Complaints to Housing Ombudsman soar by 73%, figures reveal

News23.06.2112.20 PM by Dominic Brady

The Housing Ombudsman has recorded a 73% increase in the number of complaints it received compared with the previous year, data shows.

Richard Blakeway heads the Housing Ombudsman (picture: Simon Brandon)

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The @HousingOmbuds has recorded a 73% increase in the number of complaints it received compared with the previous year #UKhousing

The ombudsman’s latest Insight report, published today, revealed that the organisation received 6,010 enquiries and complaints between January and March this year, compared with just 3,482 in the same quarter last year.

The sector’s complaints arbitration service noted that the number of complaints declined during the coronavirus pandemic while lockdowns were in place, but has been steadily increasing and has now exceeded the previous year.

Comparison from March alone shows an increase from 960 complaints in 2020 to 2,447 this year, with the ombudsman suggesting that these figures “may be the new normal”.

The watchdog has undergone a number of changes over the past year, including a new commitment to publish reports on all investigations in attempt to increase transparency. The ombudsman has also begun publishing ‘thematic investigations’, the most recent of which is an assessment of damp and mould.

Housing ombudsman Richard Blakeway said: “Demand for our service is clearly increasing, which we expect to continue this year. This reinforces the need for landlords to use the good practice set out in our complaint-handling code, so they can respond to complaints fairly and effectively.

“A number of cases highlighted in this report concern the challenging period during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I hope the case studies and the lessons identified in this report provide useful learning for the sector.”