Our award-winning Training Academy is set to expand its offer this summer, launching bespoke training courses for social housing providers.
Many of you will know that social landlords must take officially recognised qualifications under new regulations brought in under Awaab’s Law; introduced as a result of the tragic death of toddler Awaab Ishak, due to mould in his social housing flat.
Former Housing Secretary Michael Gove emphasised the need for professionalisation in the sector following Awaab's death, acknowledging that social housing residents have been 'inexcusably let down'.
Introduced under Clause 42 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, the new law requires swift action from social housing landlords to assess and remedy serious hazards.
Consequently, social housing managers now need to obtain qualifications from providers regulated by exams watchdog Ofqual, equating to a level 4 or 5 certificate or diploma in housing.
We at the NRLA are now developing a qualification to meet these standards, which will be available soon along, with a library of CPD courses to help upskill the workforce in general.
The new Labour Government revealed plans to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector in a bid to raise standards, as part of its new Renters’ Rights Bill, announced in the King’s Speech last month.
The NRLA already delivers training on safety and standards within the PRS, including condensation, mould and dampness, property standards, electrical safety and fire safety, as well as regular legislation update courses.
We also offer bespoke training packages to a number of local authorities including Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham.
With experience of delivering high-level training to landlords, agents and local authorities across England and Wales our wealth of experience when it comes to rented housing means we are the ideal choice when it comes to deliver this training.
Indeed, we already provide Ofqual-approved qualifications for agents – and a range of safety and standards courses for PRS landlords.
The course content is currently being developed by our team of expert trainers and policy experts, and we expect it to be available to social housing providers by August.
The move requiring social landlords to obtain official qualifications is designed to align social housing managements with other frontline services such as social work, teaching, and health care, ensuring that managers possess the necessary expertise to address tenants' needs.
Failure to comply with these new standards could result in unlimited fines from the Regulator of Social Housing.
• For more information on this and the NRLA’s suite of courses, check out our training pages here to find out more about what we can do for you.
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