Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.

Mortgage Complaints Drop 11% in Latest Financial Year, Says FOS

Complaints about residential first charge mortgages fell by 11% to 4,553 in the last financial year, according to data from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Buy-to-let mortgage complaints remained at a similar level, with 760 new cases compared to 795 the previous year.

Overall, there were 6,407 new complaints about mortgages, representing a 7% year-on-year decrease from 6,895. The percentage of residential mortgage complaints upheld in favour of the borrower was 27% in 2025/26, down from 32% in 2024/25.

The FOS reported that its total caseload returned to more typical levels after a previous surge related to the motor finance scandal. In the 2025/26 financial year, the FOS received 214,600 complaints, similar to the 198,800 received in 2023/24, but a 30% drop from the 305,700 cases in 2024/25. This reduction was largely due to fewer complaints about motor finance commission and credit cards.

Last year, the FOS introduced charges for cases brought by claims chasing firms, aiming to encourage better evidenced complaints and fairer funding arrangements. In 2025/26, around 82% of cases were referred directly by consumers or by friends and family on their behalf. The FOS also saw a decrease in withdrawn and abandoned complaints, from 35% in 2024/25 to 18% in 2025/26. Additionally, the number of consumers recorded as being vulnerable reached 25% during the same period.

These trends may be relevant for letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring complaint levels and regulatory changes in the UK property sector.