fbpx

The Housing Ombudsman – Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the Housing Ombudsman and what do they do?

The Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) is an independent, impartial, and free service for Beyond Housing customers.

It reviews complaints about housing organisations that are registered with it. The outcome of these investigations includes remedies, orders, and recommendations. They provide redress for the resident, require the landlord to improve their service if necessary, and offer additional recommendations based on the case findings.

When can I ask the Ombudsman to review my complaint?

Firstly, you must make a formal complaint to Beyond Housing. If you are unhappy with your stage 1 complaint response, you can ask us to escalate your complaint to stage two. If you are still unhappy with our response to your stage two complaint, you can ask the Housing Ombudsman to review your complaint.

Can a group of residents bring a complaint to the Ombudsman?

The Ombudsman deals with complaints from individual tenants and leaseholders. In some cases, they may consider one resident’s complaint as a lead case for a wider group. This means that any decision they make for the lead case may also apply to other residents in the same circumstances.

Which organisation regulates the social housing sector?

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) regulates the social housing sector. Although the Ombudsman and RSH have different functions, they have a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out how they work together.

What powers do the Housing Ombudsman have to resolve issues?

They can track the orders issued to ensure the landlord completes them and if they need to, can use court enforcement to make the landlord comply.

How do I contact the Housing Ombudsman?

The contact details for the Housing Ombudsman Service are:

What is the role of the Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC)?

The MRC is responsible for ensuring the governing body (our board) receives regular information on complaints that provides insight into our complaint handling performance.

Who is Beyond Housing’s Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC)?

Our MRC is one of our Board Members, Cath Owston.