Date Published 13 September 2025
The government will introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman Service, which all private landlords in England with assured or regulated tenancies will be required by law to join, including those who use a managing agent.
Tenants will be able to use the service for free to complain about a landlords' actions or behaviours. The service will offer fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants, and will have powers to compel landlords to issue an apology, provide information, take remedial action, and/or pay compensation. The service will also benefit landlords by resolving tenant-initiated complaints in the quickest and most cost-effective way possible. Landlords will also have access to guidance and support from the ombudsman service to help them improve their complaint handling practices.
The bill includes robust enforcement measures for the ombudsman service. Local councils will be able to take action against landlords who fail to join, or against anyone who markets a PRS property where the landlord is not registered. This will include civil penalties of up to £7,000 for initial breaches and up to £40,000 or criminal prosecution for continuing or repeated breaches. Tenants will be able to seek rent repayment orders against their landlord if the landlord commits an offence by persistently failing to join the ombudsman service.
Landlords will be required to comply with ombudsman decisions. Failure to comply may result in a landlord being expelled from the scheme and subsequent local council enforcement action, as outlined above. There will be a route for landlords to rejoin the ombudsman service if they take the necessary steps to become compliant.
Frequently asked questions
When will the ombudsman service be introduced and landlords be expected to sign up? Will they be expected to pay for membership?
The ombudsman service will be introduced as soon as possible after Royal Assent. Landlords will be given notice of the date by which they will be required to sign up to the ombudsman service and sufficient time to make appropriate arrangements.
We expect that landlords will likely be required to pay a small annual fee per PRS property. The ombudsman service will set this fee based on the costs of operating an effective service and we will work with them to make sure it is proportionate and good value.
How will a tenant challenge their landlord using the ombudsman service and what powers will it have to help tenants resolve their complaints?
The ombudsman service will independently and impartially investigate tenant complaints. If the service determines that the landlord acted unreasonably or unprofessionally when handling a tenant's original complaint to the landlord, the ombudsman will be able to tell a landlord to take or cease taking an action, issue an apology or explanation, and/or award compensation to put things right. Landlords who are members of the ombudsman must abide by the ombudsman's decisions.
We expect tenants will be able to contact the ombudsman online or by telephone and we will work to ensure that all tenants, including those who are vulnerable, can access the service.
What will tenants be able to complain to the ombudsman service about and will prospective and former, as well as current, tenants be able to make complaints?
Broadly, the ombudsman service will consider complaints from tenants regarding actions, inactions or behaviours of a landlord which has caused harm or inconvenience. The types of complaint that the service will consider are not included on the face of the Renters' Rights Bill so the ombudsman can retain sufficient discretion to consider the individual circumstances of each complaint.
When a property is marketed for letting, the landlord will be required to be a member of the ombudsman service. We will also expect landlords to remain members for a reasonable amount of time once they have stopped being a landlord.
This is because things can go wrong for tenants at any point in the rental process, so it is reasonable for tenants to have the opportunity to seek redress for harm or inconvenience caused during the pre-letting period or at the end of a tenancy.
Will landlords be able to complain to the ombudsman about their tenants?
No, it would be unprecedented and inappropriate for landlords to seek binding decisions from the ombudsman service, which is designed to protect consumer rights. Therefore, only tenants will be able to seek redress from the service.
However, we are committed to ensuring that landlords, like tenants, have appropriate access to alternative dispute resolution. We are exploring options for landlord-initiated mediation for landlords to resolve issued with their tenants.
Will landlords who use an agent to manage their property need to join and how will tenants know where to complaint if their landlord uses a managing agent?
Yes. Landlords who use managing agents are still responsible for their own behaviour and still retain legal obligations to tenants – particularly around standards and repairs.
Landlords and agents will remain responsible for their own actions and behaviours, as well as the respective services they have agreed and are legally bound to provide to tenants. Tenants and landlords will still be able to complain about agents and receive redress through the existing agent redress schemes.
If the landlord and agent are both at fault, the provision for cooperation in the bill will allow the PRS Landlord Ombudsman to work with the existing agent redress schemes to conduct joint investigations and, where appropriate, issue joint decisions.
Which organisation will take on the role of the new ombudsman?
The government will pursue the most appropriate route for designating or approving an ombudsman scheme to provide the best service for tenants and landlords.
The administrator of the PRS Landlord Ombudsman Service will be appointed as soon as possible after the bill's provisions are commenced.
Credit- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill/guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill
