Housing Ombudsman consults on business plan as landlord fees set to rise

Demand for the service has increased sharply, with cases rising by almost 500% over the past five years to more than 13,000 in 2025-26.

The watchdog said it currently completes more than 800 investigations a month and is moving towards 1,000, with 30% more investigations completed in 2024-25 than the previous year.

The ombudsman made 7,082 determinations in 2024-25, marking the service’s busiest year on record. Staff now receive a contact every 25 seconds and register a new case every three minutes.

To address this, the ombudsman has set targets to determine 90% of high-risk cases within four months and half of all cases within six months, aiming to ensure no case is older than 16 months by the end of the year.

The business plan also sets out a three-year strategy to reduce the overall caseload, including introducing faster routes for cases, improving landlord complaint-handling to prevent issues escalating, reducing the age of older cases and improving cost efficiency.

Richard Blakeway, housing ombudsman, said: “We recognise the enormous effort most social landlords have made to improve their approach to complaints over the last six years.

“Adopting the Complaint Handling Code, using complaints as an early indicator of wider issues, investing in their teams and strengthening governance – this is real and meaningful progress. Our business plan is designed to build on it.

“Our goal is to help landlords resolve more complaints within their own processes. Earlier resolution is better for residents, and it builds stronger, more trusting relationships between landlords and the people they serve.

“The fee increase is not something we have taken lightly. We held our rate for two years despite overwhelming demand and have driven down our cost per case significantly.”

The consultation closes on 26 March.