You reported the mould in the bedroom in the spring. Someone came round, wiped it down and said a surveyor would follow. Nobody did. You made a formal complaint and got an automated email back, and that was six weeks ago. Your council or housing association seems to have forgotten you exist.
There are rules about this. Every social landlord in England has to follow the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, which has been statutory since 1 April 2024. It sets fixed deadlines for answering you, and when your landlord misses them, the Housing Ombudsman can take the complaint on. The Ombudsman is free, and it can order your landlord to put things right.
How long does a housing association have to answer a stage 1 complaint?
If you tell your landlord you are unhappy with something it did or failed to do, by phone, email or at the door, that counts as a complaint. Put it in writing so the deadlines are easy to prove. The Code allows only two stages. A landlord should not add an informal "stage 0" before your complaint counts, and paragraph 5.3 of the Code says more than two stages is "not acceptable under any circumstances".
The deadlines below are all in section 6 of the Code. At stage 1, your landlord must acknowledge the complaint within 5 working days. It must then send its answer within 10 working days of that acknowledgement. Any extension must be no more than 10 working days unless there is a good reason, and the landlord has to explain why and give you the Ombudsman's contact details.
These rules apply to councils as well as housing associations. The same rules cover a complaint about damp, a badly done repair, or how your landlord handled a neighbour problem.
How does a stage 2 complaint to a housing association work?
If you are unhappy with the stage 1 answer, ask for stage 2. The landlord must acknowledge that within 5 working days, and the person who reviews it must not be the one who handled stage 1. The final response is due within 20 working days of the acknowledgement, with any extension limited to 20 more working days unless there is a good reason, and the landlord must give you the Ombudsman's contact details when it extends.
It must also tell you how to take the complaint to the Ombudsman if you are still unhappy.
Can a council or housing association refuse a complaint?
Only for a valid reason. The Code's examples are a problem more than 12 months old, a matter already in court, and a matter already dealt with under the complaints procedure. A landlord must look at your circumstances instead of applying a blanket rule.
The 12 months run from when the problem happened or when you became aware of it, and the landlord must consider accepting an older complaint where there are good reasons. An ongoing problem like recurring damp is still in time, but older failures may be treated only as background, so complain as soon as you can. "Already in court" only applies once a court claim has been filed, not when you have sent a letter of claim.
If your landlord refuses your complaint, paragraph 2.4 of the Code says it must explain why and tell you that you can take the refusal to the Ombudsman. Ask for the explanation in writing.
Can you go to the Housing Ombudsman if a housing association isn't responding?
Normally you go to the Ombudsman after your landlord's stage 2 response. A new Housing Ombudsman Scheme took effect on 1 October 2026, and under paragraph 48(a) of the Scheme the Ombudsman can take a complaint earlier where there is evidence of a complaint-handling failure and the landlord has not acted within a reasonable time. The Ombudsman's own guidance says to contact it if you have had no stage 1 response within 15 working days of making your complaint.
You can complain if you are a current tenant, a leaseholder or shared owner, or a former tenant whose problem arose while you were still the landlord's tenant. Someone you authorise can complain for you.
Don't wait too long after the process ends. The Ombudsman may decline a complaint brought more than 12 months after you finished your landlord's complaints procedure.
How to complain to the Housing Ombudsman
Submit your complaint through the Ombudsman's Bring your complaint page. Include your complaint letters, the landlord's replies, dates of reports and visits, repair reference numbers and photos. A short diary of what happened and when makes the timeline easy to follow.
Can the Housing Ombudsman order compensation and repairs?
Yes. Under paragraph 60 of the Scheme, the Ombudsman can order your landlord to apologise, pay compensation, carry out works, follow its obligations under your tenancy, or review its policies. Landlords must show they have complied within the timescale the Ombudsman sets.
The Ombudsman can also make a finding of severe maladministration. Put simply, that is a finding that your landlord seriously failed you, and the Ombudsman publishes its decisions.
Unlike a court, the Ombudsman does not award damages. Its compensation is usually for your time and trouble or the distress and inconvenience the landlord caused, and the amount depends on the case. It does not order compensation for the effect on your health.
Is a disrepair claim better than a Housing Ombudsman complaint for damp?
You usually have to choose. Under paragraph 47(c) of the Scheme, the Ombudsman cannot look at anything a court is already dealing with. Under 48(e) and 48(f), it can decline where you have, or had, the chance to raise the issue in court proceedings, such as a claim you started, or where it thinks a court is the better place to decide.
A disrepair claim goes to the County Court. It can award damages for the inconvenience, the damage to your belongings and the effect on your health, and the court can order the repairs. Our guide to the housing disrepair protocol explains the letter of claim that starts it.
The Ombudsman route usually means finishing your landlord's two stages first, and an investigation can take months, but it is free and looks at how your landlord treated you as well as the repair itself. For damp and mould, Awaab's Law timescales are strong evidence either way. Since 27 October 2025, a social landlord has had to investigate significant damp and mould within 10 working days of becoming aware of it, and make emergencies safe within 24 hours.
Which ombudsman handles council housing complaints?
It depends on what the complaint is about. Complaints about your council as a landlord, such as repairs, damp or how a complaint was handled, go to the Housing Ombudsman. Complaints about a homelessness application or your priority on the housing register go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
To challenge a decision on a homelessness application, ask the council for a review within 21 days of being told the decision, under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman will not usually look at a decision you could have challenged that way.
Most private renters can't use the Housing Ombudsman unless their landlord has joined voluntarily. A mandatory ombudsman for private landlords is planned but not yet running, and our guide to the private rented sector landlord ombudsman covers where that has got to.
If your complaint has stalled at stage 1 or stage 2, Remedy can look at its history, tell you whether a disrepair claim is worth more than an Ombudsman complaint, and draft the letter for whichever route you choose.
