The Competence & Conduct Standard is coming.
The question is: will your organisation be ready?
From October 2026, housing providers will be expected to demonstrate that staff have the competence, professionalism and behaviours required to deliver high-quality services to residents.
For boards and executive teams, this raises important questions.
Those who start early will be in a far stronger position to demonstrate compliance, build leadership capability and avoid last-minute pressure as the regulation comes into force.
If the regulator asked today:
• Could we evidence that our managers are equipped to lead people effectively?
• Do we have clear expectations around professional conduct?
• Can we demonstrate robust workforce development systems?
• Do we have confidence that leadership capability is consistent across the organisation?
Many organisations are only beginning to explore these questions.
More Audit Spaces Opening Up From May 2026
How We Support Housing Organisations
Our work typically follows three stages: understand the regulation, assess readiness and implement solutions.
Competence & Conduct Readiness Audit
Many organisations are still unsure what the new standard will require in practice.
Our Competence & Conduct Readiness Audit provides a clear picture of your organisation’s current position and what may need to change.
Through a structured review, we assess leadership capability, workforce development systems, behavioural expectations and governance assurance.
You receive a clear diagnostic report outlining strengths, gaps and priority actions, along with a practical roadmap to support your organisation in moving towards compliance.
This gives boards and executive teams confidence that the organisation understands its regulatory position and has a clear plan forward.
Leadership and Management Development
A central expectation of the Competence & Conduct Standard is that managers have the capability to lead people effectively.
Many housing professionals are promoted because of their technical expertise but have had little opportunity to develop the people management skills required to lead teams.
Our leadership development programmes support managers to build the confidence, self-awareness and practical skills required to manage people effectively.
This includes Manager School Online, our ILM Level 5 accredited 12-week self-study programme, designed specifically to help managers strengthen their people management capability.
For organisations, this provides a structured and credible pathway for developing management capability across teams.
If you want something more bespoke, and in-person, we can offer accredited versions of that too.
Leadership Culture and Behaviour
The new standard places strong emphasis on professional conduct and behaviours.
Organisations will need to clearly define the behaviours expected of staff and ensure these are embedded across the organisation.
Through workshops and consultancy, we support organisations to clarify leadership expectations, strengthen accountability and build psychologically safe cultures where people speak up and take responsibility.
This helps ensure that policies are not simply written, but consistently lived across the organisation.
Governance and Policy Support
Preparing for the Competence & Conduct Standard requires collaboration between governance, HR and executive leadership.
We support organisations with the development of policies, governance frameworks and assurance processes that align leadership development with regulatory expectations.
The result is a clear, credible approach to competence and conduct that boards can have confidence in.
