Legal updates
What do Housing Ombudsman repairs findings show for landlords?.
In 2025 to 26 the Housing Ombudsman made 20,016 findings, and responsive repairs featured in 80% of cases. Repairs made up 355 of the 470 severe maladministration findings, and damp, condensation and mould was 34% of repairs complaints. Comparisons with the year before are not fully like for like, because complaint handling is now examined in every case.
3 minute readAdded 22 October 2026Last updated 22 October 2026Zaviira editorial review. Not a legal review.
The Housing Ombudsman Service investigates complaints about social landlords. This page summarises the repairs figures in its Annual Complaints Review for cases determined from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. It reports the Ombudsman’s figures and does not predict what it would decide in any case. For the earlier reports and two determinations, see the Ombudsman’s findings, explained.
The headline numbers
- Findings
- 20,016 in 2025 to 26, against 14,420 in 2024 to 25.
- Upheld
- 62%, down from 71% in 2024 to 25.
- Severe maladministration
- 470 findings, 2% of all findings, against 714, 5%, in 2024 to 25.
- Compensation
- £4.8 million ordered, and a further £1.2 million recommended.
A caveat on comparing years
The comparison with 2024 to 25 is not fully like for like. From October 2025 the Ombudsman has looked at how the landlord handled the complaint in every case, and records it as a finding. That adds findings to the 2025 to 26 count, and it affects the shares as well as the totals. Read the year on year changes with this in mind, and see the Ombudsman’s review for the adjusted comparison.
What the repairs figures show
- Repairs are in most cases. 80% of cases determined in 2025 to 26 included a finding on responsive repairs.
- Repairs dominate the severe findings. 355 of the 470 severe maladministration findings were about repairs, which is 75% of the severe findings.
- Repairs drive compensation. More than 65% of the compensation ordered related to responsive repairs.
- Damp and mould is the largest repairs subject. Damp, condensation and mould made up 34% of the repairs complaints investigated. More than 75% of those complaints were upheld. It had the highest total compensation within repairs, at £1.1 million.
What landlords can learn about records and timeliness
The figures do not say why any one complaint was upheld. They show where complaints are concentrated: repairs, and within repairs, damp and mould. Awaab’s Law sets fixed times for damp, mould and emergency hazards in social homes. The legal clock and the clock on one page show them.
A landlord handling a complaint may be asked to show what was reported and when, what was decided, what was done and when, and what the tenant was told. Records that may help show this include:
- the date and time the report was received, and from whom;
- the investigation, who carried it out and what it found;
- the dates of each step against the date the clock started;
- what was said to the tenant and when;
- evidence that the work was done and checked.
The checklist for a good repair record sets these out from report to close.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Check the Ombudsman’s review before relying on any figure here.
Sources
- Housing Ombudsman Annual Complaints Review 2025 to 26 (Housing Ombudsman Service)
- Housing Ombudsman news release, 15 September 2026 (Housing Ombudsman Service)
- Housing Ombudsman annual review finds landlords resolve more issues before escalation despite overall rise in complaints (Inside Housing)
- The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/1042 (legislation.gov.uk)
General information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on any statement, and take advice from a housing lawyer on your own position. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.