Non-tenants who have concerns about how councils manage social housing can now complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), under changes brought into force under the Renters’ Rights Act.

Until now, neither the LGSCO or the Housing Ombudsman could look at complaints about housing management from people who were not tenants, meaning people had nowhere to turn if things had gone wrong.

Changes to the Local Government Act 1974, which come into effect on 1 May 2026, extended the jurisdiction of the LGSCO to cover complaints about local authority social housing management from people who are not tenants.

The Housing Ombudsman will continue to handle complaints from tenants about their social landlord, including where that landlord is a local council.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “This is a significant and long-overdue change. Until now, people who had genuine concerns about how their council was managing social housing – but who were not tenants themselves – had nowhere to turn once they had exhausted the council’s own complaints process.

“These amendments close that gap and ensure that we can provide the independent scrutiny and redress that the public deserves. I would encourage all local authority complaint managers to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements and the signposting tool we have developed.”