The Housing Ombudsman has published a revised special investigation process, which it says will allow landlords to resolve issues earlier without the need for a full investigation, and allow the ombudsman to intervene when it sees a landlord performing less well than others on a series of key metrics.

The new process has been designed to improve landlord accountability for delivering better services, helping to prevent complaints, and uses a tiered approach that encourages landlords to detect and fix problems early. Each tier in the process brings a higher level of scrutiny.

Landlords will be asked at Tier 1 to provide the ombudsman with a response plan of how they are resolving the issues it sees in its casework.

At Tier 2 the ombudsman will follow up with landlords if there is a continued lack of improvement, or if their performance based on the casework gets worse, despite having previously undergone Tier 1 engagement.

Tier 3 is the ombudsman’s full investigation where it will identify the root causes for landlord’s poor performance and make recommendations for improvement through a full report.

The ombudsman says it will maintain contact with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) during this process, and also share information with other stakeholders when appropriate, such as the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Building Safety Regulator.

You can read the full process, including how we escalate between tiers, on the ombudsman’s special investigations page. 

The new model has been trialled with several landlords; the current open Tier 1 investigations are:

  • A2Dominion
  • Amplius
  • Hexagon Housing Association
  • London Borough of Redbridge
  • London Borough of Wandsworth
  • Norwich City Council
  • Soho Housing.

Meanwhile, several investigations have been closed in recent months following a Tier 1 intervention, where the ombudsman will continue to monitor performance to make sure it sees improvements. They are:

  • London Borough of Ealing
  • London Borough of Waltham Forest
  • Notting Hill Genesis
  • Richmond Housing Partnership
  • Wandle.

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.  

“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.”