Launched on Tuesday at Scotland’s Housing Festival, new research commissioned by CIH Scotland and carried out by Indigo House explores both the strengths and areas for improvement in leadership and culture across Scotland’s social housing sector, as awareness of the importance of housing professionalism grows throughout the UK.

With leadership oversight currently split between the Scottish Housing Regulator and Audit Scotland, depending on provider type, the findings highlight the need for a consistent, sector-wide approach to staff development and succession planning – ensuring people are equipped, supported and valued in their roles.

While the UK Government is introducing mandatory qualifications for housing executives in England, the research highlighted the same approach would not be proportionate in Scotland. Instead, CIH Scotland is calling for a new Scottish Social Housing Charter outcome in the 2026/27 review that would require all providers to implement structured CPD across their workforce.

CIH Scotland national director Gillian McLees said: “We know from the responses to this survey that housing professionals are feeling the pressure of underinvestment, conflicting priorities and being asked to do more with less. Our findings highlight the need for a new regulatory approach to ensure more consistency in staff development and succession planning, so that people are equipped to do their jobs and feel valued.   

“Regulating professionalism is not about adding more pressure but strengthening and recognising the vital role that housing professionals play in communities throughout Scotland.”

It is believed this approach would create regulatory oversight of professional development while allowing flexibility within organisations for it to be tailored to local needs and priorities. It would also improve transparency with tenants, residents and wider stakeholders on the competence and skills of the housing professionals supporting their homes and communities.  

The research was shaped through open conversations with housing practitioners, tenants and regulators, including the Tenants Information Service (TIS).

TIS chief executive Kerry Clayton said: “The importance of professionalism when it comes to delivering excellent services to tenants cannot be underestimated. This key piece of research shows areas of good practice but also highlights areas where there is a need for improvement in leadership and culture.

“Taking tenant views into account, it is evident there is a desire for services to be delivered by a highly skilled workforce to ensure consistent approaches and good outcomes within our communities. Having structured CPD requirements in place across the sector will help achieve this.”

Anna Evans, co-founder of Indigo House, added: “Stakeholders working in the social housing sector have confirmed the critical challenges they face every day in Scotland. Overcoming these challenges demands strong, transformational leadership and a skilled and resilient workforce to drive change. We’ve found that a more consistent, systematic approach is needed to support a culture of leadership and workforce development.

“We encourage Scottish Government to use the pending review of the Scottish Social Housing Charter to encourage continuous professional development across the whole social housing sector which can be tailored to the needs of individual employees and organisations for the benefit of the tenants – and communities who we all serve.”