Preparing your team for the new legislation coming from October 2026...
The Competence And Conduct Standard
Your essential guide to navigating the Competence And Conduct Standard, from understanding the requirements to embedding them across your workforce.
Helping Your Organisation Prepare for the Competence and Conduct Standard
We have created a dedicated toolkit to support housing providers in embedding professionalism, raising standards, and improving outcomes for tenants through the competence and conduct standard.
What Is the Competence and Conduct Standard?
The Competence and Conduct Standard sets out the expectations for professionalism, skills, knowledge, behaviours, and qualifications across the social housing sector.
From October 2026, social housing providers are expected to demonstrate that employees working in housing management roles are appropriately qualified and competent for the work they carry out. This applies across organisations, from frontline housing teams through to leadership and management roles.
The standard is designed to strengthen professionalism across the sector and improve the quality, consistency, and accountability of housing services. This is no longer simply about encouraging staff development. It is now a regulatory expectation.
At Kingdom Academy, we support housing providers with accredited qualifications, apprenticeships, and practical workforce development pathways that align with the requirements of the standard while enabling teams to continue delivering services effectively.
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Explore our upcoming information sessions and find the right programme for you or your team. Our sessions are an opportunity to meet the Kingdom Academy team, learn more about the programmes available, understand how they are delivered and ask any questions you may have. Choose a session that suits you and get all the information you need to make an informed decision about your next step.
Housing Qualifications For The Conduct and Competence Standard
Why Is The Competence and Conduct Standard Being Introduced?
The Competence and Conduct Standard is part of a wider drive to improve professionalism, accountability, and resident experience across the social housing sector.
Its development has been shaped by years of scrutiny into housing services, including findings from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, concerns raised through the Social Housing Green Paper, and the sector-wide response following the death of Awaab Ishak.
A consistent theme emerged throughout: residents did not just want safer homes. They wanted to feel heard, respected, and supported by competent housing professionals delivering high-quality services.
The government’s response has been to strengthen regulation and place greater emphasis on the skills, knowledge, behaviours, and qualifications of housing staff and leaders.
Through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing was given powers to introduce a Competence and Conduct Standard for the sector, with implementation confirmed for October 2026.
For housing providers, this marks a significant shift. Professional competence is no longer viewed as best practice alone. It is becoming a clear regulatory expectation.
The Implications For Registered Housing Providers
What Will the Competence And Conduct Standard Require?
From October 2026, registered providers will be expected to demonstrate clear systems, policies, and workforce development arrangements that support professional and competent housing services. Large providers with 1,000 or more homes, and their service providers, will have three years to make sure staff are qualified or working towards a qualification. Smaller providers with fewer than 1,000 homes, and their service providers, will have four years.
Key requirements include:
Workforce Competence
Providers must ensure relevant staff have the appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours needed for their roles.
Contractor and Service Provider Oversight
Where housing services are delivered through contractors or managing agents, providers must take reasonable steps to ensure competence and conduct expectations are also being met.
Learning and Development Policies
Providers will need a written policy outlining how staff learning, development, appraisal, and performance management will be supported across the organisation.
Codes of Conduct
A clear and up-to-date code of conduct must be in place for relevant staff, with expectations understood and embedded across the workforce.
Tenant Involvement
Tenants must have opportunities to influence and scrutinise competence and conduct approaches, including relevant policies and standards.
Qualification Requirements
Senior housing managers and senior housing executives will need to hold, or be actively working towards, an approved housing management qualification within the required transition periods.
Is Your Organisation Ready for the Competence and Conduct Standard?
From qualifications and workforce planning through to policies, codes of conduct, and tenant engagement, the Competence and Conduct Standard covers far more than training alone. Our readiness assessment is designed to help housing providers review the key areas they may need to consider ahead of implementation.
Getting Your Organisation Ready For The Conduct and Competence Standard
What Roles Are In Scope?
While scope will vary depending on organisational structure and responsibilities, the qualification requirements are likely to apply to roles with operational or strategic responsibility for housing management services.
This may include managers and leaders responsible for:
- Tenancy management
- Neighbourhood and estate services
- Anti-social behaviour
- Complaints and customer services
- Allocations and lettings
- Income management
- Repairs and maintenance
- Asset management and building safety
- Resident engagement and tenant involvement
In larger organisations, multiple tiers of management may fall within scope where individuals hold responsibility for service delivery, performance, decision-making, or strategic oversight.
Some roles may fall outside the requirements, particularly where responsibilities are purely corporate or back-office functions without direct involvement in housing management services.
Because structures vary across the sector, providers should assess roles based on responsibilities rather than job titles alone.
Going Beyond Just Qualifications...
While qualification requirements are one of the most talked about aspects of the Competence and Conduct Standard, the expectations placed on housing providers extend much further than formal learning alone. The standard also requires organisations to demonstrate clear approaches to professionalism, accountability, workforce development, and resident engagement across the wider organisation.
The Competence and Conduct Standard
What qualifications are required to be compliant?
Under the Competence and Conduct Standard, qualification requirements apply primarily to senior housing managers and senior housing executives who fall within scope of the standard. The qualification level required will depend on the role and level of responsibility.
Senior Housing Managers
Individuals identified as Senior Housing Managers will generally be expected to hold, or be working towards, a relevant Level 4 housing qualification.
Senior Housing Executives
Individuals identified as Senior Housing Executives will generally be expected to hold, or be working towards, a relevant Level 5 qualification or foundation degree in housing management.
Technical Housing Management Roles
For some technical housing management functions, relevant qualifications in areas such as asset management, building safety, surveying, construction, or property management may also be acceptable where they align with the role and include relevant housing management competencies.
Need to Explore Housing Qualifications For The Conduct and Competence Standard?
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Existing Qualifications & Top-Up Pathways
Already Have Housing Qualifications?
Many housing professionals may already hold qualifications, apprenticeships, or technical certifications that meet all or part of the Competence and Conduct Standard requirements. In some cases, additional learning or top-up modules may be needed to address specific competency areas within the new framework.
At Kingdom Academy, we can help organisations review existing qualifications, identify potential gaps, and explore suitable progression or top-up pathways aligned to the latest guidance.
Explore our CIH top-up pathways and qualification support options to understand what additional learning may be required for your workforce.
Supporting Your Organisation With Implementation
Resources & Support
Official Policy Statement
Access the latest government policy statement and guidance relating to the Competence and Conduct Standard.
Readiness Assessment Tool
Review how prepared your organisation may be across key areas of the Competence and Conduct Standard.
Role Qualifying Assessment Tool
Identify whether specific roles may fall within the qualification requirements linked to the standard.
Employer Readiness Toolkit
Practical guidance to help housing providers prepare for implementation across their organisation.
Support consistent, professional, and accountable decision-making across housing services.
Tenant Involvement Guide
Explore practical ways to involve tenants in shaping competence, conduct, and service standards.
Learn how to structure a written policy covering learning, development, appraisal, and performance management.
Creating A Comprehensive Code Of Conduct
Guide
Guidance on developing clear behavioural expectations and professional standards across your workforce.
Why You Should Choose
Kingdom Academy...
Frequently Asked Questions
All the important information you need to move forward with confidence.
The Competence and Conduct Standard is a new regulatory standard being introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing from October 2026. It is designed to strengthen professionalism, accountability, competence, and resident-focused service delivery across the social housing sector.
The standard includes requirements relating to:
- Workforce competence
- Professional conduct
- Learning and development
- Tenant involvement
- Qualification requirements for certain senior housing roles
The standard will come into force from October 2026.
However, there will be transition periods relating to qualification requirements:
- Providers with 1,000 or more social housing units will have three years to comply
- Providers with fewer than 1,000 units will have four years to comply
This applies specifically to qualification requirements for senior housing managers and senior housing executives.
The standard applies to registered providers of social housing in England.
It may also apply to certain contractors, managing agents, ALMOs, TMOs, and service providers delivering housing management services on behalf of registered providers.
Roles are assessed based on responsibilities rather than job titles alone.
The qualification requirements are likely to apply to senior housing managers and senior housing executives with operational or strategic responsibility for housing management services.
This may include responsibility for:
- Tenancy management
- Complaints
- ASB services
- Resident engagement
- Income management
- Repairs and maintenance
- Asset management
- Building safety
- Estate management
The government guidance makes clear that organisations must assess roles individually based on the level of responsibility and oversight attached to the role.
No.
The qualification requirements are focused primarily on senior housing managers and senior housing executives who fall within scope of the standard.
However, providers are still expected to ensure all relevant staff are competent and appropriately supported through learning, development, supervision, and performance management.
In general:
- Senior housing managers will require a relevant Level 4 qualification
- Senior housing executives will require a relevant Level 5 qualification or foundation degree
Technical housing management qualifications may also be acceptable in some circumstances depending on the role and qualification content.
In many cases, yes.
Some existing housing qualifications, apprenticeships, and technical qualifications may already fully meet the requirements. Others may only partially meet the criteria, meaning additional learning or top-up modules may be needed.
Providers should review both:
- The role responsibilities
- The qualification content
against the official guidance.
The standard allows individuals to be compliant if they are actively working towards an appropriate qualification within the required timescales.
Providers should have clear plans in place showing how staff will complete their learning during the transition period.
Potentially, yes.
The standard includes expectations relating to certain service providers delivering housing management services on behalf of registered providers.
This means providers may need to consider qualification and competence requirements within:
- Contract management
- Procurement processes
- Outsourced housing management arrangements
The standard goes beyond qualifications alone.
Providers will also be expected to demonstrate:
- Written competence and development policies
- Clear codes of conduct
- Workforce development arrangements
- Ongoing performance management
- Tenant involvement and accountability
- Professional behaviours and culture
This is a written policy setting out how the organisation will:
- Support staff learning and development
- Monitor competence
- Appraise performance
- Address poor performance
- Maintain workforce capability over time
The policy should reflect operational practice rather than existing purely as an HR document.
Find out more here.
Yes.
Providers are expected to adopt or develop a code of conduct for relevant staff and ensure it is understood, applied, and kept up to date across the organisation.
The code should support professionalism, accountability, respectful communication, and resident-focused service delivery.
Find out more here.
The standard expects providers to give tenants meaningful opportunities to shape and scrutinise competence and conduct approaches.
This may include involvement in:
- Service standards
- Communication approaches
- Codes of conduct
- Feedback and improvement processes
The focus is on ensuring resident voice informs organisational learning and service improvement.
Find out more here.
Most providers are currently focusing on:
- Workforce mapping
- Identifying roles likely to be in scope
- Reviewing existing qualifications
- Developing competence frameworks
- Reviewing policies and codes of conduct
- Planning qualification pathways
- Reviewing contractor arrangements
Early planning is important given the scale of organisational change many providers may need to manage.
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We are a trusted delivery partner of both CIH and Innovate, with a strong track record of success across housing associations and local authorities. Our programmes consistently achieve high learner satisfaction and completion rates, reflecting the quality of our delivery and the support we provide.
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“Having spent 15 years in housing I wanted to complete a professional qualification to support my role and to improve my confidence. I found the online learning challenging as I struggled with connectivity and also this method of learning however the support I continued to receive from my mentor Simon Nicholson was fantastic and I couldn’t have got through the course without him.
Completing this course and gaining a distinction has given me a real confidence boost in my own ability and knowledge/understanding of the housing sector.”
Rachel Lee, Level 5 CIH
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Want To Discuss What This Means For Your Organisation?
The Competence And Conduct Standard will affect every housing provider, but how it applies – and the steps you’ll need to take – will look different for each organisation. If you’d like to explore what the changes mean for your teams, the gaps you may need to address, or the training and support available, we’re here to help. Complete the form below and a member of the Kingdom Academy team will be in touch to discuss your organisation’s next steps.