Handling Tenant Complaints

A tenant complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, about a repair, your conduct, a charge, or something another tenant is doing, that the tenant wants you to acknowledge and resolve. Most complaints are minor and easily fixed if you respond quickly; the ones that escalate into a formal dispute, a council enforcement visit or a tribunal claim are almost always the ones that were ignored, dismissed or left unanswered for too long.

This guide sets out a simple process for handling complaints, the categories that come up most often, when a complaint has become something more serious, and what is changing under the Renters' Rights Act's new dispute resolution measures.

Common types of complaint

Tenant complaints tend to fall into a small number of recurring categories, and recognising which one you are dealing with shapes how quickly you need to act.

• Repairs and disrepair. A repair reported but not actioned, or actioned too slowly, is the single most common source of tenant complaint. Genuine emergencies need same-day attention, covered in our emergency repairs protocol guide; non-emergency repairs still need a realistic timeline communicated to the tenant, not silence.
• Charges and deductions. Disputes about a service charge, an admin fee, or a deduction from the deposit are common and are usually resolved fastest by explaining, in writing, exactly what the charge covers and the basis for it.
• Landlord or agent conduct. Complaints about entering without proper notice, being difficult to reach, or communicating in a tone the tenant found unreasonable. These are worth taking seriously even when you disagree with the characterisation, since a pattern of conduct complaints can matter if a dispute later reaches a court or tribunal.
• Other tenants or neighbours. Noise, shared-space disputes in an HMO, or a neighbour's complaint about your tenant's behaviour. Our noise and antisocial behaviour guide covers this category in detail, since it needs a different response to a complaint about your own conduct or a repair.
• Discrimination. Since the Renters' Rights Act, refusing a tenancy, a viewing, or information about a property because a prospective tenant has children or receives benefits is unlawful. A complaint alleging this should be treated with particular care and, ideally, reviewed against your actual process before responding.

A simple complaints process

A short, consistent process handles the large majority of complaints without them escalating, and is worth having in place before you need it rather than improvising each time.

1. Acknowledge quickly, ideally within one to two working days, even if you cannot resolve the issue immediately. A tenant who hears nothing for a week tends to assume they are being ignored, which turns a manageable complaint into a frustrated one.
2. Get the facts before responding substantively. What exactly happened, when, and what outcome does the tenant want. A complaint that seems unreasonable on first read sometimes looks different once you understand what the tenant is actually asking for.
3. Investigate proportionately. A minor complaint might need nothing more than checking your own records; a more serious one might need a site visit, a conversation with a contractor, or a look at correspondence going back months.
4. Respond in writing, setting out what you found, what you will do (or why you will not), and a timeframe if action is needed. Keep the tone factual and non-defensive even where you disagree with the complaint.
5. Follow through and confirm resolution. If you said a repair would happen by a certain date, deliver it, and let the tenant know once it is done rather than assuming they will notice.
6. Keep a written record of the whole exchange. A simple log of the complaint, your response, and the outcome protects you if the same tenant, or a later one, raises something similar, and matters considerably if a complaint develops into a formal dispute.

When a complaint becomes something bigger

Most complaints resolve at the response stage above. A smaller number escalate, and it is worth knowing where they go if they do.

• Persistent disrepair that is not resolved can be reported by a tenant to the local council, which has powers under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System to inspect and, in serious cases, require works or serve an improvement notice. A council visit is far more disruptive and reputationally damaging than resolving the same issue at the complaint stage.
• A dispute about deposit deductions typically goes to the relevant deposit scheme's free adjudication service, rather than a formal complaint process, and is usually decided on the strength of your evidence, such as a signed inventory and check-out comparison.
• A serious dispute you cannot resolve directly may end up before the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) or the county court, depending on the issue, which is a considerably longer and more costly route than resolving the complaint informally at the outset.

The new Ombudsman under the Renters' Rights Act

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 provides for a new PRS Landlord Ombudsman, a free, independent dispute resolution service for private tenants, similar in concept to the existing schemes agents already belong to. As of August 2026, this is planned rather than fully live: the scheme is expected to roll out with mandatory landlord sign-up around 2028, alongside the wider landlord registration database, and the administrator and exact process have not yet been finalised. Our guide to the Renters' Rights Act covers the confirmed timeline for this and the other measures still being phased in.

Until the new Ombudsman is live, a tenant's main routes for an unresolved complaint remain the council (for disrepair and licensing issues), the relevant deposit scheme's adjudication service (for deposit disputes), and the county court or tribunal for anything more serious. If you use a letting agent, check which redress scheme, the Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman, they belong to, since agents are already required to be a member of one and a tenant can escalate an unresolved agent complaint there now.

Common mistakes

• Going silent while you look into it. A brief "we're looking into this, expect an update by Friday" costs little and prevents a tenant assuming the worst.
• Responding defensively rather than factually. Even a complaint you consider unfair is better handled with a calm, evidenced response than a dismissive one.
• Not writing anything down. A verbal resolution with no record leaves you exposed if the same issue resurfaces, or if the tenant's account of what was agreed differs from yours later.
• Treating every complaint the same way. A minor gripe and a discrimination allegation need very different levels of care and documentation; triage before you respond.
• Letting a small complaint sit until it becomes a bigger one. Most escalations to a council or a tribunal started as a complaint that could have been resolved weeks or months earlier with a prompt, honest response.

How Property HQ helps

Property HQ keeps a dated log of every tenant communication against the relevant property, so a complaint, your response, and how it was resolved sit in one place rather than scattered across email and text messages, ready to hand if the same issue is ever raised again or a dispute needs evidencing later.

Disclaimer

This guide is general information for UK landlords, not legal advice, and reflects the Renters' Rights Act's dispute resolution provisions as understood in August 2026, some of which are still being phased in. Check GOV.UK or a qualified solicitor before relying on this guide for a specific complaint.