How to become a housing officer
Official title: Housing officers
Also called: Housing factor, Hostel officer, Housing adviser, Housing officer, Support officer, Advisory officer, Rural housing enabler, Accommodation officer, Senior hostel officer, Housing needs officer, Neighbourhood officer, Accommodations officer
Housing officers assess and address housing needs of particular localities and individuals and oversee the day-to-day management of rented properties belonging to local authorities or housing associations.
Main tasks
- Oversees the day-to-day running of rented properties including arranging for the signing of leases, rent collection and maintenance work
- Interviews prospective tenants and allocates properties to waiting list applicants
- Carries out regular inspections of properties to assess and ensure they are in a good state of repair
- Ensures that special needs accommodation is suited to the needs of particular groups such as the elderly and disabled, and that statutory requirements for providing accommodation are met
- Refers tenants to appropriate sources of benefits and welfare
- Deals with payment of rents and arrears, arranges for legal action where necessary
- Supports tenants’ groups
- Works closely with other agencies such as social services departments and welfare rights groups
How to become one
Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications and/or relevant work experience. Vocational qualifications in Housing are available at levels 2, 3,4 and 5. Professional qualifications are available and may be required for some posts.
Ways in
- University: Psychology degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK
- University: Health & Public Health degrees, Offered by 23 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £34,688 a year The middle half earn £29,267 to £39,300.
- About 77,700 people work in this job now, and about 85,400 are projected by 2035. (+10%)
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Questions people ask
How do I become a housing officer?
Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications and/or relevant work experience. Vocational qualifications in Housing are available at levels 2, 3,4 and 5. Professional qualifications are available and may be required for some posts.
How much does a housing officer earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £34,688 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £29,267 to £39,300.
Is a housing officer a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 77,700 to about 85,400 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a housing officer?
Not always. 36% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Psychology degrees; Health & Public Health degrees.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.