Housing Ombudsman

A free, independent complaints service for tenants of social landlords — councils and housing associations — separate from the new Ombudsman scheme being built for the private rented sector.

Can I complain to the Housing Ombudsman about my private landlord?

Generally only if your landlord happens to be a voluntary member of the scheme — membership is mandatory for social landlords, such as local authorities and housing associations, but only optional for private landlords. Most private tenants currently have no Ombudsman route for a complaint about their own landlord, which is exactly the gap the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, is intended to close.

Is the Housing Ombudsman the same as the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman?

No. The Housing Ombudsman Service is the existing scheme, mainly for social landlords, and has operated in its current form since the Localism Act 2011 extended it to local authority landlords. The Private Rented Sector Ombudsman is a new, separate scheme for private landlords and tenants, created by the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

Do I have to complain to my landlord first?

Yes, normally. The Housing Ombudsman generally expects a complaint to have been through the landlord's own internal complaints procedure first, so the landlord has a fair chance to resolve the issue before the Ombudsman gets involved. There are some circumstances in which the Ombudsman can accept a complaint earlier, but exhausting the landlord's own process first is the normal route.

What can the Housing Ombudsman actually order a landlord to do?

Where it finds maladministration, or severe maladministration for more serious failings, the Ombudsman can order a range of remedies — an apology, compensation for loss, distress, time and inconvenience caused, specific repairs or other remedial action, and changes to a landlord's policy or practice to stop the same problem recurring.

Is it free to use the Housing Ombudsman?

Yes, for the person bringing the complaint. The cost of running the scheme falls on member landlords rather than on tenants or other complainants.

Can I go to court or the First-tier Tribunal instead of the Ombudsman?

Often, yes — the Ombudsman is an alternative route for many complaints, not the only one, and some issues, such as a Rent Repayment Order application, go directly to the First-tier Tribunal rather than through the Ombudsman at all. Which route fits depends on what you are complaining about and what outcome you are seeking.

Who the Housing Ombudsman actually covers

The scheme's statutory basis is section 51 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Housing Act 1996, which requires every "social landlord," as defined in section 51(2) — broadly, registered providers of social housing and, since the Localism Act 2011 extended the scheme, local authority landlords too — to belong to an approved housing complaints scheme. Other bodies, including some managing agents and a small number of private landlords, can choose to join the scheme voluntarily, but most private landlords are not members at all.

This matters because it means the great majority of private tenants currently have no Housing Ombudsman route for a complaint about their own landlord. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is intended to close that gap through a new, separate Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, with mandatory membership expected for private landlords once the scheme is fully rolled out — but that is a different scheme, administered under different legislation, from the Housing Ombudsman described on this page.

How a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman generally works

Enforcing a determination

The Localism Act 2011 added provisions to Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1996 giving the Ombudsman a mechanism to help secure compliance with its determinations, on top of the reputational pressure that publishing findings against a landlord already carries. A determination is not, however, the same as a court order, and a complainant who wants a legally binding outcome on a particular issue — such as a Rent Repayment Order — may need to use the First-tier Tribunal or the courts instead, either alongside or rather than an Ombudsman complaint.

A council tenant reports a leaking roof repeatedly over eight months, with the council failing to carry out a lasting repair despite several visits. The tenant has already been through the council's own complaints process and received a final response that does not resolve the issue.

Local authority — a social landlord

Internal process used

Yes — final response received

Refer the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman

Because the landlord is a social landlord bound by the scheme, and the tenant has already exhausted the council's own complaints procedure, referring the matter to the Housing Ombudsman is an available route — if the Ombudsman finds maladministration in how the repair was handled, it can order compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused, as well as requiring the repair itself to be completed.

Private Rented Sector Ombudsman

First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)

Rent Repayment Order (RRO)

Housing Act 1996, Schedule 2

Localism Act 2011, Part 7, Chapter 6

Housing Ombudsman Service

Housing Ombudsman — Renters' Rights Glossary

What the Housing Ombudsman is, who it covers, how a complaint works, and how it differs from the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman.