Thank you for your continued patience while we investigate the third-party IT security incident that has impacted our case management system.

As we set out in earlier communications, the incident has been contained, and we are working with the external supplier of our case management system to investigate.

If you need to raise a new complaint about your landlord with us in the meantime, please email us at info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk  or call us on 0300 111 3000. We’re working to handle enquiries and cases where this is possible, notifying any customers and landlords where this is not possible

We’re working to restore our services as quickly as possible and will share updates when we can.

How we assess and prioritise complaints

When we receive a complaint, we assess it to understand the risk to a resident and others in the home, and what action we need to take.

On this page

How we assess risk

We look at 3 main factors:

  • how serious the issue is – the nature of the problem and any harm it may have caused
  • how long the issue has been happening – whether it’s ongoing or getting worse
  • household circumstances – how the issue is affecting members of the household, including any vulnerabilities

Based on these factors, we give your case a risk rating of low, medium, or high.

If we’re unable to reach the resident the indicative risk is recorded as low.

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How we decide what happens next

After assessing a complaint, we decide the best route to resolution. There are several actions we can take.

Referral back – We ask the landlord to take further steps to resolve the dispute with the resident.

Outside our jurisdiction – We cannot consider the complaint.

Decision at assessment – We have enough information to make a decision straight away.

Focused investigation – We need a small amount of extra evidence.

Full investigation – We need more detailed evidence due to the complexity or risk involved.

How we prioritise cases

We prioritise cases based on:

  • risk level – high risk cases are dealt with first
  • how long you’ve been waiting – after risk, we work through cases in the order they were received

We may also prioritise cases where:

  • there is a linked regulatory judgement
  • we’re investigating alongside another Ombudsman
  • errors on our part have caused delays
  • the case is linked to other complaints referred to us by the same resident

This is not an exhaustive list, and we may consider priority where we identify other sensitivity or risk factors.

If circumstances change

If a resident’s circumstances change, we assess the risk again. Residents must tell us about any changes in your household or situation.

We consider the circumstances, any legal or reputational factors, and prioritise high-risk reviews first.