About us

TPO is a not-for-profit independent company. Its unitary Board has 8 non-executive directors, including its independent Chair, Claire Bassett. The Board appoints the Ombudsman, sets the Terms of Reference for the scheme and has responsibility for raising sufficient funds for the administration and functioning of the scheme. The Board has no role in the discharge of the Ombudsman’s duties or decisions. An Independent Reviewer is appointed to review and respond to complaints from consumers or registered businesses about the level of service provided by the Ombudsman’s Office.

Independent Reviewers

Roseann Ayton has significant complaints and policy experience in a range of public interest organisations and those in the housing sector. She has recently spoken, by invitation, alongside the Housing Ombudsman at the Housing 2025 summit. Roseann designed the complaints process for train-operating companies and is currently a Board Member of a Housing Association. Her career also has a strong training and mentoring element; she has a number of qualifications and accreditations in personal development.

John Withington has a strong track record as a leader in quasi-public bodies. He led significant organisational change in the legal regulatory sector and helped set up the Independent Funeral Standards Organisation. John is the Waterways Ombudsman and is an associate Ombudsman with the Financial Ombudsman Service, so has substantial knowledge of Ombudsmanry and examining complaints.

• Service Complaints Process
• Independent Reviewer: Roles and Responsibilities

TPO is a government-approved scheme to provide independent redress in relation to disputes between consumers and businesses. Statistics and commentary for each of TPO’s approvals from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team, can be found in our Approval reports.

TPO Scotland has been set up as a separate legal entity. The company’s sole aim is to work with Scottish bodies to produce and maintain specific TPO Codes of Practice for properties that fall under Scottish legislation. TPO Scotland has worked with representatives from organisations including the Scottish Government, Shelter, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Scottish Association of Landlords and Propertymark as well as industry representatives to produce Scotland-specific Codes of Practice.

The Ombudsman provides redress, where appropriate, to consumers whose complaints are considered on a case-by-case basis. The Ombudsman is not a regulator and does not have the authority to take regulatory or legal action against an agent, impose fines or dictate the way agents conduct their business, that is the role of Trading Standards.

Report a business to Trading Standards

TPO is a full member of the Ombudsman Association and has adopted the Association’s Service Standards Framework (which sets out best practice for ombudsmen schemes).  TPO has been validated by the Association as adhering to its principles of good governance for ombudsmen schemes (independence, transparency, accountability, integrity, clarity of purpose, effectiveness).

The Property Ombudsman is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. A list of schemes approved by CTSI can be found on the CTSI website.