The identify of the service running the upcoming Private Rental Sector Ombudsman scheme has been thrown into doubt once more.

The Renters Reform Bill promised that a scheme would be mandatory for landlords to join, and would be set up when the Bill became law. Recently it was stated by the government that its chosen provider for the scheme would be the Housing Ombudsman – the current redress service for the social renting sector.

This led to disappointment amongst bodies such as The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Service, who operate schemes now for lettings and sales agents and who it was thought may be considered for the new private rental scheme too.

However now the government appears much less certain about who will lead the private rental redress operation. 

Baroness Scott of Bybrook – a junior housing minister who sits in the House of Lords – has told Peers: “We announced our preference to deliver through the Housing Ombudsman service, which provides social housing redress. However, no final decision has been made, and our priority is choosing a provider that offers the high-quality and value-for-money service we require.”

Answering questions from Peers, the Baroness continued: “First, we have sought extensive procurement and legal advice on this, and we are confident that the approach we are taking [to selecting the Ombudsman service] is in line with procurement regulations. I can only reiterate that this work is still in its very early stages, and no decisions have been made. Of course, we will talk to stakeholders throughout the whole of the process. If the noble Baroness or any other noble Lord would like to meet me and my team, I am happy to do so as we go forward.

“Secondly, the question on the interaction between [the different property redress] schemes is very interesting. We envisage that, where a complaint covers both landlords and letting agents, the separate schemes will work together to triage the complaint effectively and, if necessary, have a joint investigation. Importantly, we want to make sure that, where it is not clear which scheme a tenant should complain to, there is no wrong access point. We will work together to make sure that the tenant gets the service that they require.”

Peers raised concerns over the apparent duplication of powers and responsibilities of the various redress schemes in existence and the new one promised.

The Baroness went on to say in response to questions on this subject: “As far as powers are concerned, the Bill says that the ombudsman’s enforcement powers will be to expel the landlord from membership of the organisation unless they deal with their obligations and then rejoin, and they will be liable for civil and, in the worst cases, legal penalties if they continue to operate without that membership. 

“Those are quite strong powers that will back up local authorities’ powers. On the scheme’s funding, it will be a landlord membership scheme, as is the Housing Ombudsman scheme. Membership of that scheme is at £5.75 per unit.”

And she added that: “The ombudsman will complement local authority decisions and back them up … We intend to have the redress available as soon as we can after the Bill receives Royal Assent. We are working on that strongly at the moment, because it is an important service for tenants … As we move to a new ombudsman for the private rented sector, we will continue to have a strong campaign to ensure that all rented sector tenants understand their rights.”