In our recent webinar, 'Housing Ombudsman's Insights into Property Compliance Complaints', our panel of experts were joined by John Dowswell, the Sector Learning and Development Lead at the Housing Ombudsman Service, to discuss recent property compliance trends and challenges emerging across the sector.
Attendees of the webinar posed a variety interesting questions for the Ombudsman and our experts to answer. We've compiled the questions and answers below, so you can discover common questions being asked across the sector and our experts' answers.
A: Whilst the Ombudsman is not able to comment on specific cases. The tenant has the right to discuss alternatives with their landlord. If they are not satisfied with their response/redress they have the option to make a complaint through the landlord’s process. If they are not satisfied with the landlord’s response to their complaint, and after escalating it to stage 2, after the final response they have the right to escalate to the Ombudsman service to investigate. The Landlord should have details of this process available for the resident to explore and to help them to make a decision.
A: This is a good question, both of these suggestions would be good ideas. Sometimes internal systems can lack appropriate areas for notes and some, even when notes are added can not show the same thing to everyone who has access to the system. In some cases contractors would not have access to these systems at all. So, several things to consider. What is the purpose of the information that is being recorded, who needs to know it, and do they have access to it at the point they need to use it? Recording evidence for assurance is helpful but if it does not lead to a better outcome for a resident it is only serving half a purpose. I would say that in general, active listening and empathy for anyone talking directly to residents, clear internal guidance for recording and things like flags on a system, and good practice like checking for previous notes mean that it’s a combination of system capability and cultural practice, without one the other will struggle to be effective. Not a direct answer but hope this is helpful.
A: The Housing Ombudsman does not routinely collect this information. However, the HQN report quotes:
"in the social rented sector, the cost of failed access attempts for gas servicing alone is £49-£65ma year. Some £14m is spent on court cases and £35m on multiple failed visits .It believes the total cost of failed access for all reasons could reach £1bnover the next decade on current trends."
This is taken from a white paper that you can read for free here.
A: Landlords should follow their own escalation policy/process where access is needed for legal reasons, but always with the resident in mind, evidence of attempts and comms would be key and showing empathy and trying to understand the reason for refusal would also be beneficial if a complaint was subsequently made.
A: We recognise that this is a problem but I am not able to comment. Where possible, keeping lines of communication open and working towards a resolution that does not involve a solicitor would usually be better for everyone.
A: Evidence should include what steps a landlord has taken to arrange access that is agreeable to the tenant. This will be nuanced so there isn’t a checklist of things you could say are needed but things like risk, vulnerability, individual circumstances, protected characteristics, previous experiences and ongoing relationship with the landlord may all need to be considered. Good evidence would include what the landlord has done beyond their standard process to accommodate the needs of the tenant and be flexible to their needs and the details of a specific or complex case.
A: We discussed this in the live webinar, covering lack of good record keeping, repeated reports of the same issue with no response or inadequate action, poor process or governance, poor internal communication, not keeping residents informed etc etc. Take a look at the decisions pages of our website for a huge library of casework which details reasons for maladministration.
A: Asbestos management is a compliance issue yes.
A: Yes. Awaab’s Law is relevant now for a lot of statutory hazards and this will expand over the coming years, but landlords should already be acting.
A: This falls outside of the Housing Ombudsman's remit. The Ombudsman would only deal with this if the resident escalated a complaint to us about it after it has been through the landlord’s 2 stage complaint process.
Q: Do the Housing Ombudsman investigators have relevant technical/building and repairs knowledge and how do they ensure consistency of determinations across councils and housing associations?
A: The Ombudsman recruits from a broad range of professional backgrounds, investigators may come from social housing, other Ombudsman roles, legal, or regulatory bodies with an emphasis on investigative capability, analytical skills, housing sector experience, and the ability to assess complaints fairly.
A key responsibility of an Ombudsman's role is to consider the individual circumstances within the case and that is why comparing two cases that may superficially seem the same, can be very different. The impact of the loss of a room can be more serious depending on which room it is, or what proportion of the home that is. An elderly person who missed a medical appointment waiting for an engineer to repair a boiler who never turned up, may result in a different level of determination compared to someone else who experiences the same service failure. Every case has its own complexities and characteristics, and it is important to take all of this into account when we make our decision.
A: Awaab’s Law is government legislation, and any decisions about extending its requirements to private landlords fall under the responsibility of the UK Government. This is not something the Housing Ombudsman can determine or comment on. The Ombudsman’s role is to oversee complaints about social landlords in line with the existing regulatory framework, not to set or amend legal timeframes.
Right now in England and Wales, Awaab’s Law only applies to social landlords, it sets fixed timeframes for things like investigating and fixing damp and mould in social housing and does not yet legally apply to private landlords under the current regulations.
However, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which has recently become law, plans to extend Awaabstyle duties into the private rented sector, meaning private landlords will also have to meet similar timescales for dealing with serious hazards like damp and mould once secondary regulations are introduced. In Scotland, draft regulations are also progressing that would create set timescales for private landlords to investigate and begin repairs for damp and mould once approved by Parliament.
To find out more about your damp and mould requirements under Awaab's Law, download your free Housing Provider's Guide to Awaab's Law here.
A: While the Ombudsman recognises that gaining access can be challenging when a resident does not engage, landlords are still expected to take all reasonable and proportionate steps to meet their legal and safety obligations. This includes maintaining clear records of attempted contact, using multiple communication methods, offering flexible appointments, and identifying any potential barriers to engagement.
Where access is essential, for example, for safety checks or urgent repairs, landlords should follow their established access procedures and legal routes as a last resort. The key expectation is that landlords act reasonably, communicate effectively, and demonstrate persistence while remaining fair and respectful in their approach.
Gaining access is about reasonableness, proportionality and evidence. Where a tenant will not engage, landlords are expected to make sustained, documented attempts to secure access through clear communication, flexibility in appointments, and consideration of any vulnerability or support needs. However, where there is an ongoing safety or compliance risk, continued non-engagement does not remove the landlord’s responsibility, and escalation, including formal warnings or legal access routes, may be appropriate, provided the landlord can demonstrate it has taken all reasonable steps to engage before moving to enforcement.
A: We set out what good practice must look like for landlords Spotlight on Damp and Mould report “It’s not lifestyle” and subsequent severe maladministration learning reports.
In summary:
Adopt a Proactive, Not Reactive, Approach
Do Not Blame Lifestyle – Take Responsibility
Ensure Timely, High Quality Inspections
Strengthen Knowledge & Information Management
Communicate Clearly, Empathetically and Regularly
Provide Urgent Action Where Children or Vulnerable Residents Are Involved
Follow a Risk Based Approach (Aligned with Awaab’s Law)
Allocate Dedicated Resources and Specialist Teams
Move From Complaints to a Learning Culture
A: If there is damp and mould and the landlord or their service providers are not responding, the first step is to report it formally in writing and keep records, including photos, dates and any impact on health. If there is still no action, the issue should be raised as a formal complaint and clearly flagged as a health and safety concern. Where delays continue, tenants can escalate the matter to the local authority’s environmental health team, who can inspect and take enforcement action, or to the Housing Ombudsman if it’s social housing. If the property is unsafe, particularly where children or vulnerable people are affected, emergency action or temporary accommodation may also be appropriate. Ignoring damp and mould is not acceptable, and there are clear routes to escalation when landlords fail to act.
A: Social housing tenants can claim compensation when the landlord (a council or housing association) fails to meet their legal duties. When:
Their home is unsafe or in disrepair
The landlord failed to act after the issue was reported
The disrepair caused health problems, financial loss, or inconvenience
A: Yes, the phrase “you can’t please all of the people, all of the time” is absolutely true, especially in housing and compliance. A respectable goal isn’t universal satisfaction, but being consistently fair, reasonable and transparent. That means doing the right thing on time, communicating clearly when things go wrong, learning from mistakes, and being able to evidence that decisions were made in residents’ best interests. If landlords can show they acted proportionately, followed policy and put things right when they fell short, regulators and residents may not always agree with the outcome, but they are far more likely to trust the organisation.
A: Yes, a tenant may have the right to claim compensation, but it depends on the circumstances. Compensation can be appropriate where a landlord has failed to meet its legal or contractual duties, for example, by unreasonably delaying repairs, ignoring damp and mould that affects health, or failing to follow its own policies. In social housing, compensation is most commonly awarded through the complaints process or by the Housing Ombudsman, and it usually reflects distress, inconvenience, time and trouble rather than being punitive. In more serious cases, such as damage to belongings or proven health impacts, tenants may also pursue legal claims. However, compensation is not automatic; landlords are expected to evidence what went wrong, how it was put right, and whether redress is appropriate.
A Stage 2 complaint is an escalation of the Stage 1 complaint, not a brand‑new complaint. It should focus on:
The same issues raised at Stage 1
Concerns about how the landlord handled the Stage 1 complaint
Missing actions, delays, or dissatisfaction with the Stage 1 outcome
A Stage 2 review is intended to take a fresh, independent look at the original complaint, not expand it into new, unrelated issues.
A: Yes, we are seeing improvement overall, particularly in awareness, standards and accountability, but it’s uneven and often slower than residents would expect. The spotlight on damp and mould, safety and complaints has driven better practice, stronger policies and more transparency, but ageing housing stock remains a significant challenge. In terms of a long-term fix, there isn’t a single solution: meaningful improvement will require sustained investment, clearer national priorities, and funding models that support proactive refurbishment rather than reactive repairs. Without long term, predictable funding to address stock condition, energy efficiency and decarbonisation together, landlords will continue to manage risk rather than fully resolve it.
In the Ombudsman's 2024/25 Annual Complaints Review we started to see evidence of improvements in the complaint handling category, including a 7% drop in maladministration rate and 117 fewer severe maladministration findings. Part of our role as an Ombudsman is to work with other key sector organisations such as the Regulator, LGSCO to support Government to understand the challenges facing the sector and influence wider policy decisions through our work.
A: The most common compliance failures that lead to complaints aren’t usually single missed checks, but systemic issues such as poor end-to-end repairs management, damp and mould not being treated as safety issues, inaccurate compliance data, weak contractor oversight, and poor communication with residents. These failures often result in delays, repeat visits, and residents having to chase progress, which quickly escalates frustration into complaints. Landlords can proactively prevent this by having clear roles and policies, regularly validating compliance data, strengthening contract and quality assurance arrangements, treating damp and mould as health and safety priorities, and communicating clearly and transparently with residents throughout the process.
Stock Awareness: In our further investigations we have found a lack of stock awareness: poor initial data which can lead to serious gaps in property condition
Hazard evaluation: We have found a lack of structured assessments for damp, mould, and other category 1 and 2 hazards
Case and complaint tracking: We have found flawed systems creating repeat escalations and poor resident experiences
Contractor accountability: inadequate monitoring of repairs and maintenance delivery
A: With Awaab’s Law now in force for social landlords in England and Wales, landlords must respond to reports of damp and mould within strict statutory deadlines, investigating significant damp or mould hazards within around 10 working days, providing tenants with written findings quickly, and then starting and completing remedial work within a matter of days, with emergency hazards addressed within 24 hours or alternative accommodation offered if safety can’t be regained immediately .
To prepare for new statutory deadlines on damp and mould, Scottish landlords should act now by treating all damp and mould reports as potential health and safety issues, not routine repairs. That means putting clear triage processes in place, setting internal response times that mirror likely future deadlines, and making sure inspections, decisions and actions are properly recorded. Landlords should also review and validate their stock data, strengthen contractor capacity for timely investigations and follow-on works, and ensure staff are trained to identify root causes rather than just treat symptoms. Above all, clear, proactive communication with tenants at every stage will be critical to meeting deadlines and avoiding complaints once the legislation comes into force.
A: Landlords can use data and reporting to reduce complaint escalation and demonstrate compliance by making sure their data is accurate, current and actively used, not just stored. That means validating compliance and repairs data regularly, using it to spot missed inspections, delays or repeat issues early, and intervening before residents need to complain. Clear reporting also allows landlords to evidence decision-making, track timescales against policy and statutory expectations, and show regulators that issues like damp, mould and repairs are being identified, prioritised and resolved systematically rather than reactively.
We are clear that effective data management and reporting are essential tools for preventing complaint escalation, improving services, and evidencing compliance. Poor Knowledge & Information Management (KIM) record‑keeping and weak data systems are among common causes of maladministration. We recommend that landlords:
Use complaint data to spot issues early and fix root causes before they escalate
Keep strong, accurate records
Publish annual complaints performance reports showing trends, outcomes, and service improvements to demonstrate compliance
Complete annual self assessments against the Complaint Handling Code to identify gaps and drive improvements
Benchmark performance using our reports and sector data to identify risks and improve service quality
Embed learning from our findings into policies, training, and service design to prevent repeat failures
A: Recording reasons for escalations and understanding the root cause for the escalations will be key to making changes that support earlier resolution. Using this data to review and consider the approach that the organisation is taking for stage one will support them on this. For example, if a key reason that complaints escalate is due to level of compensation, then the landlord may wish to review it's compensation policy.
A: Landlords should adapt their compliance and complaint-handling processes for vulnerable residents by embedding early identification of vulnerability and treating it as a risk factor in decision-making, not an add-on. This means flagging vulnerabilities in systems, prioritising inspections and repairs where health or safeguarding concerns exist, and allowing flexibility in timescales and communication methods. Staff and contractors should be trained to recognise vulnerability, escalate concerns quickly, and record actions clearly, so landlords can evidence that decisions were reasonable, proportionate and focused on protecting residents from harm rather than simply meeting minimum process requirements.
The Housing Ombudsman requires all social landlords to recognise, support, and adapt their processes for residents who may be vulnerable. Since 1 April 2024, compliance with the statutory Complaint Handling Code is a legal obligation for all landlords in the Ombudsman scheme. Your organisation should
Make Complaints Fully Accessible to Vulnerable Residents
Identify and Record Vulnerability Early
Adapt Complaint Processes to Individual Needs (Reasonable Adjustments)
Apply a Fair, Person-Centred Approach
Strengthen Complaint-Handling Governance & Monitoring
Follow Required Complaint Timeframes - But Be More Responsive for Vulnerable Residents
Build a Culture of Respect, Empathy & Listening
Learn From Complaints to Improve Future Support
A: Looking ahead, social landlords are likely to face increasing compliance challenges driven by tighter statutory deadlines for issues like damp and mould, higher expectations around data accuracy and transparency, and greater regulatory scrutiny of resident outcomes rather than just processes. Emerging trends include the need to integrate digital systems that provide real-time visibility of compliance performance, strengthened requirements around carbon and energy-related standards, and heightened focus on vulnerability and health impacts. As regulators and ombudsman expectations evolve, landlords who can anticipate issues through predictive analytics and embed continuous improvement into their compliance culture will be better positioned to reduce complaints, demonstrate accountability, and protect residents’ safety and wellbeing.
A: The Housing Ombudsman do not interact with the local EH teams. This is the responsibility of the landlord.
A: Where tenants refuse access for essential servicing, the key is early engagement rather than enforcement. Landlords should clearly explain why access is needed, link it to safety and legal duties, and offer flexible appointment times, different communication methods, and trusted intermediaries where vulnerability is a factor. All contact attempts should be clearly recorded, with escalation pathways in place where risks increase. Where refusal continues, landlords should use proportionate formal warnings and, as a last resort, legal access routes, but regulators expect this to be backed by clear evidence that the landlord has acted reasonably, communicated transparently, and taken all practical steps to secure access before escalating.
If you are looking for help navigating your property compliance obligations, get in touch with our team of experts who can provide support tailored to your needs.