Housing officer Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Housing officer

Hours

37 per week
Starting salary

£20,000 + per year

If you are an organised person and can communicate well with a wide variety of different people, this job might suit you.

Housing officers supervise the day-to-day maintenance and management of rented properties that belong to local authorities or housing associations.

In this job you will need to be good at analysing and solving problems. You will also need to be good at negotiating and dealing with difficult situations.

There aren't any set requirements to get into this job, although a lot of people working in housing have at least a level 3 qualification (equivalent to A Level), and some have degrees. However, employers are likely to be more interested in your experience and personal qualities than your qualifications. You can get experience by organising a work placement or by volunteering with a local authority, housing association or housing charity. You may be able to get into this job through an Apprenticeship, if they are offered in your area.

The work

In addition to maintaining and managing properties, housing officers also support the tenants who live in the houses and encourage them to participate in tenancy groups that help shape the community in which they live.

As a housing officer, your tasks will typically include:

allocating vacant accommodation
overseeing property exchanges
carrying out regular inspections to make sure all properties are in a good state of repair
assessing the needs of people applying for housing
dealing with issues such as anti-social behaviour, squatters and broken tenancy agreements
referring tenants to appropriate sources of benefits and welfare advice
setting rents and dealing with payments and arrears
arranging for legal action to be taken when other forms of rent recovery have failed
processing statistical information and preparing reports
supporting tenants’ groups, and attending their meetings as a council representative.

You will work closely with other agencies, such as social services departments and welfare rights organisations.

Hours

You will usually work a 37 hour week, Monday to Friday. You may occasionally need to work in the evenings, for example to attend tenants' meetings. Part-time work may be available.

You will be mainly office-based, but will also spend some of your time out of the office visiting tenants, inspecting properties and attending meetings.

Income

Housing officers can earn between £20,000 and £27,000 a year
Senior officers can earn between £28,000 and £32,000
Managers can earn up to £50,000.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

There are no set entry requirements for housing officers although a lot of people working in housing have at least a level 3 qualification, (equivalent to A Level). Some employers may prefer you to have a higher level qualification such as a foundation degree or a degree in a relevant subject such as housing, town planning, social policy or urban studies. However, many employers will be more interested in your experience and personal qualities than your qualifications.

You will be at an advantage if you have practical experience in housing, and this could be essential for some jobs. You could gain experience by arranging a work placement in a local authority housing department or a housing association, or by volunteering with a housing association or an organisation such as Shelter.

Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) qualifications such as the CIH Certificates in Housing at levels 2, 3 and 4 will improve your chances of securing a job in the housing sector. You do not need to be employed in housing to complete the qualifications – they are aimed at anyone involved in the housing sector, whether as a paid worker, volunteer or tenant. See the CIH website for details.

Chartered Institute of Housing

You may be able to enter housing in an administrative, trainee or housing assistant role and work your way up to housing officer. Entry requirements vary, but you will usually need at least four or five GCSEs (A-C) or the equivalent, or possibly higher qualifications such as A levels.

You may be able to get into this job through an Apprenticeship scheme. To find out more about Apprenticeships, visit the Apprenticeships website.

Apprenticeships

Training and development

When you start your job you will usually receive in-house training, and you will also often study part-time for relevant qualifications, such as those awarded by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

If you have a degree which is not related to housing, you can complete the CIH Level 4 Certificate in Access to Housing and then progress to the CIH Postgraduate Professional Diploma in Housing.

If you have a housing-related degree you can go straight onto the CIH Professional Diploma in Housing. You can also register for the CIH APEX (Accreditation of Prior Experience) programme. This involves completing a portfolio which demonstrates your practical housing experience. See the qualifications section of the CIH website for details of qualifications.

Chartered Institute of Housing

Skills and knowledge

To be a housing officer you should have:

good organisational and time-management skills
the ability to work under pressure
excellent interpersonal and communication skills
negotiation skills
an understanding of different cultures and backgrounds
analytical and problem-solving skills
IT skills
some understanding of budget control
the ability to deal tactfully with difficult situations.

More information

Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) (Opens new window)
Octavia House
Westwood Business Park
Westwood Way
Coventry
CV4 8JP
Tel: 024 7685 1700
www.cih.org

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

Opportunities

You will find most vacancies with local authorities, housing associations and charitable organisations such as Shelter.

You could also find jobs with other providers of accommodation, like universities and property companies. You could work with particular groups, such as homeless or elderly people, students or people with disabilities.

In local authority housing departments you may have opportunities for progression, but promotion structures within other organisations vary.

As Housing Associations like to retain staff there are opportunities for further study whilst at work which can lead to promotion. You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and further reading (links open in new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The housing industry is part of the facilities management, property and planning, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The housing industry covers all forms of social housing including: housing associations; private landlords; the sustainable communities' agenda; and local authorities.

Key facts:

The housing industry plays an instrumental role in meeting key government targets in relation to communities and social inclusion.
Almost 9 out of 10 councils are experiencing or anticipate an increase in demand for social housing as a direct result of the recession.
There are 242,800 people working in the housing industry in 73,300 companies.
96% of all housing and property organisations have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry include: housing officer; housing manager; neighbourhood manager; and emerging jobs, such as regeneration officer and community engagement officer.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of housing sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	14,100	Nearly half (44%) of the housing workforce in the East Midlands is aged 50 and over. A higher than average proportion is employed part‐time (37%)
East Of England	18,500	A significant proportion of the housing sector workforce in the East of England is female (63%)
London	40,700	London is the largest employer of the housing sector workforce in England (17%). A significantly high proportion is employed full‐time (86%) and 32% of employees are black and ethnic minorities
North East	11,800	The North East employs 5% of the total housing sector workforce in England
North West	31,000	The North West employs 12% of the total housing sector workforce in England
South East	36,300	After London, the South East is the second highest employer of the housing sector workforce in England (15%)
South West	17,400	In comparison to a number of English regions, the South East employs less people on a full‐time basis (65%). A significantly high proportion of the housing sector workforce is white (98%)
West Midlands	19,600	In comparison to other English regions, the West Midlands employs less people (8%) aged between 20 to 29
Yorkshire & the Humber	19,700	The housing sector in Yorkshire and the Humber region is very similar to England. Characterised by a higher proportion of female employment, 68% are aged 40 and over, the majority of the workforce is white (92%) and employed on a full‐time basis (72%)
Northern Ireland	2,900	Northern Ireland employs 1% of the total housing sector workforce across the UK. In comparison to the UK, the profile differs in a number of ways: a higher proportion of female employment (69%); an even age distribution; and a higher proportion of the workforce is employed on a full‐time basis (84%)
Scotland	20,500	Scotland employs 9% of the total UK housing sector workforce. Over half of the workforce is male (51%) and the majority of the workforce is white (94%)
Wales	10,400	Wales employs 4% of the total UK housing sector workforce. In comparison to the UK, a higher proportion of the workforce is female (58%), 98% of the workforce is white and a slightly higher proportion is employed on a part‐time basis (26%)