Private landlord ombudsman: when landlords must join

What is the private landlord ombudsman?

The Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman is a new complaints service for private tenants in England. A tenant who cannot settle a problem with their landlord will be able to take it to the ombudsman for a decision that binds the landlord. The government describes the service as fair, impartial and free for tenants to use.

It fills a gap. Letting agents already have to belong to a redress scheme, but private landlords do not, so a tenant renting directly from a landlord has had no equivalent service. People search for it as the landlord ombudsman, the private landlord ombudsman and the private rented sector ombudsman. They are all the same body.

It is not open yet. No landlord can join today and no landlord is in breach for not having joined.

Sources: GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act · GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap

What the Renters’ Rights Act requires

Part 2 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations requiring residential landlords to be members of an approved landlord redress scheme. Those regulations can also ban anyone from marketing a property to let unless the landlord is a member.

The government’s guide to the Act says all private landlords in England with assured or regulated tenancies will have to join, including those who use a managing agent. Since 1 May 2026 most private lets have been assured periodic tenancies, so this covers almost every private landlord.

Using an agent does not take you out of the scheme. The guide explains that landlords stay legally responsible for their own conduct, while agents answer for theirs through the existing agent redress schemes. Where both are at fault, the ombudsman will be able to work with the agent’s scheme on a joint investigation and a joint decision.

Sources: Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Part 2, Chapter 2, landlord redress schemes · GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act

When do landlords have to join?

GOV.UK gives no fixed date. The government’s roadmap for the Act says it expects landlords to be required to be members in 2028, ‘when the Secretary of State is confident the service is ready for delivery’. It also promises that landlords will be given sufficient notice before the requirement starts.

One piece is already law. The Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026 were made on 16 September 2026 and came into force the next day. They set the conditions a scheme must meet before the government can approve it. They do not require any landlord to join.

The duty to join will need further regulations under the Act. Until those are made and the date in them arrives, the 2028 figure is an expectation and not a deadline. The part of the Act that makes a repeated breach a criminal offence was also not yet in force when we read it.

Sources: GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap · Legislation: Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1033

Who will run the private rented sector ombudsman?

That had not been confirmed on the official pages we read on 5 October 2026. The roadmap says only that the Secretary of State will choose a scheme administrator to run the service. The September 2026 regulations set the conditions for approving or designating a scheme and do not name an organisation.

Under those regulations the person at the head of the scheme, called the responsible individual, is appointed by the Secretary of State. Treat any website that already offers ‘ombudsman registration’ for private landlords with care, and check GOV.UK before paying anyone.

The existing Housing Ombudsman Scheme is a different service. Its website says private landlords and agents can join it voluntarily, at a fee of £9.64 per home for 2026 to 2027, and that this is separate from the new compulsory service.

Sources: GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap · Legislation: Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1033 · Housing Ombudsman: voluntary membership

What can the ombudsman order a landlord to do?

The ombudsman will be able to order a landlord to apologise or explain, to pay compensation of no more than £25,000, and to take other action in the tenant’s interests, such as carrying out work. The compensation limit is written into the September 2026 regulations.

The government’s guide says the service will consider complaints about a landlord’s actions, inactions or behaviour that have caused harm or inconvenience. Current, former and prospective tenants will all be able to complain. Landlords will not be able to bring complaints against tenants. The Act also requires a scheme to handle complaints that a member has broken a code of practice, and allows regulations to make the ombudsman’s decisions enforceable as if they were court orders.

Tenants will be expected to give the landlord a chance to resolve the matter first. The regulations require each scheme to set the time a landlord has to do that before a complaint is accepted, and a time limit for bringing complaints. Neither period has been published. A landlord who does not comply with a decision can be expelled from the scheme, which would then put them in breach of the duty to be a member.

Sources: Legislation: Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1033 · GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act · Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Part 2, Chapter 2, landlord redress schemes

What will it cost landlords?

No fee has been announced. The government’s guide says landlords ‘will likely be required to pay a small annual fee per PRS property’, and the roadmap promises a fair and proportionate charging model, confirmed closer to launch.

The regulations add a limit: compulsory fees must be calculated to meet the costs of the scheme and not exceed them, and increases need the Secretary of State’s approval. This fee will be on top of the £65 a year for each property on the landlord database, which opens from 15 December 2026.

Sources: GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act · GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap · Legislation: Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/1033

What are the penalties for not joining?

Once membership is compulsory, a council will be able to impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 on a landlord who has not joined, or on anyone who markets a property where the landlord is not a member. A continuing or repeated breach is an offence under the Act, with a civil penalty of up to £40,000 or prosecution.

The government’s guide adds that tenants will be able to seek a rent repayment order against a landlord who persistently fails to join. These penalties cannot be used yet, because the requirement to join has not started. When it does, the Act allows a further penalty if a breach continues for 28 days after the first one, so joining late will cost more than joining on time.

Sources: Legislation: Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Part 2, Chapter 2, landlord redress schemes · GOV.UK: guide to the Renters’ Rights Act

How can a tenant complain about a private landlord today?

Until the ombudsman opens, the routes depend on the problem. GOV.UK’s advice is to complain to the landlord first and, if that does not resolve things, to contact the local council. Councils enforce housing standards and can require a landlord to put problems right.

If the property is managed by a letting agent, the agent must belong to one of two approved redress schemes, The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, and a tenant can complain to that scheme about the agent’s service. Disagreements about a deposit are handled through the deposit protection scheme that holds it. Our guide to tenancy deposit protection covers the landlord’s side.

For certain offences, including letting an unlicensed HMO and illegal eviction, a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to two years of rent.

Sources: GOV.UK: private renting, complaints · GOV.UK: redress schemes for letting agents and property managers

How landlords can prepare now

There is nothing to sign up to yet, but the ombudsman will look at how a landlord dealt with a complaint and what records exist. A simple, consistent process now will count for more than a rushed one in 2028.

The roadmap says the ombudsman will also support landlords with tools, guidance and training on handling complaints early. None of that has been published yet, so the steps below are our own practical suggestions and not official requirements.

• Give every tenant one clear way to raise a problem in writing, and reply in writing with a date.
• Keep a dated record of each complaint, what you did and when the work was finished.
• Keep safety certificates, inspection notes and repair invoices for each property together. Our landlord certificates checklist lists them.
• If you use an agent, ask which redress scheme they belong to and how they pass complaints on to you.
• Read our summary of the new landlord rules for 2026 so you know which duties are already in force.
• Watch GOV.UK for the name of the scheme and the joining date before paying any fee.

Sources: GOV.UK: implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, roadmap

Common questions