Housing Ombudsmen

An Ombudsman is an official who investigates complaints by individuals against the government or public authorities. This includes housing authorities.

Corporations Ombudsman
These deal with complaints against housing charities, trusts, corporations, industrial & provident societies and companies, all of whom are set up to provide rented housing for people in the community. The Ombudsman can order compensation to be paid to you if your complaint is upheld. You will need to find out whether your landlord is a member of a special scheme in order to find out details of the Ombudsman who deals with that scheme.

Local Authority Ombudsman
These can investigate a complaint against a Local Authority for "maladministration", this includes the way a local authority administers it's housing stock. Again the Ombudsman has power to award compensation.

Complaining to an Ombudsman avoids the expense of court proceedings.