So You Want to Be a Director of Housing? Here’s What You Need to Know

Stepping into the role of Director of Housing in local government is not just a career milestone it’s a profound responsibility. You’re not simply managing bricks and mortar; you’re shaping the lived experience of thousands of residents, influencing the social fabric of communities, and stewarding public trust in one of the most visible and emotive areas of council service.

This is a role where policy meets people. Where strategy must be grounded in compassion. And where leadership is tested daily by the realities of homelessness, housing need, tenant voice, and political scrutiny.

But what does it take to be ready for this role? It’s not just about technical knowledge or years of experience. It’s about mindset, values, and readiness to lead in complexity. You need to know how to balance ambition with realism, how to navigate the political landscape, and how to build a culture of accountability and care.

You need to know what to prioritise on day one because the first 90 days will define your credibility. You need to know what to be thinking about long-term because housing is a strategic lever for health, growth, and climate resilience. And you need to know what to avoid because even well-intentioned leaders can stumble if they don’t understand the nuances of the role.

This blog is for aspirational leaders who want to make a meaningful impact in housing. Whether you're a Head of Service, Assistant Director, or an interim leader looking to step up, this is your guide to what you need to know that you need to know. Because readiness isn’t just about being qualified it’s about being prepared to lead with purpose.

1. Skills You Must Develop Before You Step Up

The role of Director of Housing in local government is no longer just about managing services it’s about leading transformation in a high-risk, high-accountability environment. In 2025, the technical demands of the role have intensified, driven by new legislation, regulatory scrutiny, and public expectations around safety, quality, and sustainability. You’ll need to be more than a strategic thinker. You must be a technically competent leader who understands the operational realities of housing delivery, compliance, and risk management.

Core Competencies

Strategic Leadership

You must be able to shape housing policy, lead transformation, and make decisions in the public eye. This includes aligning housing strategy with corporate objectives, climate goals, and community needs.

Technical Compliance and Regulation

Understanding the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, Building Safety Act 2022, and Fire Safety Act 2021 is essential. Since April 2024, councils are graded from C1 to C4 by the Regulator of Social Housing, with over 80% of the lowest grades issued to local authorities.

You must ensure:

• Compliance with the Consumer Standards.

• Robust fire risk assessments under the Fire Safety Order.

• Full documentation of health and safety arrangements and building safety data.

• A proactive approach to damp and mould, now a statutory concern under Awaab’s Law.

Health and Safety Leadership

You are legally accountable for tenant safety. This includes:

• Fire safety in multi-occupancy buildings (e.g. external wall systems, flat entrance doors, communal areas).

• Gas, electrical, asbestos, legionella, and lift safety compliance.

• Oversight of contractors and lone working protocols.

• Embedding a safety culture across housing teams.

“Health and safety performance is an integral part of what we do,” states Wealden District Council’s Housing Service.

Asset Management and Stock Condition

You must understand the condition, performance, and investment needs of your housing stock. This includes:

• Leading 30-year investment planning.

• Delivering Decent Homes compliance.

• Managing retrofit programmes and energy efficiency upgrades.

• Using data to drive decisions on repairs, regeneration, and disposals[6].

“Modern asset management practices enable more efficient resource deployment and improved risk management,” says West Lothian Council.

Financial Oversight

As Director of Housing, you’ll be responsible for managing multi-million-pound budgets that directly impact lives. For example, Oxford City Council’s housing budget includes £22 million for energy efficiency upgrades and funding for 1,558 new council homes, with total housing investment exceeding £207 million over the next eight years.

You must be confident in:

• HRA Business Planning: The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is a ring-fenced landlord account. You’ll need to forecast income and expenditure over 30–40 years, manage debt sustainably, and align investment with stock condition and tenant needs.

• Capital Programme Delivery: Delivering major works roof replacements, boiler upgrades, energy retrofits requires robust planning, procurement, and governance. A 70:30 split in favour of planned works over reactive repairs is considered best practice.

• Value-for-Money Assessments: The Regulator of Social Housing’s VFM metrics include cost per unit, reinvestment rates, and return on assets. In 2024, the median cost per property rose to £5,136, with reinvestment rates at a record 7.7%.

• Risk-Based Investment Prioritisation: Councils increasingly use scoring frameworks to prioritise housing sites and capital works based on risk, deliverability, and social value.

“You must be able to balance ambition with affordability, and ensure every pound spent delivers impact,” says Councillor Ed Turner, Oxford City Council.

Political Awareness

You’ll operate at the intersection of policy and delivery. Political sensitivity is key to maintaining trust and credibility.

• Understand the priorities of elected members especially around homelessness, regeneration, and tenant satisfaction.

• Be visible and responsive. Attend scrutiny panels, cabinet briefings, and member-led forums.

• Translate technical housing issues into clear, actionable insights for non-specialists.

“Housing directors must be politically astute, able to advise and influence without overstepping,” notes the London Housing Directors’ Group.

Community Engagement

Housing is deeply personal. You must lead with empathy, transparency, and responsiveness.

• Engage residents meaningfully not just through surveys, but through co-design and lived experience.

• Use digital platforms to track satisfaction, complaints, and service improvements.

• Embed resident voice into governance structures.

“Local authorities’ housing strategies have become levers for economic and social change,” says the Local Government Association.

Qualifications and Experience

To be credible and effective, you’ll need both formal qualifications and diverse experience.

Qualifications

• CIH Level 5 Diploma in Housing is often expected. It covers ethical practice, leadership, strategic planning, and housing law.

• Completion of Level 4 or equivalent is typically required for entry.

Experience

• A track record across tenures social rent, temporary accommodation, private sector regulation, and supported housing is increasingly valued.

• Familiarity with building safety data systems, compliance dashboards, and digital housing platforms is essential. Tools like Insight4Housing and HACT’s data standards are now widely adopted.

“Digital transformation is no longer optional it’s central to compliance, efficiency, and tenant satisfaction,” says Vericon Systems.

2. What to Think About on Day One

Your first day as Director of Housing isn’t just a formality it’s a moment of significance. You’re not simply inheriting a service; you’re inheriting a legacy, a reputation, and a community’s trust. The tone you set in your first few weeks will shape perceptions, relationships, and your ability to lead effectively. This is your opportunity to listen deeply, assess honestly, and begin building the credibility that will carry you through scrutiny, challenge, and change.

Immediate Priorities

Understand Your Stock and Services

Before you can lead, you must know what you’re leading. That means understanding:

• The condition of your housing stock including any known issues with damp, mould, fire safety, or disrepair.

• The repairs backlog and performance against KPIs.

• Your temporary accommodation spend, which in some councils exceeds £10m annually.

• The homelessness pressures in your area, including duty cases under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

• Your compliance position against the new Consumer Standards.

“A noticeable trend emerging from the Regulator’s findings is the importance of having a comprehensive understanding of your housing stock,” notes Pennington Choices.

Meet Your People

Your team is your greatest asset. Building trust early is essential.

• Schedule one-to-ones with key managers and frontline staff.

• Ask open questions about what’s working, what’s broken, and what they need from you.

• Be visible, be curious, and be consistent.

“Establishing trust with new team members is crucial,” says leadership expert Edward Segal. “It’s what lays the groundwork for long-term success.”

Engage with Members

Your relationship with elected councillors will shape your success. You must:

• Understand their priorities, especially those linked to housing, regeneration, and community wellbeing.

• Be politically astute know when to advise, when to listen, and when to lead.

• Build credibility through transparency and responsiveness.

“Build positive relationships with all elected members to balance political drivers with strategic priorities,” advises Camden Council’s Director of Housing role profile.

Review Compliance and Risk

The Regulator of Social Housing now inspects councils proactively. You must:

• Ensure your services meet the four Consumer Standards: Safety and Quality, Tenancy, Neighbourhood and Community, and Transparency, Influence and Accountability.

• Know your current grading (C1–C4) and what it means.

• Identify gaps in stock condition data, health and safety compliance, and tenant engagement.

“Since April 2024, councils are graded from C1 to C4, with many falling into C2 and C3 due to outdated data and poor documentation,” warns Pennington Choices.

Listen First

Leadership begins with listening not to respond, but to understand.

“We tend to listen to respond when what we've got to do is listen to understand,” says Ron Holifield, CEO of Strategic Government Resources.

This means:

• Listening to residents’ lived experiences.

• Listening to staff concerns and aspirations.

• Listening to the political and social context of your council.

3. What to Be Thinking About Long-Term

Once you’ve settled into the role, your focus must shift from stabilisation to transformation. The Director of Housing is not just a service lead they are a strategic enabler, a community builder, and a legacy-maker. Your long-term thinking must encompass resilience, equity, and innovation.

Here are the strategic areas that will define your legacy.

Affordable Housing Delivery

Affordable housing remains a cornerstone of local government housing strategy but delivery is under pressure.

• In 2023–24, 62,289 affordable homes were completed in England, a 2% drop from the previous year. However, starts on site fell by 39%, the lowest since 2016–17.

• Of all starts managed by Homes England, 82% were for affordable homes, but many were tenure-uncertain, reflecting market volatility.

“Planning delays and viability pressures are holding up development. Directors must be proactive in unlocking delivery,” warns the Home Builders Federation.

You must:

• Champion strategic partnerships with housing associations and developers.

• Leverage Section 106 and Homes England funding.

• Align delivery with local plan targets and community needs.

Homelessness Prevention

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 places a legal duty on councils to intervene early.

• Councils must support households 56 days before homelessness occurs, not just those with priority need.

• Prevention and relief duties are now central to housing strategy, with personalised housing plans required for all eligible applicants.

You must:

• Embed prevention into every housing function.

• Invest in upstream solutions mediation, tenancy sustainment, and financial advice.

• Work closely with social care, health, and voluntary sector partners.

“Helping to secure accommodation doesn’t mean sourcing it directly it means empowering residents to take control,” notes Shelter.

Climate Resilience and Sustainability

Housing is now a frontline service in the climate agenda.

• Councils are expected to decarbonise housing stock by 2050, with retrofit strategies for social housing, private rentals, and owner-occupied homes.

• The Local Government Association urges place-based approaches to climate adaptation, tailored to local risks and vulnerabilities.

You must:

• Lead retrofit and energy efficiency programmes.

• Embed climate adaptation into asset management.

• Use data to map climate risk and target interventions.

“Local government is ready to lead on climate action but needs strong national partnership,” says Jo Wall, Director at Local Partnerships.

Resident Voice

The new consumer regulation regime demands more than compliance it demands compassion.

• The Social Housing Resident Panel found that meaningful engagement requires being listened to, seeing change, and having influence.

• Post-Grenfell reforms have made resident voice central to housing leadership.

You must:

• Move from consultation to co-production.

• Create structures that empower residents to shape services.

• Ensure transparency, responsiveness, and accountability.

“Tenants in social housing often lack choice. Leaders must see service delivery through a customer lens,” says Philip Emms.

Equality and Inclusion: Embedding FREDIE

FREDIE Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement is more than a framework. It’s a leadership mindset.

• Housing leaders must foster inclusive cultures, challenge bias, and ensure services meet diverse needs.

• Organisations like Beyond Housing and Bro Myrddin Housing Association have embedded FREDIE into recruitment, service design, and governance.

You must:

• Embed FREDIE in policy, practice, and performance.

• Use data to monitor diversity and inclusion.

• Train staff in cultural competence and unconscious bias.

“Respond with quiet confidence, grounded in truth, fairness, and empathy,” writes Solat Chaudhry.

4. What to Avoid

Even the most talented housing leaders can stumble especially in the early months of their tenure. The Director of Housing role is high-profile, high-pressure, and politically exposed. Avoiding common pitfalls is essential to building trust, credibility, and momentum.

Here are five traps to steer clear of:

1. Moving Too Fast

It’s tempting to make bold changes early on to prove your value. But moving too quickly before understanding the culture, systems, and relationships can backfire.

“Newly hired leaders get in trouble when they make changes too soon after taking office, before they have a chance to develop relationships and understand the organisation,” warns Moshe Cohen, Senior Lecturer at Boston University. “Without allies or insight, they struggle to be effective and often get blamed for performance issues.”

Take time to listen, observe, and build trust before initiating major reforms.

2. Micromanagement

You’re leading a complex service but that doesn’t mean you should control every detail. Micromanagement erodes trust, stifles innovation, and creates bottlenecks. Instead:

• Delegate with clarity.

• Empower managers to lead.

• Coach rather than control.

“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers,” said Ralph Nader.

3. Ignoring the Political Landscape

Housing is inherently political. Elected members have strong views on homelessness, regeneration, and tenant satisfaction. Failing to engage with them or misreading their priorities can lead to conflict and scrutiny.

“Housing directors must be politically astute, able to advise and influence without overstepping,” notes the London Housing Directors’ Group.

Build relationships early. Understand the political context. Be visible, responsive, and strategic.

4. Neglecting Resident Engagement

Poor communication leads to mistrust. Residents want to be heard, respected, and involved not just consulted.

“If you're not listening, you're not creating shared solutions,” says Dr Ashley English. “We have to be in a place where we know how to listen well.”

Avoid tokenistic engagement. Instead:

• Co-design services with residents.

• Close the feedback loop.

• Embed listening into your leadership culture.

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5. Focusing Only on Compliance

Regulatory success is important but it’s not the whole story. A housing service that meets the Consumer Standards but fails to deliver warmth, dignity, and responsiveness is not truly successful.

“The sector needs to seize the moment the current regulatory spotlight is providing and rethink the concept of leadership,” writes Philip Emms. “Move from compliance to compassion.”

Balance compliance with care. Lead with empathy. Deliver services that feel human, not transactional.

Final Thought

The Director of Housing role is one of the most impactful positions in local government. You’re not just managing homes you’re shaping lives, communities, and futures. Every decision you make has the potential to influence wellbeing, opportunity, and dignity for thousands of residents.

This is a role that demands technical excellence, strategic foresight, and human empathy. It’s about balancing compliance with compassion, delivery with dialogue, and ambition with accountability. As Solat Chaudhry writes:

“Housing leaders must lean into the work of building harmony, not harm. Respond with quiet confidence, grounded in truth, fairness, and empathy.”

If you’re ready to step up, remember: it’s not just about being qualified. It’s about being prepared to lead with purpose, listen with humility, and act with integrity.