text for each section, and drafts the text and the analysis.
- Takes care of the layout in the chosen style, for the preview, the PDF and the Word document.
- Keeps every report under History.
The committee
- Chooses the period, the sections and the style.
- Writes the chair's foreword and the observations, and reviews every draft.
- Checks the figures in the preview before the report goes out.
- Adopts the report, sends it to the board and the tenants' organisation, and decides whether it goes on the website.
Set up for your regulations. Adminio is built on the designated complaints regulations for housing associations or on the committee's own version. If the regulations change, we update Adminio accordingly, without the committee having to do anything. The committee always makes its own judgement.
Count every case once
An annual report accounts for every case the committee had in hand that year: the complaints that came in and the cases carried over from the previous year. At the end of the year, every case belongs in exactly one group: not taken up, withdrawn, resolved before the hearing, closed with advice, or carried over to the next year.
A fictitious example: 4 plus 46 makes 50 cases, and 3, 6, 9, 13, 17 and 2 also add up to 50.
Counting this way shows in a single table whether a case has gone missing. The next annual report then starts with the cases that were ongoing this year, and the two reports join up.
Not all the annual reports we read count in the same way. One committee starts from the complaints received, another from the case files it handled that year, including cases from the previous year. In 3 of the 19, it was impossible to tell how many complaints were upheld, partly upheld or not upheld. The regulations require that distinction (Article 13(2)).
Four counting rules
- One outcome per complaint. If a complaint has several parts, count it once, under the outcome of the advice as a whole, and mention the parts in the text.
- Count as at 31 December. A complaint received in December that received advice in February counts this year as received and ongoing, and next year as carried over and closed with advice.
- Keep referred complaints separate. The regulations ask separately how many complaints were referred to the housing association (Article 13(1) and (2)). These are complaints that came too early: the association had not yet had a proper opportunity to resolve them itself (Article 5(1)(e)).
- Keep withdrawn and resolved apart. A complaint withdrawn because the housing association fixed the problem after all says something different from a complaint withdrawn because the complainant is moving house. Choose the outcome that fits each case best, and explain large numbers in the text.
Your committee compared with 19 housing complaints committees
We compared the annual reports of more than forty complaints committees of Dutch housing associations, supplemented by the annual reports of the affiliated associations. Together, these committees received some 4,120 complaints. For the comparison below we use the 19 committees that also published the outcome of their advice for 2024 or 2025: 15 regional committees and 4 committees belonging to a single housing association. Three figures lend themselves well to comparison. In the first two, each committee appears as a dot, so you can see roughly where your own committee's figures fall.
Complaints per 1,000 homes
1.4
All complaints divided by all homes of the 16 committees for which the number of homes is known. The median committee is at 1.2, the lowest at 0.3 and the highest at 5.9.
Complaints upheld or partly upheld
46%
Of all advice from the 16 committees that report outcomes, taken together. The median committee is at 40 per cent, the lowest at 0 and the highest at 75 per cent.
Complaints that end in advice
28%
Of all complaints received by 18 committees, taken together. Per committee it ranges from 5 to 58 per cent. The other complaints were referred, not taken up, withdrawn or resolved, or were still ongoing.
A high or low figure does not in itself say anything about the housing associations. The number of complaints per 1,000 homes also depends on how well known the committee is among tenants and how it counts. The share of complaints upheld also depends on which complaints reach a hearing. The number of homes is the figure given by the committee or the sum of the rental units of the affiliated associations. Source: the committees' published annual reports, checked in September 2026.
Looking ahead: the Future-Proof Rent Tribunal Act
A tenant who has complained in writing to the housing association about something it did or failed to do can currently still ask the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie) for a ruling (Rent Implementation Act, Article 4(5)). The Future-Proof Rent Tribunal Act (Wet toekomstbestendige huurcommissie) abolishes that procedure. The House of Representatives passed the bill on 21 April 2026 and the Senate on 29 September 2026. According to the Dutch government, the Act enters into force on 1 January 2027. Until then, the current rules apply.
What this means for the annual report. From 1 January 2027, a housing association tenant with a complaint about the association's conduct can no longer go to the Rent Tribunal. The complaints committee's advice will then usually be the last step before the tenant goes to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). Article 9(8) of the regulations, which points the complainant to the Rent Tribunal, will then refer to a procedure that no longer exists. A look-ahead section in the annual report can mention both points.
How to write the advice itself so that a court can follow it is explained in the guide Writing the complaints committee's advice.
Frequently asked questions
For a housing association's complaints committee, yes. The complaints regulations that the minister has designated for all housing associations require the committee to report annually to the board and to the tenants' organisation (Article 13(2)). In Dutch public administration, the administrative authority must publish the registered complaints every year (General Administrative Law Act, Article 9:12a). In the Dutch healthcare and education statutes (the Wkkgz, the Wzd, the Wvggz, the WPO and the WVO 2020) we found no annual report obligation for the complaints committee itself. There, the organisation's own complaints regulations determine whether there is an annual report.
The regulations say annually, without a date. The housing association must send its own annual report before 1 July to the municipalities where it operates, to the minister and to the tenants' organisations (Housing Act, Article 38(1)). In it, the association states the number of complaints lodged with the committee and the percentage of advice it did not follow (complaints regulations, Article 13(3)). So agree with the association when it needs your figures.
The regulations do not say so in as many words. But every housing association must state in its own annual report the number of complaints lodged with the committee and the percentage of advice not followed (Article 13(3)). A committee that works for several associations helps each of them by giving the figures per association. Adminio lists the complaints and rulings per association in the annual report, with the number of complaints per 1,000 rental units if the housing stock figures have been recorded.
Keep the report free of details that could identify a complainant, an employee or a neighbour. The complaints register records the number and subject of each complaint, not the name or address (complaints regulations, Article 13(1)). Advice is only made public in anonymised form (Article 11(5)). Watch out for small numbers too: a single complaint about a small block of homes in a particular month can be enough to identify someone.
Send this page to your chair or secretariat. Would you like to see how the annual report is produced in Adminio, set up with your own regulations? We will show you in half an hour.
Prefer to call? You can reach us from 09:00 to 21:00 (CET) on +31 85 060 88 49.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The screens show a demo committee. The committee, the cases and the names are fictitious, and so is the count. More about the committee itself: Complaints committee: is it mandatory, and which rules apply? Sources (in Dutch): Decree designating the complaints regulations for approved housing institutions, annex, Articles 2, 3, 5, 11 and 13, Housing Act (Woningwet), Articles 38 and 55b, General Administrative Law Act (Awb), Article 9:12a, Rent Implementation Act (Uitvoeringswet huurprijzen woonruimte), Article 4, Senate, Future-Proof Rent Tribunal Act, Dutch government, Senate approves the Future-Proof Rent Tribunal Act (29 September 2026), amended bill (Parliamentary Papers 36791, A) and the published annual reports for 2024 or 2025 of 19 housing association complaints committees. Updated: 11 November 2026.