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Brokenshire announces complaints system ‘overhaul’ for private housing
Housing secretary James Brokenshire has announced a new housing complaints service for private renters and homeowners.
Under the plans, private landlords in England will be legally required to join a housing redress scheme for the first time, facing fines of up to £5,000 if they don’t.
The government is still considering how to reform redress for social housing tenants separately following the Social Housing Green Paper, with an update due in spring.
The ‘Housing Complaints Resolution Service’ is intended to provide a straight-forward route for people to get help with unresolved disputes about their home and make it easier to claim compensation from landlords or builders.
Currently, there are several different complaints bodies covering the housing market which can make it difficult to know where to register a grievance, the government said.
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Mr Brokenshire said: “Creating a housing market that works for everyone isn’t just about building homes – it’s about ensuring people can get the help they need when something goes wrong.
“But all too often the process can be confusing and overly bureaucratic, leaving many homeowners and tenants feeling like there is nowhere to go in the event of problems with their home.
“The proposals I have announced today will help ensure all residents are able to access help when they need it so disputes can be resolved faster and people can get compensation where it’s owed.”
A new Redress Reform Working Group will be set up to develop the Housing Complaints Resolution Service.
The government announcement said redress for social housing residents is being considered separately. It added that the response to the Social Housing Green Paper and the consultation on social housing regulation are due to be published in the spring.
The measures announced today form part of the government’s response to its consultation, Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market, which ran between February and April 2018.
Ministers have also previously promised to establish a New Homes Ombudsman for buyers of new builds, with legislation requiring developers to join the scheme to be brought forward “at the earliest possible opportunity”.
The government said developers will have to belong to the body by 2021 in order to access Help to Buy funding.
