Landlord Ombudsman Compensation and Binding Decisions: What Can They Order?

Three Categories of Remedy

Under paragraph 4 of the Schedule to SI 2026/1033, the approved scheme must allow a decision-maker to make a redress order requiring one or more of the following:

Financial compensation — up to £25,000 per determination, paid directly from the landlord to the tenant. This is not a suggestion or recommendation. It is a binding order.

Mandatory corrective action — the ombudsman can direct a landlord to carry out specific repairs, renew safety certifications, rectify property defects, or change management practices. The order specifies what must be done and sets a compliance deadline.

Formal apology or explanation — the scheme may order an apology or explanation in circumstances set by its rules. This may seem minor compared to financial compensation, but it gives the tenant a formal response to the complaint.

These remedies can be combined. A single determination might order £8,000 in compensation for distress caused by a damp problem, mandatory remediation works within 28 days, and a written apology explaining why the repair took so long.

How a Decision Becomes Enforceable

Section 68 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations authorising a scheme administrator to apply to a court or tribunal for an order enforcing an accepted determination as if it were a court order. The determination is not automatically a court order; the Act provides for a further application process. If such an order is made, enforcement may include:

• Unpaid compensation can be recovered through court bailiffs
• A charging order can be placed against the landlord's property
• Continued refusal to comply can lead to contempt proceedings

The scheme's determination and the court or tribunal enforcement order are separate steps under the Act.

What the Ombudsman Cannot Do

The ombudsman deals with complaints about landlord conduct, not tenancy termination. It cannot:

• Evict a tenant — possession proceedings remain exclusively a court matter under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988
• Increase or decrease rent — rent disputes go through the First-tier Tribunal under the Section 13 procedure
• Determine a landlord's complaint against a tenant under the mandatory redress jurisdiction — the Act does allow the scheme to offer separate voluntary mediation at a member's request
• Decide how court proceedings affect a complaint — the final scheme rules will specify the circumstances in which a complaint may be rejected; SI 2026/1033 does not impose a blanket rule for active court proceedings

When Compensation Awards Are Highest

The £25,000 cap is per determination, not per property or per year. Adjudicators assess compensation based on the severity and duration of the landlord's failure, the impact on the tenant, and whether the landlord showed any attempt to resolve the issue.

Cases likely to attract higher awards include:

• Prolonged disrepair causing health impacts (damp, mould, structural water ingress) where the landlord was notified repeatedly and failed to act
• Retaliation against a tenant for raising a complaint — harassment, threatened eviction, or withdrawal of services
• Complete failure to operate an internal complaint procedure, leaving the tenant with no route to resolution
• Multiple concurrent failures across safety certification, property conditions, and communication

The research shows that over 80% of tenant disputes stem from poor communication or unacknowledged repair requests. A landlord who responds promptly and keeps records rarely faces a maximum award.

Rent Repayment Orders: A Separate but Connected Risk

Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) operate under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Section 98 makes the continuing-breach offence in section 67(1) a qualifying offence; this is not the same as every initial failure to join or every failure to comply with a redress order. A qualifying RRO can cover up to two years' rent, subject to the statutory conditions, and is decided by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

Expulsion: The Most Severe Outcome

Under paragraph 6 of the Schedule to SI 2026/1033, a scheme may expel a member only for specified grounds and after warning the member, allowing written representations, and obtaining an independent review.

The scheme may publish an expelled member's name, scheme registration number, database identifier, and addresses of properties subject to their tenancies. Expulsion does not itself remove the legal right to let, but a landlord who is then required to be a member may face enforcement if they continue to let or market without membership.

The scheme must set out the circumstances in which an expulsion may be revoked; the Regulations do not prescribe those specific re-entry steps.

Protecting Yourself

The strongest evidence in a complaint is a documented record showing that you responded promptly, communicated clearly, and took reasonable action. The scheme will set its response period; SI 2026/1033 does not prescribe a three-working-day acknowledgement deadline. A landlord who acknowledges a repair request, instructs a contractor within a reasonable timeframe, and keeps the tenant informed is in a fundamentally different position from one who ignores repeated reports.

Our PRS Landlord Ombudsman guide includes complaint log templates and response guidance built around the scheme conditions in SI 2026/1033.

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