Investigations
On this page
Dispute resolution
Dispute resolution is a way of resolving a disagreement between a landlord and a resident without going to court.
An effective dispute resolution process can:
- mend relationships and build trust between landlords and residents
- identify what went wrong
- facilitate fair and effective redress
- make sure learning happens to avoid the same problem occurring again
Our 3 principles support effective dispute resolution:
- be fair
- put things right
- learn from outcomes
Our investigation process
How we investigate complaints
We investigate complaints from residents of landlords that are members of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme.
Our investigations go through 4 stages: enquiry, assessment, investigation, and review. Explore what each stage means for you.
How we assess and prioritise complaints
Find out what happens when you make a complaint, how we assess its level of risk, and how we decide which cases to look at first.
Reports
Further investigation reports
Further investigation reports allow us to look beyond an individual complaint. We look at whether there is evidence of a systemic failing in a landlord.
We send these reports to the Regulator for Social Housing for their consideration.
Landlord Learning Hub
Centre for Learning online platform
The Learning Hub is the Centre for Learning’s dedicated training platform. It is exclusively available for member landlords of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme.
All landlords are required to create an account to access the range of learning materials.
Podcasts
Casework conversations playlist
Tune into our casework conversations series.
These podcasts share learning from our investigations. They highlight good practice from landlords and learning from the failings seen in our casework.
Resident information
Resident support guides
Use this collection of support guides to make the complaints process easier and clearer.
They will help you understand your rights, know what steps to take, and get practical advice on all aspects of complaints.
These resources will give you the confidence to raise issues and get them resolved.
When to get help from us
Not sure when to contact the Housing Ombudsman?
This page explains the right time to get help. It shows what steps you need to take first, what we can and cannot look at, and how we can support you if your landlord has not resolved your complaint.
Use it to understand your options and make sure your complaint reaches the right place.