Another step closer to the Landlord Ombudsman

The Government has taken the first steps in introducing a mandatory Landlord Ombudsman scheme, which private landlords must join, by inviting tenders from organisations to run the ombudsman.

The Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities has published a Pre-Tender Market Engagement (PTME) document which seeks information in preparation for finding a potential supplier to set-up and administer the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Ombudsman scheme.

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Ombudsman scheme will be a mandatory requirement for all private landlords in England, which they will have to join before they can rent or continue to rent a property. The ombudsman will provide redress and dispute resolution to all private rented sector tenants by an independent person, in accordance with the terms of the arrangements with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The purpose of the Pre-Tender Market Engagement (PTME) document is to gather information to:

• Define the service specification for the Ombudsman;
• Provide a better understanding of the feasibility of the requirement;
• Understand the best approach to introduce and implement the Ombudsman;
• Understand the capacity of the market to deliver and possible risks involved;
• Inform value for money considerations undertaken by the Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities;
• Provide the market with an opportunity to ask questions, raise queries and any issues to be addressed at an early stage;
• Inform potential delivery timescales of the Ombudsman;
• Inform the Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities' decision on the route to market.

The document stresses that "no decision has been taken on the route to market for this opportunity" and the Department for Levelling Up Housing & Communities may adjust its policies once it has reviewed the responses to the Pre-Tender Market Engagement (PTME) document.

The Landlord Ombudsman scheme is just one part of the many measures that the government is considering in its Renters Reform Bill published last year, which seeks to address problems that it says exists in the private rental sector.

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