Yahoo Finance Housing complaints overhaul targets rogue landlords
Tenants left fighting with private landlords over shoddy accommodation will be consulted on a new complaints system, the Government has announced.
The current schemes are said to leave thousands without solutions, requiring some people to navigate through at least four different services in order to find out where to register a complaint.
It is thought that the complexity of the system allows private landlords to exploit their tenants, providing substandard services with little risk of government intervention.
An eight-week consultation, starting today, will aim to create a simpler and more effective complaints system, so disputes can be resolved faster and consumers can access compensation where it is owed.
It aims to crack down on rogue landlords who provide overcrowded, squalid and dangerous homes.
Some of the options to be considered include introducing a single housing ombudsman to cover the whole of the housing market, and naming and shaming poor practices.
Sajid Javid, the Housing Secretary, said: "For too long, tenants and homeowners have navigated multiple complaints procedures to resolve disputes about everyday household repairs and maintenance.
"Fixing this housing crisis is about more than just building homes, it's ensuring people have the answers available when something goes wrong.”
Unlike other areas, such as financial services that have a single and accountable ombudsman, housing has over four different complaints bodies.
In the private rented sector, there is currently no obligation for landlords to register with a complaints system and this can often leave thousands who do not use a property agent without any option for redress.
House builders are responsible for fixing incomplete work in new-builds, but when homes are left unfinished, many consumers find that they have nowhere left to turn.
