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Complaints to Housing Ombudsman soar by 73%, figures reveal
The Housing Ombudsman has recorded a 73% increase in the number of complaints it received compared with the previous year, data shows.
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”.
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The report said: “More cases came into our formal remit for investigation, increasing from 430 in January to March 2020 to 675 for the same three months this year. We also made decision on more cases at 640 compared to 505 in the same period last year.”
Today’s report is the second one published by the ombudsman to have a regional focus, with case studies covering the East Midlands, West Midlands and East of England. However, complaints figures relate to the entire country.
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.”
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