People who have concerns about how councils manage social housing can now complain to an independent Ombudsman, even if they are not a tenant, under changes brought into force today under the Renters' Rights Act.

Until today, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) could not look at complaints about housing management from people who were not tenants, and neither could The Housing Ombudsman, which investigates complaints from tenants. This meant people had nowhere to turn if things had gone wrong.

Changes to the Local Government Act 1974, which come into effect on 1 May 2026, extend the jurisdiction of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) to cover complaints about local authority social housing management from people who are not tenants.

The Housing Ombudsman will continue to handle complaints from tenants about their social landlord, including where that landlord is a local council.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"This is a significant and long-overdue change. Until now, people who had genuine concerns about how their council was managing social housing - but who were not tenants themselves - had nowhere to turn once they had exhausted the council's own complaints process.

“These amendments close that gap and ensure that we can provide the independent scrutiny and redress that the public deserves. I would encourage all local authority complaint managers to familiarise themselves with the new arrangements and the signposting tool we have developed."

 

Article date: 01 May 2026