RSH Consumer Standard theme
Complaint Handling across England
Complaint handling covers determinations about the landlord’s own complaints process: whether complaints were logged, responded to in time, escalated properly and resolved in line with the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.
The sector picture
59.6% of complaint handling determinations end in a maladministration finding.
Across 5,921 Housing Ombudsman determinations in this theme, the maladministration and severe-maladministration finding rate is 59.6%, against a sector-wide rate of 50.3% across all themes, and this theme runs higher than the sector overall. Aggregate counts only; no landlord is named.
Over the last six months the finding rate fell 2.1 percentage points against the prior six months.
| Quarter | Determinations | Finding rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-Q1 | 275 | 73.8% |
| 2025-Q2 | 407 | 67.6% |
| 2025-Q3 | 377 | 61.8% |
| 2025-Q4 | 1,519 | 61.7% |
| 2026-Q1 | 1,194 | 62.3% |
| 2026-Q2 | 306 | 59.5% |
Why it matters
Complaint handling is the theme where the Ombudsman most often finds maladministration, because a poor process compounds the original problem. The Complaint Handling Code is now statutory, so failures here carry direct regulatory weight.
What good looks like
- Complaints are recognised and logged at first point of contact, not gate-kept.
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 responses go out within Code timescales, with clear remedies.
- Learning from complaints is captured and fed back into services.
See your organisation
How does your organisation compare on complaint handling?
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Source
Figures are derived from the Housing Ombudsman’s published determinations. See the data sources and methodology for how this is calculated. Per-landlord intelligence is for signed-in housing professionals; the public view is sector-aggregate by design.
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