The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has appointed a new Deputy Ombudsman, Lesley Horton, an experienced compliance and regulatory specialist, with experience in internal governance, risk management, and complex decision-making.

Lesley, who started her career at the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, where she held a number of roles including as a member of the project team in operationalising the Legal Services Act, will work alongside Property Ombudsman, Rebecca Marsh.

In addition to her roles, Horton sat on the Ethics and Integrity Panel Member at the Office for Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria for several years and is currently an Independent Decision Maker for The Bar Standards Board.

The role of Deputy Ombudsman was created in 2017 to support a more efficient complaints process. As TPO enters a period of development to support upcoming industry changes, as set out in the RoPA report, 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.

Horton, said: “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. 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.”