Guide
How Housing Ombudsman compensation works
How the Ombudsman decides compensation, what it takes into account, and how to read the indicative ranges on this site.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Every complaint is decided on its own facts. Past awards are indicative only and do not predict any individual outcome.
When the Housing Ombudsman finds that a landlord got something wrong, compensation is one of the remedies it can order — alongside apologies, completing repairs, taking specific action, reviewing a policy, changing a process and staff training. Compensation is not automatic, and there is no fixed tariff; the Ombudsman applies its published remedies guidance.
What the Ombudsman weighs
In deciding whether to order compensation, and how much, the Ombudsman typically considers:
Severity of the failing
How serious the landlord's failure was — a one-off administrative slip is treated very differently from a serious or repeated failing.
Duration
How long the failing continued and how long the resident was affected. Prolonged failures tend to attract higher remedies.
Impact on the resident
The distress, inconvenience, time and trouble caused — including any effect on health, safety or living conditions.
What the landlord already did
Whether the landlord recognised the failing, apologised, and offered a fair remedy of its own before the Ombudsman became involved.
How to read the indicative ranges on this site
Our compensation precedent pages summarise the range of compensation ordered in past published determinations, by complaint category. We report the lowest, median and highest awards. The median (the middle award) is usually a better guide to a typical case than the average, which a few very large awards can distort. These ranges are indicative of past published cases only — they are not a prediction and not legal advice.
Across the published determinations in our index, the Housing Ombudsman has ordered a total of £7,607,904 in compensation. Explore the highest-compensation league table or a category's precedent page.
The authoritative source
The Ombudsman's approach to remedies is set out in its own guidance. For the official position, see the Housing Ombudsman website. This guide explains that material; it is not produced by the Ombudsman and is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How does the Housing Ombudsman calculate compensation?
The Ombudsman applies its published remedies guidance rather than a fixed tariff. It weighs the severity and duration of the landlord's failing and the impact on the resident — including distress, inconvenience and time and trouble — and takes account of any remedy the landlord already offered. Compensation is one of several remedies, alongside apologies, repairs and policy changes.
Is there a maximum amount the Ombudsman can award?
There is no single fixed cap that applies to every case. Awards vary widely depending on the facts: many are modest, while serious or prolonged failings — particularly those affecting health and safety — can attract substantially higher amounts.
Can I use past awards to predict my own compensation?
Only as a rough, indicative guide. The Ombudsman decides each case on its own facts, so past published awards do not predict any individual outcome. Our compensation precedent pages show the range of past published awards by category, but they are indicative only and are not legal advice.
Is Ombudsman compensation the same as court damages?
No. The Housing Ombudsman is a dispute-resolution service, not a court. Its compensation is a remedy to put things right between a resident and landlord under its remedies guidance, and is decided differently from damages a court might award.