Housing Manager

Oct 2024

Career of the Month

Key Facts

Starter Salary

£24,500

Experienced Salary

£70,100

Working Hours

37 to 39 hours a week

Overview

Housing managers and officers work largely for local government and housing associations. Officers are responsible for the management and maintenance of a group of houses. They allocate homes to people on their waiting list and collect rents; they also deal with the collection of overdue rent and with breaches of tenancy agreements.

Housing officers visit estates and homes to carry out checks, look at any problems and arrange for repairs to be carried out. Managers lead a team of housing assistants and officers; they recruit, train and support them as necessary. They build relationships with local agencies such as tenancy groups, police and social services. Other work includes managing the housing stock and authorising re-possessions.

Housing managers sometimes need to deal with difficult and sensitive situations requiring calm and patience. They need good communication and customer service skills as well as management skills.

What it takes

What it takes:

customer service skills
business management skills
administration skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
knowledge of economics and accounting
patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
the ability to work well with others
the ability to use your initiative
excellent verbal communication skills
active listening skills
thinking and reasoning skills
leadership skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day to day

Day to day:

Your day-to-day tasks may include

assessing the needs of people applying for housing
giving people vacant accommodation
carrying out regular inspections
dealing with anti-social behaviour and broken tenancy agreements
referring people to advice on benefits and welfare
setting rents and dealing with payments and arrears
gathering statistical information and preparing reports
attending meetings
arranging for things like broken lifts and boilers to be repaired
working with other agencies like social services

You could work at a client's home or in an office.

Requirements

You will need

A Levels (or equivalent vocational qualifications)
Passes in 5 or more subjects at GCSE
A GCSE (4+/A*-C) (or equivalent) in English
A GCSE (4+/A*-C) (or equivalent) in maths

You may need

A degree

Academic and Vocational Notes

There is no set entry route into this career. Trainee housing officer posts or apprenticeships may be on offer while some employers run graduate training schemes. Although you can study for an approved degree such as housing studies, social policy or building surveying, entry is possible with most subjects.

Apprenticeship vacancies are advertised locally, with training providers, on the Government's apprenticeships website and on local government and housing association websites. Always do your research to check apprenticeship availability in your local area and to inform yourself about when applications typically open.

Vocational qualifications in subjects such as housing practice are not essential but may be useful. Entry requirements will vary between providers.

You may be able to start as a housing or admin assistant and work your way up. You could do this through on-the-job training to gain the relevant qualifications.

Housing manager is a career progression role, moved into after spending at least 3–5 years at assistant manager level and holding the required housing qualifications.

Work Based Training Notes

Further related professional qualifications may be achieved for career progression while working in a related position. The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) accredits courses and offers chartered membership.
With experience you could specialise in an area of housing like homelessness or anti-social behaviour.

You could also move into management and become a senior housing officer, regional manager, head of service or director.