Social tenants can go to the Housing Ombudsman or bring a civil disrepair claim. Private tenants only have the civil route. Here is how to choose, and why doing both is often the right answer.
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If you are a social tenant with a housing disrepair problem, you face a choice that most private tenants do not: do you go to the Housing Ombudsman, bring a civil disrepair claim, or both?
This article sets out what each route does, what it cannot do, and when one or both makes sense.
The Housing Ombudsman route
The Housing Ombudsman Service is a free, independent body that investigates complaints against social landlords in England. It can only be used by social tenants, meaning council tenants and housing association tenants.
How it works: You must first exhaust your landlord's internal complaints process (typically two stages). Once you have a final decision from the landlord, or once 8 weeks have passed at Stage 2 without a response, you can refer the complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman then investigates and issues a determination.
What it can order: The Ombudsman can order an apology, a policy change, a goodwill payment, or steps to put things right. Goodwill payments are typically in the hundreds to low thousands of pounds. They are rarely large enough to reflect the full impact of serious, long-running disrepair.
What it cannot do: The Ombudsman cannot order your landlord to carry out specific repairs on a set timescale. It also cannot award compensation for personal injury. Its determinations carry moral and regulatory weight, but they are not enforceable in the same way a court order is.
How long it takes: Investigations regularly take 12 months or more from the date of referral. In a complex case with significant evidence, it can be longer.
The civil disrepair claim route
A civil disrepair claim is a legal claim brought in the county court, usually under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, or the Defective Premises Act 1972, depending on what the disrepair involves.
Who can use it: Social tenants and private tenants. This is the only formal route available to private tenants.
How it works: Your claim is prepared and sent to the landlord under the Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims. The landlord has 20 working days to respond and arrange a joint inspection. Most claims settle before going to court. If they do not, the county court issues a judgment.
What it can order: A court can order the landlord to carry out specific repairs within a set timeframe, with consequences for non-compliance. It can also award compensation for loss of use, damage to belongings, distress, and personal injury. Awards in settled claims can be significantly larger than Ombudsman goodwill payments, particularly where disrepair has run for years or has caused health problems.
How long it takes: Most cases settle within 3 to 18 months of starting the pre-action protocol. Court proceedings, if required, add time.
Cost: On a no-win-no-fee basis, there is no upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.
The key differences at a glance
| Housing Ombudsman | Civil disrepair claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Social tenants only | Social and private tenants |
| Cost | Free | No upfront cost (no-win-no-fee) |
| Can order repairs | No | Yes |
| Personal injury compensation | No | Yes |
| Typical compensation level | Hundreds to low thousands | Can be substantially higher |
| Typical timescale | 12 months or more | 3 to 18 months |
Can you do both at the same time?
Yes. There is no rule that prevents you from pursuing the Ombudsman complaint and a civil disrepair claim in parallel. In fact, for many social tenants, doing both is the right approach.
The Ombudsman complaint keeps pressure on the landlord through a regulatory channel. It produces a formal written record of how the complaint was handled. That record is useful in the civil claim.
The civil claim is what gets repairs ordered and meaningful compensation awarded.
When Ombudsman findings help your civil claim
If the Ombudsman finds maladministration against your landlord, that is a written determination from a statutory body that the landlord failed in its obligations to you. That is powerful evidence in a civil claim. It is much harder for a landlord to argue your complaint was unreasonable or that the disrepair was not serious when a formal investigation has already found maladministration.
You do not need to wait for the Ombudsman's determination before starting a civil claim. But if you already have one, bring it.
When the Ombudsman route alone is enough
Not every housing dispute justifies a civil claim. The Ombudsman route may be enough on its own if:
- The dispute is about a service failure, a policy complaint, or a process issue rather than physical disrepair to the property
- The financial impact is low and you are not seeking significant compensation
- You have the time and inclination to manage the complaints process yourself
- You want an apology or a policy change more than compensation
If your home has damp, mould, broken heating, structural problems, or other physical disrepair that has affected your health or your belongings, and your landlord has been ignoring reports, a civil claim is almost always the stronger route, whether or not you also use the Ombudsman.
Private tenants: one route
If you are renting privately, the Housing Ombudsman is not available to you. Your routes are a civil disrepair claim, your local council's environmental health team (which can serve an improvement notice on your landlord), and, from 2026, the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman when it is fully operational.
A civil disrepair claim is the route that can get repairs ordered and compensation paid.
Get an honest assessment
If you are not sure which route fits your situation, call Support for Tenants on 0800 030 4669. We will tell you which route or combination of routes makes sense for you, including when we think the Ombudsman alone is better than a claim. We are not a law firm; we work with solicitors who handle housing disrepair cases on a no-win-no-fee basis.
No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.
Sources: Housing Ombudsman Service (housing-ombudsman.org.uk); Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims (justice.gov.uk); Section 11, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (legislation.gov.uk).
Support For Tenants is a trading name of Cyntex Group Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Claims Management Company. FRN 1020217. Registered in England and Wales.
Reviewed against current housing law for England and Wales as at 29 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 and not guaranteed; every case is different.
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