Ask the Ombudsman
This form will be open to submit a question for the Ombudsman when there is an upcoming Meet the Ombudsman meeting. You can also use the form to ask us general queries about the panel, meetings, and our service.
To submit a question to the forum you will need to register for an account via the home page.
Please note, we will not respond to questions about individual cases or landlords and cannot provide an update on a case that you have with the service.
This form will be open to submit a question for the Ombudsman when there is an upcoming Meet the Ombudsman meeting. You can also use the form to ask us general queries about the panel, meetings, and our service.
To submit a question to the forum you will need to register for an account via the home page.
Please note, we will not respond to questions about individual cases or landlords and cannot provide an update on a case that you have with the service.
Ask the Ombudsman
Please feel free to submit a question for the Ombudsman. Where possible, we will answer the question publicly on this forum and may ask the question at any upcoming Meet the Ombudsman meeting.
Please note, we will not respond to questions about individual cases or landlords and cannot provide an update on a case that you have with the service.
We aim to respond to all questions within 15 working days, however, we may sometimes take a little longer as we need to ask experts across the organisation.
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Will the Ombudsman consider opening a new channel for reporting delays in complaint handling? And then issuing CHFN's promptly? If a tenant reports a delay in complaint handling they get an antomated message that the HOS aims to reply within 15 working days - effectively giving the landlord three weeks "extra time" that tenants can do nothing about! I appreciate that you are busy but this is incredibly frustrating for tenants.
Isobel asked 25 days agoThank you for your question. This is not currently something we have in place and there are no plans for an additional route such as this to be created outside of our normal contact methods and Enquiries process.Our Enquiries team are always looking at ways to improve its service and speed up service delivery. It has now completed its backlog recovery work and is now aiming to respond to queries within 15 working days by the end of October. The team will continue working to reduce this time further. Your suggestion of a channel has been shared with members of the Enquiries team and we thank you for the suggestion. -
When residents take complaints to the Ombudsman and its found their housing provider is at fault, does the Ombudsman follow up to make sure what orders have been put in place actually happens and the residents problems have been rectified, what's the recourse for residents if this isn't the case?
Pauline Dipple asked 18 days agoHi there,
If we make an order following an investigation in a case, the Housing Ombudsman Service will not close that case until they are happy the landlord has complied with that order. Sometimes this will take a few weeks, as set out in our determination report for that case. If a landlord does not comply with our orders, we can make further orders for them to do so. We have a 100% compliance rate with these orders. -
Can you update the position of HO on the issue of landlord controlled heating. The law was changed about 5 years ago and landlord controlled heating must comply with the new legislation. This allows the tenant to take a landlord to court if they can show that the landlord is charging the tenant more for the heating than the landlord is paying for it. The new law is administered by OFGEM and the principle of no profit on heating charge is called "pass through" cost principle. Many landlords do not comply with the "new" law and as a consequence tenants pay more than the should be. Given the predicted energy crisis/fuel poverty this winter could HO produce a spotlight report and also indicate if HO is still regarding heating charges as a service charge under housing act, which now no longer applies to heating charges,and therefore beyond the legal remit of HO? Or as disputes over heating charges are actionable in court(unlike service charges) that the HO has right to mediate as an alternative dispute resolution organisation?
Tim asked about 1 month agoHi there,
The legislation is about fuel reselling. The legislation classifies those who buy fuel and sell it on as 'resellers'. The rule is that a landlord cannot charge more for the energy it sells on, but can charge less. We cannot investigate complaints about whether a landlord has charged more than what the bought the energy for. That would need to be a complaint for Ofgem or the Energy Ombudsman.Where the landlord is not a reseller and passes the cost on to the residents via a service charge or as part of gross rent; we may be able to investigate complaints about communication, whether the terms and conditions of the tenancy were clear about the charges. But we can't investigate the level of rent or service charge. For that residents need to go to the court or tribunal.
Most charges are passed back to residents as a service charge. So if the resident is complaining about the cost of the electric and that it should not be above the amount it was purchased for - that is a complaint about the level/increase of a service charge or rent - which we cannot investigate.
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The extension problem The report says one of the most common reasons for finding maladministration was: • failure to apply policies/procedures; • unreasonable delay; • non-compliance with the Complaint Handling Code. And HOS is explicitly examining timeliness as part of complaint handling. How does the Ombudsman distinguish between a landlord using an extension appropriately because a complaint is genuinely complex, and a landlord simply using the permitted extension because it has not completed its investigation within the original period? Is the Ombudsman collecting data on how frequently extensions are used, and whether particular landlords use them disproportionately? Because otherwise a landlord can technically remain within the framework while the resident experiences a 20-working-day complaint process instead of a 10-working-day one.
Isobel asked 25 days agoThe Duty to Monitor team do often touch on extensions when we do policy reviews or have engagement with the landlords. In terms of the Code, we would expect that landlords are responding to complaints within the 10 or 20 working timescales at each stage as standard.
If landlords identify that more time is required to investigate and respond to complaints at stage 1 or 2 the Code does allow the landlord to implement extensions. Extensions should normally be no more than a further 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2. This should be set out in the landlord’s policy. If a landlord needs to extend a complaint response, it should let the resident know as soon as possible and provide an explanation to the resident as and advise of their right to contact the Ombudsman.
Landlords should not extend beyond 10 working days at stage 1 and 20 working days at stage 2 without good reason.
We recognise that in some situations, this is unavoidable. In these instances, the landlord can extend beyond the timeframes set out in the Code. We would recommend only doing this in very limited circumstances. An example might be where a complaint requires input from multiple external parties, or where there is a need for further investigation and information, such as surveyor’s reports that are not within the landlord’s control.
We would not normally expect landlords to be routinely utilising extensions due to lack of resources, as the Code does also state that the landlord should be resourced to handle complaints effectively.
The reasons for extending the timescale should be clearly explained to the resident. Additionally, the landlord should agree suitable intervals for keeping the resident informed about their complaint. We would encourage landlords to provide an update to residents where an extension is required at the earliest opportunity, rather than waiting until the response is due.
Duty to Monitor do not collect data on how frequently that extensions are used or the reason for an extension. The main reason for this is that we are not involved in individual complaints and cases. We do ask landlords to publish a Complaints Performance and Service Improvement report annually. This should include data about its complaint handling performance from the previous reporting year. This information may therefore be included by the landlord in such a report.
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Complaint handling itself is now being measured From October 2025, HOS started examining complaint handling in every case it investigates, rather than only when the resident specifically complained about complaint handling. The Annual Complaints Review says that complaints handling is now considered in terms of: • timeliness • communication • quality of investigation And where HOS found no maladministration in complaint handling, the landlord had: responded within timescales, addressed substantive issues, and communicated progress and decisions effectively. Now that complaint handling is examined in every case, will the Ombudsman publish more detailed information about what actually constitutes good complaint handling — for example, not simply whether a response was technically within the permitted timescale, but whether the complaint was dealt with promptly, substantively and effectively? Because “within the permitted timescale” and “good complaint handling” are not necessarily the same thing.
Isobel asked 25 days agoThe Ombudsman has the power to issue 'Good Practice' reports which focus on examples of good practice in our casebook and recommendations for landlords. We have started work on the first issue which will focus on compensation. It is our aim to use complaints data and case reviews to offer learning for landlords through a series of reports over the coming years. We also recently published a report on complaint handling, which set out where we see landlords doing things well and not so well, as we continue to help landlords improve in this area.
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“Resolving complaints” versus actually putting things right The Annual Complaints Revview says the sector is improving because more complaints are being resolved appropriately before reaching HOS. But the underlying figures are revealing: • Local authorities had 72% upheld findings, versus 59% for housing associations. • Housing associations had 24% reasonable-redress findings, compared with only 10% for local authorities. • HOS says this suggests things may be going wrong for residents at similar rates, but housing associations may be putting things right more often before complaints reach HOS. The Annual Complaints Review says more landlords are resolving issues before they reach the Ombudsman. But the data show that local authorities are substantially less likely than housing associations to provide reasonable redress. What does the Ombudsman think is driving that difference, and what should local authorities be doing differently?
Isobel asked 25 days agoThis was touched on in discussion. We know there are important differences in the ways that housing associations and local authorities operate. These statistics were intended to help landlords, residents and other stakeholders to make more informed comparisons when assessing a landlord's performance
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Repairs Responsive Repairs was involved in 80% of cases determined. HOS upheld 72% of repairs findings. And the report identifies the recurring problems in the most serious repairs cases as: • excessive delays; • poor communication; • failure to recognise/adapt to residents' circumstances; • inadequate record keeping; • failure to undertake risk assessments; • failure to consider temporary solutions while major works are pending. That is almost a checklist of the kinds of problems you've been documenting. The report also says: • damp/mould/condensation represented 34% of repairs complaints; • HOS upheld over 75% of those; • windows had an 80% uphold rate; • windows had a 10% severe maladministration rate. The report identifies recurring failures in repairs around delay, communication, record keeping, vulnerability and management of major works. How is the Ombudsman ensuring that this learning is actually reaching landlords' planned works and asset-management teams, rather than remaining within complaints teams? There’s a potential disconnect between: planned works → contractor → housing/asset management → complaints team → Ombudsman If the complaints team learns something but the operational team doesn't change, nothing actually improves for the next tenant.
Isobel asked 25 days agoWe aim to talk to all roles within landlords, including repairs and asset management teams. For our Spotlight report on repairs and maintenance last year, we spoke directly to those working in repairs and maintenance to understand their perspective and then send our insights from our casework directly to them. We have spoken to various repairs conferences in the social housing sector too, in front of key repairs and maintenance professionals within the sector. We have also spoken to other organisations within the sector, including contractors and repairs trade bodies such as NHMF, to spread our insights. We would always like to do more, and will keep looking for opportunities to share our work.
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How do you handle it If a landlord doesn't record something -at all-but the tenant has evidence the 'something' occurred but was never recorded, but the ombudsman isn't interested in that evidence as the landlord has no record. Is this an example of why the upheld complaint percentages are actually dropping, because landlords are finding ways to circumvent the process?
VJFox asked about 1 month agoHi there,
If a landlord has not recorded something, but there is clear evidence of this taking place, we will make a finding against the landlord for not having robust record keeping practices. We can take on an investigation without any evidence from the landlord if they did not provide this. In these situations, we would use timelines and other evidence from the resident to work out what happened. Landlords not providing evidence to us is not a reason we would not investigate, and it does not mean they are not held accountable for a complaint. -
If there is GAP on an order within 4 day referral period, but order is not signed or sent to customer, would this be an FCA breach?
Hugh asked about 2 months agoThank you for your question. As this relates to the FCA, please see contact details for them here: Contact us | FCA
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I had an ASB Case Review on 25/3/26, whereby the chairperson recommended that we (my 14 year old and I), are rehoused urgently. After almost 7 weeks waiting for the next steps, my Housing Association refused to rehouse us. A further ASB Case Review Appeal, failed to change their minds despite the Chairperson upholding her recommendations. We had receiving rehousing offers, but these either had evidence of further ASB or were completely inappropriate due to my chronic fatigue syndrome / M.E. We cannot live in our home any longer, the cumulative impact of the ASB has taken its toll and the ASB is ongoing. The Housing Ombudsman had determined maladministration in the handling of the ASB case in August 2024. I feel backed into a corner and cannot see a way out. I have exhausted all avenues for help and having regular suicidal thoughts. I have tried absolutely everything. I have been told that I can ask the housing ombudsman for urgent intervention, is this possible? Thank you.
LG1971 asked 3 months agoHello. Thank you for your question. We are sorry to hear about the issues affecting you in your home.
The Housing Ombudsman is an impartial organisation set up to look at housing complaints. We can only consider issues that have exhausted a landlord's complaint process.
If you do not agree with the way the landlord has handled the ASB since we last looked at your case you would need to use the landlord's complaint procedure in the first instance.
We do not provide urgent intervention, however, when a case is referred to us and we accept it, we risk assess the presenting information to prioritise the case for investigation.
If you are having suicidal thoughts you should speak to your GP or support services straight away. ASB help can also signpost you to help when living with ASB: ASB Help | Advice & support for Victims of Anti-Social Behaviour
To speak to the casework team you can email info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0300 111 3000