The Ombudsman has called on landlords to learn from the way complaints about housing have been handled ahead of a shakeup in the system next year.
The latest report from the Ombudsman's office says 40 complaint handling failure orders were issued to 32 landlords from January to March this year.
It says 12 of those were not complied with and further action was taken.
The new complaint handling code will become law next year which will mean landlords will be expected to comply with its provisions.
It will include reviewing not only to what extent landlord’s published approach is in line with the code, but how it is being delivered.
The Ombudsman has added 'key learning' in its latest report, which includes delays in processing incoming calls and emails, poor communication with residents and complaints teams struggling with the volume of work.
It also highlights the intervention work carried out before a complaint handling failure order is issued which it says will help landlords spot the signs of non-compliance early and fix issues.
And for the first time where a landlord has been named as non-compliant, the Ombudsman has stated the reason for this, another way of helping the sector avoid these orders in the future.
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