The Housing Ombudsman has published a revised special investigations process for landlords, aimed at helping them fix problems earlier without needing a full investigation.
The change allows the ombudsman to step in if a landlord’s performance is below others on key measures.
The process is designed to improve landlord accountability and prevent complaints, using a tiered approach that encourages early action.
At tier 1, landlords are asked to provide a response plan for how they will resolve issues raised in casework.
If there is no improvement or things get worse, tier 2 follows up with more engagement.
Tier 3 is a full investigation, identifying the root causes and making recommendations in a report.
Landlords currently under open tier 1 investigations are A2Dominion, Amplius, Hexagon Housing Association, London Borough of Redbridge, London Borough of Wandsworth, Norwich City Council, and Soho Housing.
Several investigations have closed after tier 1 intervention and will continue to be monitored for improvements.
These are London Borough of Ealing, London Borough of Waltham Forest, Notting Hill Genesis, Richmond Housing Partnership and Wandle.
A learning statement on the London Borough of Ealing will be provided in the next update.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Complaints are vital tools for learning and continuous improvement. Our casework sometimes reveals similar service failings repeatedly happening.
“It’s important to look at what sits behind a complaint and avoid treating them as isolated incidents. Joining the dots between complaints can inform targeted interventions, whether those relate to policies, processes, people or systems.
“This new approach to special investigations enables us to engage landlords earlier, sharing our insights and encouraging the landlord to identify how it can prevent service failings reoccurring.”
Blakeway added: “This proactive approach to learning from complaints should deliver better outcomes for residents and landlords, improving services, strengthening trust and preventing complaints.
“This is integral to embedding a positive complaints culture across the sector.”
