Recommendation 29

We recommend that the Government legislate through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place a legal requirement on social housing providers to self-assess against the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code and to report to the ombudsman when they have done so. To ensure that providers are self-assessing against the code, we recommend that either: (Paragraph 114) • the Government give the ombudsman the power and duty to monitor whether providers are self-assessing against the complaint handling code and whether their complaint handling processes are broadly in line with it; or • the regulator, as part of its review of the consumer standards, introduce a new requirement on social housing providers to self-assess against the complaint handling code and to implement complaint handling processes that are broadly in line with it. The Regulation of Social Housing 73