Experienced Professional Route to Chartered Membership

CIH has been incorporated by Royal Charter since 1984 and our registered office is at Suites 5 & 6, First Floor Rowan House, Westwood Business Park, Coventry, CV4 8LE

These are the Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) between the user (“you”) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (“CIH”, “we”, “us”, “our”). Please read these terms and conditions carefully as the govern your use of the CIH website at www.cih.org and form part of any contract for the supply of services or products that you enter into with us.

• These terms and conditions should also be read in conjunction with the Terms for CIH Membership.

These Terms and Conditions govern your use of our Experienced Professional Route and Executive Route to chartered membership (“Service”). By accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use our Service

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at professionalstandards@cih.org

Eligibility

Experienced Professional Route (EPR) to chartered membership recognises professional capability and previous qualifications and is a commitment to maintaining up-to-date knowledge of housing issues. It is aimed at experienced housing professionals who want to demonstrate that they have the knowledge required to lead people and manage change.

To use the Service, you must meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Be a current resident of the UK and have UK housing sector experience
• Possess the necessary qualifications and professional experience as outlined in our eligibility criteria.
• Meet any specific requirements set forth by CIH membership. professional standards and other relevant departments

To apply for this route, you must also need to meet one of the four eligibility criteria below:

1. You have worked in a housing organisation or the residential built environment for five years, two of which are at senior management level working either as housing manager, asset manager (regeneration, property development, compliance audit, surveying, construction) or resources manager (policy & strategy, HR, finance).
2. You have worked in a housing organisation or the residential built environment for five years and you have a degree level qualification or a minimum CIH Level 4 qualification.
3. You have worked in a housing organisation or the residential built environment for five years and you are a fully qualified member (chartered member/fellow) of another relevant professional body.
4. You have more than five continuous years’ experience working as a senior manager or head of service in a housing organisation.

Service Description

The Experienced Professional Route chartered membership is designed to assist experienced professionals in obtaining chartered status. The specifics of the Service include but are not limited to:

• Guidance on meeting the chartering body’s criteria
• Support on application and documentation
• Professional development resources and mentoring

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from:

• your use or inability to use the Service;
• any unauthorized access to or use of our servers and/or any personal information stored therein
• any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Service
• any errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage incurred as a result of your use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available through the Service; and/or 
• the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party.

Changes to Terms

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material, we will provide at least 30 days' notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

Chartered membership fee

Upon successful completion of the programme (by successfully passing both the assignment and the interview stages) chartered membership will be granted to the candidate, with a free membership for a year, but not before this.

Programme content

Please note that the experienced professional route to chartered membership is not a regulated qualification, but a pathway for achieving CIH chartered status. If you are interested in undertaking a regulated qualification leading to chartered membership, you can complete the Level 5 Diploma in Housing qualification with one of the CIH approved training centres.

Policies and Procedures

There is no appeal against the decision of the panel unless there is evidence that the processes for the panel have not been followed correctly. If you feel that this is the case and you have been treated unreasonably in the arrangements for the panel and/or the information provided to you has been incorrect or misleading, you can write to CIH’s professional standards manager, within 10 days of receiving the panel decision, setting out your reasons for an appeal.

The CIH’s professional standards manager cannot alter the panel’s decision, but they can nullify it and arrange for a new panel to conduct the interview.

Complaints policy and procedure

If your complaint is regarding a CIH staff member or one of our products or services, you can either phone, complete an online form, send us an email or letter including your contact details, with a clear overview of the complaint and the outcome you are seeking. Full information can be found here.

Customer service statement

The Professional Standards team is committed to delivering a high standard of service to our customers.

At CIH, we always endeavour to treat all our customers fairly and deliver the best service we possibly can. We do understand however that sometimes, some people may not have the desired experience when working with us.

It is important to us that any feedback we receive is taken seriously as this helps us learn and make improvements to all of our services. We are committed to providing exceptional service, being accountable and transparent so we can build trust and respect with all of our members and customers.

Equality and diversity policy

Full details can be found here.