New Deputy for TPO as industry gears up for change

A new Deputy Ombudsman, Lesley Horton, has been appointed by The Property Ombudsman Scheme.

She will work alongside Property Ombudsman, Rebecca Marsh, at the organisation which helps to offer an independent and impartial dispute resolution service to consumers who have been unable to resolve their disputes with a registered property business.

Horton, a skilled compliance and regulatory specialist, joins TPO with a wealth of experience in internal governance, risk management, and complex decision-making. Her career began at the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, where she held a number of roles including as an integral part of the project team in operationalising the Legal Services Act.

More recently, she has worked in a FTSE 100 technology company, supporting the business in managing risks and process improvement, as well as sitting as a member on the Ethics and Integrity Panel at the Office for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria for several years. She is also currently an Independent Decision Maker for The Bar Standards Board.

Back in 2017, the role of Deputy Ombudsman was created to support a more efficient complaints process.

As TPO enters a period of development to support upcoming industry changes, as set out in the still yet to be implemented RoPA report, the body says Horton will play a critical role in reviewing casework, helping TPO to ‘grow its future services and streamlining existing processes to ensure consumer complaints are handled with the greatest accuracy and efficiency’.

“The property industry as a whole, and in particular estate and letting agents, are heading towards a significant era of change with the new proposed regulatory framework,” Horton said, when discussing her new role. “This makes it an exciting time to be joining The Property Ombudsman, helping to support agents through the challenges and opportunities this will bring whilst, ensuring consumers have a clear route to redress when needed.”