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Written question asked by James Wild (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2026. It was answered by Matthew Pennycook (Labour) on Monday, 20 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing Ombudsman: Standards

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average waiting time was for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five years.

Answer

The average waiting time for cases handled by the Housing Ombudsman in each of the last five financial years is:

Determined Cases Average Months to Determine

2021/22 2,238 5

2022/23 2,371 6

2023/24 4,908 11

2024/25 6,115 7

2025/26 8,791 8

The current oldest case is 22 months since it formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation. The Service expects no case to be older than 18 months by 31st March 2027.

The caseworker-to-complaint ratio within the Housing Ombudsman service is 39:1.

The backlog of cases that exceed 12 months since they formally entered the Ombudsman's jurisdiction for investigation is set out below.

Backlog of Unresolved Cases

2023/24 283

2024/25 0

2025/26 2,458

Current 2,235

The proportion of complaints which were resolved within target timeframes in each of the last five is below.

Determined Within: 6 Months 12 Months

2022/23 N/A 100%

2023/24 54% 87%

2023/24 18% 62%

2024/25 46% 89%

2025/26 53% 78%

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
13221
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Complaints Standards Housing Ombudsman Service
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk