The Dept' for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced that changes to the Social Housing Regulation Bill whilst on its journey through the parliamentary process will mean that all social landlords will have to ensure that all staff, from neighbourhood housing officers to senior managers, "have the right skills, experience and knowledge to deliver a high quality service for residents."

This new competency standard will be enforced by the Regulator of Social Housing. The Regulator will also be placed under a legal duty to publish a plan on its commitment "to regularly inspect the largest landlords, including details on how often these [inspections] will happen."

Andrew Stephenson MP, Minister for Housing, said "This Bill marks a revolution in the way we regulate social housing .... For the first time there will be a professional standard that social landlords have to meet ..... This is a vital step as we deliver on our mission to halve the number of poor quality rented homes by 2030 ... "

The DLUHC announcement also points out that one way for social landlords to up-skill staff to comply with the new standard would be via "Qualifications such as those offered by the Chartered Institute of Housing."

Private rented sector landlords whose properties are subject to selective licensing or HMO licensing already have to show a required level of property and tenancy management competency in order to comply with the licence conditions set by a local authority, and the new standard for social landlords could be said to be the reverse side of this rental market coin. However, although some local authorities who use selective licensing to regulate their private rented sector encourage private landlords to take training courses, unlike the new social landlord standard, it is not generally a requirement for private sector landlords.