Most social landlords are registered with the Housing Ombudsman. If yours is not, here are the other routes you can use.
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In short
Nearly every social landlord in England is registered with the Housing Ombudsman Service. Councils, housing associations, and large registered providers all sit inside it. Private landlords sit outside. A new private-sector redress scheme is being set up under the Renters' Rights Act. Expected your landlord to be registered, and they are not? Other routes exist. The Regulator of Social Housing. Your council. The Local Government Ombudsman. A disrepair claim. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Who has to be registered
The Housing Ombudsman covers:
- All council landlords
- All registered providers of social housing. That means housing associations on the Regulator's register
- Some other landlords who join by choice
If you rent from any of those, the landlord will be registered.
The Ombudsman does NOT cover:
- Private landlords. Their own scheme is being set up. Meanwhile, see the routes below
- Letting agents alone: use TPO or the Property Redress Scheme
- Estate agents on a buying or selling matter: same two schemes
- Some small or unregistered social-housing set-ups
How to check whether your landlord is on the list
The Housing Ombudsman publishes a public scheme members list:
- Go to housing-ombudsman.org.uk/landlords-info/scheme-members-list
- Search the landlord's name
- The list confirms current scheme membership
Landlord missing from the list? Ring the Ombudsman on 0300 111 3000 and ask.
If your social landlord is missing from the list
Rare, but it happens. Possible reasons:
- The landlord's name changed, and you are searching the old one
- A parent organisation holds the registration under a different name
- The landlord was just added, or just removed
- The landlord runs unregistered social housing. Very rare in England
What to do:
- Check the parent body's name. It often sits on your tenancy agreement.
- Ring the landlord and ask for their scheme membership number.
- Ring the Ombudsman with the answer, and confirm.
Still genuinely unregistered after all that? See the routes below.
Alternative routes for social-housing tenants
Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)
The RSH regulates registered providers. It handles no single complaints. But it investigates wider failures. A complaint that joins a bigger pattern may interest it.
Contact: 0300 124 5225 or gov.uk/government/organisations/regulator-of-social-housing.
Your council's environmental health team
Ombudsman registration matters nothing here. The council's environmental health team can inspect any home in the borough under the HHSRS rating system. It can serve enforcement notices on any landlord. See how to request an HHSRS inspection.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO)
Where the council acts as a public body, not just as your landlord, the LGSCO steps in. The Housing Ombudsman usually takes tenancy and repairs. The LGSCO takes other council services. The two work together.
Contact: 0300 061 0614 or lgo.org.uk.
Disrepair claim through the courts
For disrepair itself, a county court claim runs under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 works too. Ombudsman registration matters nothing to it. No membership is needed to claim.
This is our work. Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Alternative routes for private-rented tenants
A private landlord outside the Ombudsman scheme, which is almost all of them for now, leaves these routes:
- The Property Ombudsman, covering letting and estate agents that joined. 01722 333 306 or tpos.co.uk
- The Property Redress Scheme, the other approved agent scheme. 0333 321 9418 or theprs.co.uk
- The council's housing team, for HHSRS inspections
- Trading Standards, for Tenant Fees Act 2019 breaches
- Court action for serious disrepair. Us, or a solicitor direct
Strength of evidence still matters
Whatever the route, the evidence needed stays the same:
- Photos, videos and dates
- Written reports and replies
- Doctor's letters where health suffered
- Damaged-belongings receipts
- A clear timeline
Build the file once and use it everywhere.
How we can help
We do not run Ombudsman complaints. We help tenants with housing disrepair claims. A strong disrepair case beside any Ombudsman or council route? Call us free on 0800 030 4669.
Free call: 0800 030 4669 | Start your claim
Sources
- Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk)
We review every guide at least twice a year and update it when the law changes. If you spot something out of date or wrong, email help@supportfortenants.co.uk.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 28 May 2026. Checked by our SRA-regulated panel solicitors. This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Any compensation figures or ranges shown are illustrative only, not a promise; every case is different.
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Still stuck?
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