Places for People

Company Overview

What customers complain about

Complaint categories

1. 1
   Property condition — repairs, damp, mould and leaks37%

   The largest category of Housing Ombudsman findings against Places for People Homes Limited in 2024/25. Within it, responsive repairs (general) and responsive repairs for leaks, damp and mould were the joint top sub-categories (24 findings each), followed by delays in escalating or responding to complaints.

   Housing Ombudsman Landlord Performance Report 2024/25: 60 property-condition findings, 67% maladministration; £35,467.63 of the compensation ordered related to property condition.
2. 2
   Complaint handling — delays and escalation25%

   How complaints are handled is the second-biggest area, driven by delays in escalating or responding to complaints. The Ombudsman upheld a high share of these.

   Housing Ombudsman Landlord Performance Report 2024/25: 40 complaint-handling findings, 80% maladministration (above the 77% national figure for that category).
3. 3
   Estate management10%

   Complaints about the management of estates and communal areas.

   Housing Ombudsman Landlord Performance Report 2024/25: 16 estate-management findings, 44% maladministration.
4. 4
   Anti-social behaviour and heating/hot water

   Smaller but recurring themes include anti-social behaviour and responsive repairs to heating and hot water systems.

   Housing Ombudsman Landlord Performance Report 2024/25: 9 anti-social-behaviour findings; 5 heating/hot-water sub-category findings.

Latest statistics

• 62.2%Maladministration rate (Housing Ombudsman findings)1 Apr 2024 - 31 Mar 2025

Figures are from the Housing Ombudsman Service's individual Landlord Performance Report 2024/25 for Places for People Homes Limited (data refreshed May 2025; published September 2025), covering cases the Ombudsman determined between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. The maladministration rate is the share of findings that were severe maladministration, maladministration or service failure, excluding 'outside jurisdiction' and 'withdrawn' findings (89 of 143). These are Ombudsman outcomes, not the total number of complaints the landlord received.

Contact methods

• Customer Focus Team (rented homes complaints)01772 667 002
• Make a complaint (main landing page)Routes you to the right procedure depending on the service you used.
• New-build home buyers (Consumer Code route)01772 667 002
• Housing Ombudsman Service (independent escalation)0300 111 3000

Complaint journey

1. 1

   Report it / 'Put it right'

   Tell Places for People and give them a chance to fix it quickly.

   Typical responseWithin 48 hours
   What happens

   Contact the service or the Customer Focus Team on 01772 667 002, by email at customerfocusteam@placesforpeople.co.uk, via your online account or the online form. Places for People aims to 'Put it right' within 48 hours; if it can, the matter is treated as resolved. Complain within six months of the problem (or of finding out about it).

2. 2

   Stage 1 — Frontline response

   Your complaint is formally logged and reviewed by a complaints handler.

   Typical responseAcknowledged in 5 working days; decision in 10 working days
   What happens

   If it can't be resolved within 48 hours, Places for People opens a Stage 1 complaint. It acknowledges the complaint within five working days and gives a decision within ten working days (unless there are exceptional circumstances). If you are unhappy with the outcome you can ask for Stage 2 within two months of the Stage 1 response, or within six months of the event, whichever is later.

3. 3

   Stage 2 — Investigation

   A reviewing manager carries out a detailed investigation.

   Typical responseAcknowledged in 3 working days; full response normally in 20 working days
   What happens

   Stage 2 is handled by a reviewing/senior manager. Places for People acknowledges the escalation within three working days and gives a full response — its final response — normally within 20 working days. If it needs longer it will tell you the revised timescale. Stage 2 is the end of the landlord's internal procedure.

4. 4

   Independent review or Housing Ombudsman

   Escalate outside the landlord if you remain dissatisfied.

   Typical responseWithin 12 months of the final response
   What happens

   After the final response you can ask Places for People's Independent Complaints Panel to review it, or take the complaint to the Housing Ombudsman Service. The Ombudsman can investigate if you have completed the landlord's procedure, it is within 12 months of the final response, and the matter is not before a court. It is free, independent and its decisions are binding. Care complaints can instead go to the Care Quality Commission; new-build purchase complaints to the Consumer Code for Home Buyers.

Response times

If your complaint isn’t resolved

If Places for People can’t put things right, you can escalate — free of charge — to an independent body:

• Housing Ombudsman ServiceSocial landlords
• The Property OmbudsmanLetting & estate agents

Recent news

• 28 January 2026

  The Regulator of Social Housing published a regulatory judgement for Places for People Group Limited confirming a consumer standards grade of C1 (top grade), governance G1 and financial viability V2.

  Read more
• 23 September 2025

  The Housing Ombudsman published its 2024/25 landlord performance data, showing a 62.2% maladministration rate for Places for People Homes Limited from 52 determinations, with property condition and complaint handling the largest problem areas.

  Read more
• 16 April 2024

  Origin Housing Limited became a subsidiary of Places for People Group Limited, expanding the group's homes and boosting its reported surplus.

  Read more

Earlier cases

• 31 March 2024

  Historic: In 2023/24 the Housing Ombudsman recorded an 84% maladministration rate against Places for People Homes Limited (from 47 determinations), higher than the 62.2% recorded in 2024/25.

  Read more

Know your rights

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11

  Places an implied repairing obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the dwelling, and installations for water, gas, electricity, heating and sanitation, in repair. It underpins many responsive-repairs complaints against Places for People. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

  Requires rented homes to be fit for human habitation at the start of and throughout the tenancy, expressly covering damp and mould — the largest single problem area in the Ombudsman's findings against Places for People. Tenants can take action through the courts where a home is unfit. Not legal advice.

• Awaab's Law (Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023)

  Sets legally binding timescales for social landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards such as damp and mould, with the first requirements taking effect from October 2025. It directly affects how quickly Places for People must respond to damp and mould reports. Not legal advice.

• Decent Homes Standard

  A government standard that social homes must be in a reasonable state of repair, have reasonably modern facilities and provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Failure to meet it can support a complaint about the condition of a Places for People home. Not legal advice.

• Consumer Rights Act 2015

  Applies to Places for People's paid services — for example leisure-centre memberships and home purchases — requiring services to be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Less relevant to a tenancy, which is governed by housing law. Not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions