Housing Ombudsman hails “real progress” as annual review reveals lower proportion of complaints being upheld

The Ombudsman’s Annual Complaints Review for 2025-26 also found that findings of 'no maladministration' and 'reasonable redress' both rose.

“This shows real progress: residents know they have somewhere to turn, and more landlords are catching problems and fixing them early,” the Ombudsman said, adding that it believes the findings were a sign that its Complaint Handling Code is continuing to bed in.  

The Ombudsman noted that findings of severe maladministration also fell to 470 (2% of findings), down from 714 in 2024-25, but it cautioned that “these still represent things going seriously wrong for hundreds of households, most often in repairs cases”. 

A total of 8,783 determinations were made by the Ombudsman in 2025-26 and 99% of its orders were complied with on time. Some £4.8 million was ordered in compensation as a result of an average ordered amount per upheld case of £703.

The Annual Complaints Review meanwhile revealed that complaints regarding local authorities were upheld at a higher rate than housing associations (72% versus 59%), mostly because housing associations resolve more issues through redress before a case reaches the Ombudsman (31% versus 12%).

“This suggests problems arise at similar rates for both, but housing associations may have more flexibility to put things right early.”

The report also identified specific challenges in London, including overcrowding and aging homes, evidenced by more than twice as many complaints per 1,000 homes in the capital as elsewhere.

Finally, the report issued a challenge to landlords to reflect on three key areas for action:

1. Repairs as the priority area: Landlords should treat repairs handling, especially damp, mould and leaks, as the area with greatest potential impact on resident wellbeing and housing standards. Repairs remain the biggest concern to the Ombudsman, with 80% of cases featuring responsive repairs. It also had the highest severe maladministration rate of any category, at 5%. Living with disrepair has a serious impact on residents' lives, the Ombudsman said. Condensation, damp and mould made up 34% of repairs complaints; leaks made up 23%. The Ombudsman upheld more than 75% of both.
2. Awaab’s Law readiness: The Ombudsman encouraged landlords to audit whether their complaints handling teams can reliably identify when a case falls under Awaab’s Law. This should also identify whether they can respond within appropriate timescales.
3. Complaints handling comparison: The Ombudsman’s process change means that landlords can track and compare performance in complaints handling across time.

Andrea Keenoy, Interim Housing Ombudsman, said: "This year's review shows landlords continue to learn and improve by using their complaints as early warning indicators of something going wrong.

“More residents are coming to us with confidence that we'll investigate fairly, and more landlords are resolving issues before they reach us. That's real progress.

“But there is still work for landlords to do. Behind every severe maladministration finding is a household affected by serious failure.  We will work with the sector to keep driving these down.”

Harry Rodd