We’re committed to providing high-quality services for our customers and communities. We understand that sometimes things don’t go as planned and when this happens, we want to put things right.

Our approach to compensation

As part of our complaints process, we may offer compensation or other remedies. Our approach is in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and Compensation Guidance to ensure compensation and remedies are fair, consistent, and transparent.

Here, we explain when and how we consider compensation, what you can expect, and how to get in touch. You’ll also find a glossary at the end of this page, which explains some words or phrases that may be unfamiliar.

We consider compensation on a case-by-case basis. We may offer compensation or another remedy when:

  • Our services have not met the standards you should expect.
  • You have experienced distress, inconvenience, or financial loss as a result of our service failure.
  • You have lost access to essential facilities, such as heating, hot water, or parts of your home, for longer than stated in our service standards.
  • There has been a delay or failure in how we handled your complaint.
  • You have incurred additional costs due to our actions or inaction, for example, extra heating bills or damaged belongings caused by our contractors.
  • We believe a goodwill gesture is appropriate to recognise the impact of the situation you have experienced.
  • We may also offer compensation if you haven’t asked for it, where we believe it is the right thing to do.

We aim to put things right in a way that is fair and in line with the situation you have experienced. This may include:

  • A sincere apology that clearly explains what went wrong and why.
  • A clear plan to resolve any outstanding issues.
  • A financial payment.
  • Reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses where evidence is provided, such as receipts.
  • Practical actions, such as repairs or redecoration.
  • Goodwill gestures in recognition of inconvenience or upset, such as flowers or vouchers.

While we assess each case individually, compensation is not normally offered when:

  • The issue was caused by circumstances beyond our control, such as extreme weather or national emergencies.
  • The problem was caused by a third party not working on our behalf, for example, a utility provider.
  • The issue resulted from your own actions, such as making alterations to your home without our permission, misuse, or failure to allow access for repairs.
  • The matter is already being dealt with through legal proceedings or insurance claims.
  • The loss is related to earnings, annual leave, or personal injury. These are not covered under our complaints process.
  • You have not taken reasonable steps to minimise the impact, for example, ignoring advice to move belongings to prevent damage.

We also expect all customers to have contents insurance to protect personal belongings.

We do not have fixed amounts for compensation. Instead, we consider:

  • The severity and duration of the service failure.
  • The impact on you and your household, including any vulnerabilities.
  • Any financial loss you have experienced where supporting evidence is supplied.
  • Whether we have already taken steps to put things right.
  • The time and effort you spent trying to resolve the issue.

We use internal guidance to ensure our decisions are fair and consistent. In some cases, we may refer to the Housing Ombudsman’s benchmark amounts.

If you feel that our service has not met expectations, you can make a complaint or raise a concern by:

You can also find out more about our complaints process by reading our Complaint Resolution Policy. An easy-read version is also available.

If you have any questions or need additional support with a complaint, please get in touch by visiting the My Onward Portal, emailing customerservices@onward.co.uk, calling 0300 555 0600 or messaging 07418 344 603 on WhatsApp between 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday, and 10am – 6pm on Wednesdays.

You can also contact the Housing Ombudsman at any stage for free, independent advice by visiting their website, calling 0300 111 3000, or writing to The Housing Ombudsman Service, PO Box 1484, Unit D, Preston, PR2 0ET.

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We’re here to help

If you have any questions about our complaints service or approach to compensation, please do get in touch.

Get in touch

Support for customers

We offer a range of additional support for customers, from advice on how to manage your finances to help with hoarding.

Complaint compensation guidance glossary

A clear and meaningful statement that acknowledges what went wrong, explains why it happened, and recognises the impact on you.

A financial payment or rent credit offered when our service has not met the standard you should expect and where this has caused distress, inconvenience, loss, or extra time and effort for you.

An expression of dissatisfaction about our services or actions, where a response or resolution is requested.

The formal way we review and respond to complaints, including investigating what happened, providing our findings, and putting things right where appropriate.

The Housing Ombudsman’s standards that all landlords must follow to ensure complaints are handled fairly, consistently, and transparently.

The upset, frustration, worry, or disruption caused when something goes wrong and affects your day‑to‑day life.

Important services in your home, such as heating, hot water, electricity, or sanitation, which are necessary for health, safety, and basic living.

A non‑financial action, such as flowers or a voucher, offered to recognise inconvenience or upset, where financial compensation may not be appropriate.

An independent service that provides free, impartial advice and investigates complaints about social landlords if issues cannot be resolved directly.

When a service you should reasonably expect is unavailable, delayed, or not delivered to the agreed standard.

Reasonable additional costs you have had to pay because of our service failure, for example extra heating costs or replacing damaged items, usually supported by receipts.

The action we take to put things right. This may include an apology, repairs, financial compensation, reimbursement of expenses, or other practical actions.

A form of compensation where money is credited directly to your rent account rather than paid to you.

When our services do not meet expected standards, agreed timescales, or our responsibilities to you.

Another organisation or individual not acting on our behalf, such as a utility provider.

Personal circumstances that may mean the impact of a service failure is greater, such as health conditions, disability, age, or other support needs.