News

The Housing Ombudsman’s Annual Complaints Review 2025–26 is a useful read for anyone involved in inspecting residential property. Although it focuses on social housing, its findings have much wider relevance. RPSA members inspect homes across private ownership, private renting and social housing, and many of the defects, concerns and communication difficulties we encounter are common to all three.

Reading about complaints gives us an opportunity to learn from situations we may not have encountered ourselves. It shows how building problems affect people, how concerns can escalate and where better information or an earlier response might have made a difference. For surveyors, that is valuable context for both our inspections and the advice we provide.

Repairs feature prominently in this year’s review. Condensation, damp and mould accounted for 34% of the repairs complaints investigated, while leaks accounted for 23%. Windows also attracted a particularly high proportion of upheld complaints. These are familiar subjects in residential surveying, and a reminder of the importance of investigating the evidence available, considering possible causes and explaining where further investigation is necessary. The figures relate to complaints reaching the Ombudsman, rather than the prevalence of defects across the housing stock.

Some of the most useful lessons concern what happens around the defect. The review identifies poor communication, inadequate records, missed risk assessments and failures to consider residents’ circumstances. For RPSA members, these findings offer a practical opportunity to reflect: do our photographs and notes support our conclusions? Have we explained what we could and could not inspect? Will the client understand the significance of a finding, its urgency and the next step? Clear reporting helps turn an inspection into advice that someone can act on.

There is a human dimension too. A recurring leak or an unusable window can affect someone’s comfort, confidence and use of their home. Listening carefully to an occupant’s account can provide valuable inspection evidence, while keeping our conclusions grounded in what we can establish. Understanding the concern and explaining our findings clearly are both part of providing a professional service.

The review also introduces an artificial intelligence complaints category, covering matters such as inaccurate data, automated decisions and reduced human interaction. As digital tools become more common in surveying, this is worth following. Their usefulness depends on the quality of the information behind them and the professional judgement applied to their output.

I encourage members to spend some time with the review and explore the linked learning reports. Whether you inspect homes for buyers, owners or housing providers, there is value in understanding where services have succeeded, where they have failed and what we can learn. Bringing those lessons into our own inspections, records, reports and client conversations is a practical way to keep improving standards.