Complaints against social housing providers
Complaining about a private registered provider of social housing (PRPSH) via their own complaint procedure and the powers of the social housing regulator.
Complaining to the social housing provider
A tenant dissatisfied about the services of a registered provider should complain to the provider first.
All social housing providers have responsibility for dealing with, and being accountable for, complaints about their services. All providers must have in place a clear complaints procedure and a statement about how they handle complaints, including complaints about performance against the standards.
From 1 April 2024, social housing providers must follow the Housing Ombudsman's complaint handling code for all relevant complaints.[1]
They must have a 2-stage complaint process.
Written decisions must be issued in no more than:
10 working days during stage 1
20 working days during stage 2
This is counted from when a complaint is acknowledged.
Complaints must be acknowledged within 5 working days.
The Housing Ombudsman has a statutory duty to monitor social housing providers' compliance with the complaints handling code.
Complaining to the Ombudsman
Tenants not satisfied with the way their landlord has dealt with their complaint should contact the Housing Ombudsman.
The ombudsman is independent and impartial, and the service is free of charge. They may look into complaints that a tenant has been treated unfairly or received bad service through some failure on the part of a provider.
The role of the regulator
The Regulator of Social Housing is responsible for setting economic standards for private registered providers of social housing (PRPSHs), and consumer standards for all registered providers (RPs), including local authorities.
The regulator has enforcement powers if a provider fails to meet a consumer or economic standard.
Find out more about the regulation of social housing providers on Shelter Legal.
Making a referral to the regulator
Referrals can be made to the Regulator of Social Housing about problems with a social landlord's performance.
The regulator's role is to consider whether the landlord is meeting the regulator's key consumer and economic standards overall.
The regulator does not deal with individual service related complaints on behalf of tenants or groups of tenants if there is no evidence of wider failures by the social landlord. A tenant with a service related complaint should complain directly to the registered provider or to relevant Ombudsman.
Find out more on Gov.uk: How to make a referral to the Regulator of Social Housing.
Relationship between social housing regulator and Housing Ombudsman
The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 introduced new provisions to strengthen the respective roles and improve the relationship between the regulator and the Housing Ombudsman. The aim is to ensure a more joined up approach to regulation and the handling of complaints for the benefit of tenants, and improved exchange information powers.
The regulator and the Ombudsman are required to publish and review a memorandum of understanding outlining how they will cooperate together and how they will communicate and share information with one another.[2] The Secretary of State must consult the Housing Ombudsman when setting standards and giving directions to the social housing regulator.
The Housing Ombudsman can issue a code of practice on complaint handling about the procedures members of the scheme should have in place for considering complaints against them. It must consult with the social housing regulator when making amendments to its scheme.[3]
For more information about their respective roles and powers see the Regulator of Social Housing and Housing Ombudsman Service: factsheet on GOV.UK
Last updated: 2 April 2024