Cates will lead the Service from the end of September, replacing Alison MacDougall who retired in August.
Nigel Cates has considerable experience at senior level in financial services, including of complaint handling both at HSBC bank, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and prior to that on consumer and competition matters at the Office of Fair Trading.
Cates joins the organisation at a critical time for the housing sector, with the Government’s commitment to 1.5 million new homes needing to be matched by action to ensure their quality.
NHOS is part of tenancy deposit and dispute resolution service provider, The Dispute Service Group.
Jodi Berg OBE, Chair of the NHOS Board, said of the appointment:
“We are excited to have Nigel lead this increasingly important service. Not only does he bring significant and relevant experience to the table, but his career has involved substantial senior level representation across the public, private and not for profit sectors. We look forward to welcoming him to our team at NHOS and to the TDS Group at large.”
Nigel Cates said:
“I am delighted to be joining NHOS at this critical stage in its development. With the Government committed to an ambitious programme of new house building, there is a growing recognition that the service should be moved onto a statutory footing to ensure that all new homeowners have access if needed to a first-rate ombudsman service. I look forward to building on the success to date of NHOS and to working with the New Homes Quality Board and developers to further improve the standard of new housing across the UK.”
