There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Renters’ Rights Bill. You might’ve caught bits of it in the news or seen a few posts online. One thing that keeps popping up is the new Landlord Ombudsman. It sounds official… maybe even a bit daunting. So what actually is it? And how’s it going to work?
Right, let’s start simple.
The basic idea is that every landlord in England – whether you’ve got a single buy-to-let or a whole portfolio – will need to be registered with an official Ombudsman scheme. No exceptions. If you rent out a property, you’re in.
The Ombudsman’s main role?
It’s to offer renters a proper channel to raise complaints when things can’t be sorted directly with their landlord. So instead of heading straight to court or just giving up (which, let’s be honest, most tenants end up doing now), they’ll have somewhere independent to go.
If you’re a landlord reading this, it’s not necessarily bad news. Actually, having a clear way to settle disputes could save everyone a lot of time, money, and drama. I mean, who really wants months of email arguments or expensive legal letters? Not me.
Here’s roughly how the process will work:
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Step 1: A tenant raises a complaint with you first. You get a chance to fix it – as you should.
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Step 2: If it’s not sorted (say you disagree or they think you’re dragging your feet), they can escalate it to the Ombudsman.
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Step 3: The Ombudsman looks at both sides, checks the evidence – emails, photos, whatever’s needed – and makes a decision.
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Step 4: You (the landlord) will usually be expected to follow the Ombudsman’s decision. It could mean apologising, fixing something properly, maybe even paying a bit of compensation if the tenant’s been seriously messed about.
Now, this bit’s important: decisions made by the Ombudsman are binding. Not optional.
You can appeal in some cases, but honestly, once it gets to that point, it’s probably better to just accept the outcome and move on. Otherwise, you might end up being banned from letting property altogether. And yeah, the Bill mentions banning landlords who repeatedly refuse to comply. Bit harsh maybe, but that’s the tone they’re going for.
Also worth noting – being part of the Ombudsman scheme will come with a small cost.
Not massive (at least that’s the promise), but enough that if you’ve got, say, five properties, you’ll need to factor it into your running costs. It’s another admin thing really… a bit like your landlord licence if you’re in a licensing area already. You’ll need to show you’re signed up, stay in good standing, that sort of thing.
Something else I found interesting – tenants won’t need a lawyer to use the Ombudsman. It’s supposed to be dead simple. Plain language, easy online forms, that kind of thing. They even reckon most cases will be sorted in a few weeks, not months. Fingers crossed.
One thing I do wonder though…
Will it get flooded with petty complaints? You know, things like “my landlord didn’t answer my text at 8pm on a Sunday” or “they were 10 minutes late to a viewing.”
Maybe.
But the Ombudsman isn’t going to take every complaint at face value. They’ll filter out the nonsense early on, at least that’s the plan. We’ll see in practice I guess.
In summary – if you’re a landlord, the best approach probably isn’t to panic.
It’s to be ready.
Keep good records. Be fair. Communicate properly. Fix stuff without dragging your heels.
If you do that, you’re unlikely to ever meet the Ombudsman… and if you do, you’ll be in a strong position anyway.
It’s another shift towards professionalising the private rental sector. Like it or not, that’s where things are headed.
For the nerds out there, you can read the bill and latest updates from the Parliament website here