Anyone searching the internet for ‘Housing Ombudsman’ to read the consultation on its business plan will notice that the Housing Ombudsman’s official website is not the top hit. The top two or three sites – some of which misleadingly include the words “Housing Ombudsman” in their description – are sponsored by companies encouraging tenants to make a disrepair claim against their landlord. These Claims Farmers have recently become much more active in many areas and are providing misleading advice and causing distress to many residents, as well as diverting the resources of many local authorities from doing repairs to fighting legal actions. This has become an issue of major concern to many ARCH member authorities and these concerns are shared by the Housing Ombudsman and the Regulator, and now, DLUHC, which is carrying out a short survey of Registered Providers – both local authorities and housing associations – to assess the scale of the problem.

The survey is online and can be accessed at https://forms.office.com/e/bFUSAUNxR4. 

A big response from ARCH member authorities will help stimulate effective action from Government to tackle this growing problem.