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The Housing Ombudsman

Free, independent, and it can order your landlord to do the work and pay you. This is the step most tenants skip.

Written by Gavin Thorne, Editor Last checked How we check this

The essentials

Cost
Free. Always.
Who it covers
Council and housing association tenants in England
Do you need a solicitor?
No
What it can order
Repairs to be carried out, an apology, and compensation
First you must
Go through your landlord's own complaints procedure

The order you have to do this in

  1. Formal complaint to your landlord, stage one

    Not a repair report. Say the words "I am making a formal complaint". Include your dates, reference numbers, and what you want done. Landlords have published timescales for responding, set out in the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code.

  2. Escalate to stage two

    If the stage one answer does not fix it, ask in writing to escalate. Do not let it drift. Say "I am not satisfied with the stage one response and I want this escalated to stage two."

  3. Ask for a final response

    The stage two answer should be your landlord's final response. That is the document the Ombudsman will want to see.

  4. Complain to the Housing Ombudsman

    Apply online at housing-ombudsman.org.uk, or by phone. Send your timeline of dates, your photographs, your reports and the final response. The clearer your timeline, the faster this goes.

If your landlord will not progress the complaint

A landlord who ignores your complaint or refuses to escalate it is itself a complaint handling failure. You can contact the Ombudsman before exhausting the process and explain that your landlord is not following the Complaint Handling Code. Do not let a stalled complaint stop you entirely.

What to expect

The Ombudsman is not fast. Cases commonly take months rather than weeks, and it is worth being realistic about that. What it is good at is producing a written determination that a landlord has to act on, and creating a public record. Determinations are published, which is part of why landlords take them seriously.

Common questions

How much does the Housing Ombudsman cost?

Nothing. It is free to complain to the Housing Ombudsman and you do not need a solicitor or a claims company to do it.

Do I have to complain to my landlord first?

Yes, in almost all cases. You need to have been through your landlord’s own complaints procedure, usually both stages, before the Ombudsman will investigate. If your landlord is refusing to progress your complaint, or has not responded within their published timescales, tell the Ombudsman that.

Can the Ombudsman make my landlord pay me?

Yes. The Ombudsman can order a landlord to carry out work, to apologise, and to pay compensation. Its remedies guidance sets out the bands it uses. Awards are generally modest compared with a court claim, but you keep all of it and it costs you nothing to get.

Is the Ombudsman better or worse than a solicitor?

Different. The Ombudsman is free, you keep any compensation in full, and it is good at getting repairs actually done. A court claim can produce a larger award but takes longer, usually involves a no win no fee agreement with deductions, and is better suited to cases involving serious harm or damaged belongings. For most damp and mould cases, the Ombudsman first is the sensible order.

What about private renters?

The Housing Ombudsman covers social landlords. Private renters should go to their council’s environmental health team instead. A separate private rented sector ombudsman is expected to launch in 2028.