Housing Ombudsman Report on Apologies in Complaint Handling

UK Housing Ombudsman News

Published February 26th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

The UK Housing Ombudsman has released a report highlighting the importance of meaningful apologies in complaint handling, aligning with its existing guidance. The report uses case examples to illustrate how landlords can improve their apology practices to provide more effective remedies and rebuild resident trust.

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What changed

The UK Housing Ombudsman has published a 'learning from severe maladministration' report focusing on the use of apologies as a remedy in complaint handling. The report, aligned with the Ombudsman's guidance on apologies, provides case examples where landlords could have offered stronger apologies to residents experiencing issues such as prolonged overheating due to faulty windows, inaccessibility due to a faulty step, or distress from antisocial behaviour. The report aims to guide landlords in building better apologies that offer more meaningful outcomes.

Landlords are encouraged to provide genuine apologies, which can be restorative and strengthen the resident-landlord relationship. The Ombudsman notes that it orders over 4,000 apologies annually and emphasizes that a well-handled complaint, including a meaningful apology, can foster culture change and rebuild trust, especially given the power imbalance between residents and social landlords. The report serves as a reminder for landlords not to shy away from offering apologies for organisational failings.

What to do next

Review current apology practices against the Housing Ombudsman's guidance.
Incorporate lessons from case examples into complaint handling procedures.
Ensure apologies are genuine, timely, and address the resident's experience.

Source document (simplified)

News Press releases

Housing Ombudsman highlights the importance of meaningful apologies in complaint handling

26 February 2026

We have released our latest ‘learning from severe maladministration’ report. The report focuses on apologies in complaint handling.

This report focuses on the use of apologies as a remedy.

We have aligned the report with our guidance on apologies. It shows how landlords can build better apologies that provide more meaningful outcomes.

Sometimes, an apology can be enough to remedy the situation.

The report shares several cases where an apology was important and while the landlord often apologised during its own complaint process, it could have been stronger. One case involves a resident experiencing overheating for more than 3 years because of faulty windows.

In another case, a resident was unable to leave her home because of a faulty step and a further case involves a mother sleeping on a sofa with her child because of the impact of antisocial behaviour.

The landlords mentioned in this report are:

Bristol City Council
Futures Housing Group
London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Haringey
London Borough of Lambeth
L&Q
PA Housing
Southern Housing
Stonewater Learning from severe maladministration report

Apologies guidance

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Genuine apologies can be restorative. It makes the resident-landlord relationship stronger. It shows an open, healthy culture. It provides residents with dignity and respect. And it offers the landlord a moment for reflection.

“Given the imbalance of power with residents, saying sorry for mistakes is especially important for social landlords. Rebuilding trust matters when most residents will still live with the same landlord, regardless of its performance or any failings.

“Using our powers to facilitate a meaningful apology is an important aspect of our work. It can foster behaviour and culture change at little financial cost. Today, our service typically orders more than 4,000 apologies every year.

“An apology is a human way to acknowledge the pain organisational failings can cause. Complaints handled well can be restorative. Handled badly, and the complaints process compounds earlier service failings and further erodes trust.

“We know saying sorry isn’t always easy. Nor is it always enough. But we encourage social landlords not to shy away from it.”