Residents
If you cannot resolve a complaint directly with your landlord directly through its complaint procedure, we may be able to help.
On this page
How to complain to your landlord
How to complain to your landlord
Always tell your landlord if you have a problem or issue in your home.
Find out how to report problems in your home and how to make a complaint if you feel unhappy with how your landlord handled your report.
When can we help you?
When can we help you?
You can bring a complaint about your social housing landlord to us if you have completed your landlord’s complaint process and the issues remain unresolved. We can also help if your landlord is not responding to a complaint.
This page explains when to bring a complaint to us for investigation, how we can help if your landlord does not respond, and what you need to bring the complaint to us.
Who can use the Housing Ombudsman Service
Who can use our service
We can consider a complaint from anyone who has, or previously had, a landlord and tenant relationship with a landlord that is a member of our Scheme.
This page explains who can bring a complaint to us, what to do if you no longer live at the property, and when we will consider a complaint.
Our online complaint form
Bring a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman
Before you bring a complaint to us, we need some information from you.
Our online complaint form asks for details about you, your landlord, and the complaint you made.
How we investigate your complaint
How does the Housing Ombudsman investigate complaints?
Discover how we investigate complaints about social housing landlords.
This page explains our dispute resolution process from accepting a complaint to reaching a decision. It includes the orders we can make and how long investigations take.
The Resident Panel
The Resident Panel is an opportunity for residents to be involved in the development of our service. Panel members complete surveys, attend meetings with our teams, and share valuable feedback about their own experiences complaining to landlords and using our service.
Bring a complaint to us on behalf of somebody else
This information helps people who want to act as a representative for a resident and bring a complaint to us on their behalf. This includes advisors and advocacy services.
Videos in multiple languages
These short videos (2-4 minutes each) explain our service in a range of languages. They cover how to make a complaint and how to access our service.
Our commitment
Our commitment to you
Our aim is to improve landlords’ services and resident’s lives through housing complaints.
We provide an independent and impartial service offering alternative dispute resolution to residents living in social housing.
We want to make sure we are getting things right and providing a service that is fair, accessible, and inclusive to all.
Helpful resources
Support guides
These support guides cover topics we see often in our casework. They cover reporting a problem to your landlord, how it should respond and how we look at complaints.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
View the list of residents Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about our service, process, and how we investigate complaints about landlords.
Making a complaint about the Housing Ombudsman
If you are unhappy with the service we provided, please let us know. We want to put things right and share any lessons with our teams.
Links to helpful organisations
Find details of advice agencies, charities, legal advice services, and other organisations that can give you advice and information.
Telling residents about our service
We offer a range of materials for landlords to include in complaint templates, display in communal areas or print. These materials inform residents living in social housing about their right to bring a complaint to us.