The professionalisation of social housing is entering a new phase. With the Competence & Conduct Standard due to come into force from 2026, every housing provider in the UK is being asked to demonstrate that team members have the knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver safe, respectful and customer-focused services.

This is a chance to strengthen service cultures, build tenant trust and support your teams to thrive in increasingly demanding roles. At MGI Learning, we believe that equipping people with the right tools to support a positive, solution-focused mindset, positive communication and personal resilience will be critical for organisations to meet both the letter and the spirit of the new standard.

Why customer service competence matters 

The regulator’s message is clear: tenants deserve to feel listened to, respected and supported. Customer service is now a regulated competency. Team members across housing organisations, from front-line officers to contact centres and tenancy management, will be expected to demonstrate professionalism in every interaction.

For social housing providers, this means: 

• Communicating clearly and respectfully with tenants
• Responding quickly and taking ownership of issues
• Showing empathy while maintaining professional boundaries, including when saying ‘no’ or responding to feedback
• Equipping team members with the knowledge to provide accurate and confident guidance

These capabilities are directly linked to tenant satisfaction. Research consistently shows that communication, empathy and responsiveness are the top drivers of trust. Yet these are also the areas where your team can feel least supported, especially when faced with high caseloads, distressed tenants and rising demand.

The challenge for housing organisations 

The sector faces unique pressures. Your service professionals are often working in high-stakes, emotionally charged situations – supporting vulnerable tenants, handling complaints or explaining difficult decisions. The risk of burnout is real. Without support, they may default to defensive communication or inconsistent service, undermining both tenant trust and organisational reputation.

The Competence & Conduct Standard asks providers to embed customer-focused behaviours at scale. To succeed, housing organisations will need to invest in training that complements technical knowledge. All team members will need practical skills they can apply immediately, along with the resilience to maintain high standards even under pressure.

MGI Learning’s Mindset, Language & Actions approach 

For over 30 years, MGI Learning has worked with organisations across sectors to transform service capability. Our proven Mindset, Language & Actions Toolkit gives everyone in an organisation the confidence, skills and behaviours to deliver consistent, high-quality service.

The approach is simple and powerful:

• Mindset: Helping build the focus of all team members to be: “what can I do to help?” This solution-focused mindset fosters optimism, resilience, and ownership and responsibility.
• Language: Equipping your people with positive, can-do and respectful communication skills that convey empathy, clarity and professionalism.
• Actions: Embedding ownership and responsibility and follow-through so tenants feel supported, informed and valued. All colleagues learn to take responsibility for closing the loop and ensuring issues are resolved.

This combination allows complaints to be handled constructively, residents to be guided through complex processes with care and understanding and service providers to maintain composure in challenging conversations.

Building resilience alongside competence 

Resilience is central to the Competence & Conduct Standard, and all team members need the personal effectiveness to manage time, energy and emotional pressure. 

MGI programmes include tools to help all involved in supporting social housing customers to: 

• Stay calm and constructive when faced with difficult situations 
• Reframe challenges as opportunities for learning 
• Balance empathy with professional boundaries 
• Take a pause and find the best way forward in any situation 
• Sustain energy and focus across demanding caseloads 

By building resilience, frontline teams are better able to demonstrate empathy without becoming overwhelmed. This protects wellbeing and ensures consistent, high-quality service. 

Proven impact on tenant satisfaction 

MGI Learning’s training has delivered measurable improvements for housing providers and other service-driven organisations:

• Customer satisfaction up by 30% to 80%
• 20% reduction in complaints from residents
• 300% increase in compliments and 34% fewer complaints
• Significant improvements in team member confidence and engagement

These results are achieved because the training is engaging, practical and easy to embed. Participants leave with real tools they can use straight away, and organisations experience a resilient culture of ownership and responsibility, optimism and service excellence.

Preparing now for 2026 

Working towards the Competence & Conduct Standard now, organisations can:

• Show the Regulator of Social Housing that they are serious about compliance
• Reduce the risk of poor tenant experiences and reputational damage
• Create a more engaged and resilient team
• Build a culture of ownership, responsibility and high-trust
• Position themselves as leaders in service excellence in the sector

How MGI Learning can help 

We partner with social and community housing providers to design and deliver training programmes aligned with the new requirements. Whether through tailored workshops, video-based online learning, coaching, including large-scale rollouts, our focus is always on delivering measurable improvements in employee engagement, operational effectiveness and resident satisfaction.

The new Competence & Conduct Standard represents a turning point for the housing sector. Meeting it requires policy changes, and it demands a culture where people working in the sector feel confident, resilient and supported to serve tenants well.

MGI Learning’s Mindset, Language & Actions approach offers a proven pathway to achieve this. By investing in your people now, you can raise standards, improve tenant satisfaction and build a service culture that stands the test of time.

If you’d like to explore how MGI Learning can support your organisation to prepare for the Competence & Conduct Standard, please contact us here.

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