Does the Energy Ombudsman cover heat networks, and when does the Housing Ombudsman apply?
Last checked against Ofgem's published guidance on 30 October 2026. Last updated 30 October 2026. How we check. Not legal advice; see disclaimer and sources.
Yes. The Energy Ombudsman has handled heat network disputes since 1 April 2025, and since 27 January 2026 every Ofgem-regulated heat network must be a member of its scheme. Membership of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme is compulsory for landlords registered with the Regulator of Social Housing and voluntary for other landlords and managing agents. Ofgem’s definitions, which its complaints condition relies on, name both as a “Qualifying Redress Scheme… (as appropriate)” and gives each a different clock: an unresolved complaint must be signposted to the Energy Ombudsman at 8 weeks, or to the Housing Ombudsman at 12 weeks, or sooner at deadlock. Verified: Energy Ombudsman, heat networks; Ofgem, authorisation conditions decision, 13 January 2026, Appendix 2, Condition A3 definitions (pages 58–60) and Section B Condition 4 (pages 89–94); Housing Ombudsman, membership.
Heat charged through a service charge is the exception to watch. Ofgem’s consumer protection guidance says that where heat charges are service charges, “the complaints body is the Housing Ombudsman rather than the Energy Ombudsman”, and the billing condition requires those bills to include “information about and contact details for the Housing Ombudsman”. Verified: Ofgem, consumer protection guidance, January 2026, paragraph 4.30; authorisation conditions decision, Appendix 2, Condition B6, Part Two (page 101).
That leaves a private block run by a managing agent or residents’ management company, which usually recovers heat through the service charge, without a settled answer: every authorised network is bound by the Energy Ombudsman scheme, while Ofgem’s service-charge rules point to the Housing Ombudsman, which such a landlord or agent can join only voluntarily. Unverified: how Ofgem expects this to work for a private block that isn’t a Housing Ombudsman member. We haven’t found Ofgem guidance on it; ask Ofgem. Until it’s clarified, our reading is to name both ombudsmen in the complaints procedure and on bills, and to send the signposting notice at 8 weeks, which is on time under either clock.
Which ombudsman applies to my block?
| Who supplies the heat | Redress route for heat complaints | Signposting clock under Ofgem’s condition B4 |
|---|---|---|
| Private landlord, freeholder, managing agent or residents’ management company (not a Housing Ombudsman member) | Energy Ombudsman; but where heat is in the service charge, Ofgem’s guidance and billing condition point to the Housing Ombudsman (see above) | 8 weeks, or deadlock |
| Housing association or local authority landlord in England (Housing Ombudsman membership is compulsory) | Housing Ombudsman is a “Qualifying Redress Scheme” for it, and the network must also be an Energy Ombudsman member | 12 weeks for Housing Ombudsman referrals, 8 weeks for Energy Ombudsman referrals, or deadlock |
| Private landlord or agent that has joined the Housing Ombudsman voluntarily | Either may be “appropriate” | As above |
| Dispute about whether a service charge is reasonable (England and Wales) | First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) | “Within a reasonable period” |
Sources: Energy Ombudsman heat networks page (“From 27th January 2026, all Heat Networks are regulated by Ofgem and must register as members of our scheme”); Housing Ombudsman membership pages, checked 30 October 2026 (“All bodies registered with the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) must be a member”; “Voluntary membership is open to landlords and managing agents who are not required by law to join the Scheme but choose to do so”); Ofgem Condition B4 paragraph 4.20. Verified for each quoted statement. Unverified: how Ofgem expects “as appropriate” to be decided where a landlord is a member of both schemes — the condition doesn’t say, and we have found no Ofgem guidance on it yet. Our reading is in the table; if you are a social landlord, take your own advice.
What the Energy Ombudsman says
- “From 1st April 2025, Energy Ombudsman can help consumers and small businesses resolve heat network disputes.”
- “From 27th January 2026, all Heat Networks are regulated by Ofgem and must register as members of our scheme.”
- A consumer should complain to the supplier first; “the heat supplier has 8 weeks to resolve the complaint, unless they issue you with a deadlock letter allowing you to come to us sooner.”
Verified: Energy Ombudsman, heat networks. Ofgem’s decision document adds that the Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025 “created a complaint handling and redress scheme for heat network consumers administered by the Energy Ombudsman scheme” and that “redress, advocacy and advice services went live in April 2025”. Verified: decision document, paragraph 1.6.
What Ofgem’s complaints condition requires of you
Condition B4 applies to every supplier of a “Relevant Consumer” (domestic, microbusiness and small business consumers). In summary:
- A written Complaints Handling Procedure, in “plain and intelligible language”, that accepts complaints orally, in writing and digitally; describes the steps and likely timescales; provides for an internal review; names independent sources of help; and describes the right to refer the complaint to the “Relevant Dispute Resolution Body” — “the Energy Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman or the First-Tier Tribunal as appropriate”. It must be given before a supply contract is entered into, signposted in each building, and sent to all relevant consumers “not less than annually”. (Paragraphs 4.1–4.5.)
- Electronic records of every complaint: date received, channel, who complained, account, a summary, action taken, whether and how it was resolved, and the agreed method of future contact — plus the same for every follow-up contact. (Paragraphs 4.8–4.13.)
- A signposting notice telling the consumer of their right to go to the Qualifying Redress Scheme (and the Tribunal where applicable), that it is independent and free, what redress is available, that a complaint may be handled as a group complaint, and that the outcome binds the supplier but not the consumer. It must be sent on the earlier of: the first working day after you become aware you cannot resolve the complaint to the consumer’s satisfaction; 8 weeks after the complaint was made, for Energy Ombudsman referrals; 12 weeks, for Housing Ombudsman referrals; or a reasonable period, for Tribunal referrals. (Paragraphs 4.18–4.20.)
- Enough suitably qualified staff with the authority to resolve complaints promptly. (Paragraphs 4.21–4.22.)
Verified: authorisation conditions decision, Appendix 2, Section B Condition 4, pages 89–94.
How this feeds Ofgem’s quarterly return
The quarterly return asks how many complaints led to “a letter being sent signposting the Energy Ombudsman at 8 weeks or after a deadlock situation has been reached”, how many were resolved by the end of the next working day, and how many between then and eight weeks. The 8-week signposting notice above is the event that data point counts. Verified: regular data reporting guidance, Table 7 — see the data points and the worked example.
Service-charge disputes are a different track
A resident who says the heating charge itself is unreasonable is disputing a service charge, and in England and Wales the established route for that is the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), not an ombudsman — with a live overlap between the Energy and Housing Ombudsman jurisdictions for heat that is charged through the service charge. The service-charge guide covers this, including section 20B’s 18-month limit; it is sourced to legal commentary rather than Ofgem’s text and is not legal advice.
What to do
- Join the Energy Ombudsman scheme if you haven’t — the checker’s results page flags this.
- Write the complaints procedure to Condition B4’s list, put it in the building and send it annually. If heat is in the service charge, include the Housing Ombudsman’s details on bills as condition B6 requires.
- Start the complaints log with the fields in point 2 above; it is also the record the quarterly return is calculated from.
- Diary the 8-week point for every open complaint; send the signposting notice on time and record it.
Which of these apply to your network?
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Related guides
- Heat in the service charge? You are probably a heat supplier — What "bundled charges" mean for reporting and how to work out the heat element.
- Ofgem heat network quarterly reporting: what small networks must submit — The quarterly and annual data points, who reports what, and the windows.
- All 9 guides to Ofgem heat network reporting
What changed on this page
- 30 October 2026
- Re-checked against all sources. Added Ofgem's consumer protection guidance (para 4.30) and billing condition B6, which point heat charged through a service charge to the Housing Ombudsman; the private-block answer now says the position is unsettled instead of naming the Energy Ombudsman alone. Housing Ombudsman quotes replaced (its membership pages were rewritten on 19 and 28 October). Corrected: the scheme was created by the Heat Networks (Market Framework) Regulations 2025, not the Energy Act 2023; the definitions are Condition A3, not Condition 2; page numbers now point to the conditions in force (Appendix 2), not the marked version; the Table 7 wording is now Ofgem's own.
- 16 September 2026
- First published, checked against Ofgem's authorisation conditions decision (13 January 2026), Section B Condition 4 and the definitions in Condition 2; the Energy Ombudsman's heat networks page; and the Housing Ombudsman's membership pages.
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