From 1 October 2026, all social housing landlords must comply with the new Competence and Conduct Standard, introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). The Standard requires housing providers to ensure that staff delivering landlord services have the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours needed to provide high-quality services to residents. This includes contractors and other people carrying out housing-related work on the council’s behalf, who are also expected to provide a professional, respectful and resident-focused service. It also requires landlords to have clear arrangements in place for staff learning and development, performance management and professional conduct.
The Standard was introduced following lessons learned from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and wider reviews of the social housing sector, which highlighted the importance of professionalism, accountability and listening to residents.
As part of the requirements, landlords must publish information about how they will meet the Standard and ensure that it is accessible to tenants. Landlords must also give tenants meaningful opportunities to influence and scrutinise the development of the relevant policy and code of conduct.
How residents helped shape our approach
In preparation for the new Standard, the council developed draft competence and conduct documents with staff input and feedback, including a proposed policy and code of conduct for housing staff.
Residents were invited to review and comment on these documents through an online consultation and a face-to-face engagement session. This gave residents the opportunity to tell us what matters most to them, what they expect from housing staff and how the council can continue to improve the services it provides.
We received valuable feedback, which resulted in several significant changes to the documents. Residents highlighted the importance of professionalism, clear communication, accountability, respect and putting residents at the centre of service delivery. Their feedback helped strengthen the documents and ensure they reflect the expectations of both residents and the Regulator.
Taking this feedback into account, the council has produced a Housing Competence and Conduct Policy and a Housing Competence and Conduct Standard, which are being published in accordance with the requirements of the Regulator of Social Housing by 1 October 2026.
Further information
These documents set out how we will ensure that housing staff remain competent, professional and accountable, and how we will continue to support the delivery of safe, high-quality and resident-focused housing services.
Next steps
Publishing these documents is not the end of the process. Staff and manager briefings are being held, new e-learning training is being rolled out, and relevant staff are being enrolled on the qualifications they need.
We will monitor and measure staff competence and conduct to check that the Standard is being put into practice and is leading to improvements in the services residents receive.
We will keep residents updated on developments and continue to involve them in reviewing our progress, holding us to account and helping us demonstrate positive changes for residents.