Estates officers are responsible for the management of land and property belonging to local councils and other statutory bodies such as health authorities.

Day-to-day management of property involves:

• organising and checking repairs and maintenance
• ensuring properties are being used for the intended purpose 
• dealing with tenancy applications 
• monitoring tenancy agreements
• reviewing and assessing rents.

Buying and selling property is another aspect of the work. This can involve:

• assessing the potential of property for both short and long term future use
• checking returns on investments
• negotiating with landowners and other interested parties about compulsory purchase or purchase by agreement of land
• advising on land purchase issues.

General duties include:

• attending meetings
• visiting sites
• liaising with other departments and organisations
• financial and statistical analysis
• report writing
• keeping up to date with land management and environmental issues.

Estates officers may specialise in lettings, acquisitions or management.

Hours and Environment

Estates officers work around 36 hours a week. There may be some evening committee work. Flexi-time, part-time work and job sharing may be available.

The work is mostly office-based, but also involves travel to attend meetings and visit sites. A driving licence is essential.

Skills and Interests

To be an estates officer, you need:

• communication, presentation and organisational skills
• the ability to maintain good public relations
• numerical skills
• tact, diplomacy and negotiating skills
• the ability to analyse written and numerical information
• an eye for detail when examining property, legal documents and statistics
• the ability to work in a team and co-ordinate the work of others
• computer skills
• the ability to work under pressure.

Entry

There are no set minimum entry qualifications for this work, although most estates officers have degrees or professional qualifications. Many are qualified technical or chartered surveyors.

You can qualify as a surveyor through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

To qualify as a chartered surveyor through RICS you need one of the following:

• a RICS accredited three or four year full-time degree in surveying
• a RICS accredited four year sandwich degree in a relevant subject including one year work experience
• employment in a surveyor's office whilst studying for a RICS accredited degree by block release, day release or distance learning. Distance learning courses are available through the College of Estate Management (see Further Information section for contact details).

If your degree is not in a relevant subject you can do a postgraduate conversion course.

To qualify through the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) you need an accredited honours degree.

Full details are available from the RICS and the CIOB. Please see the Further Information section for contact details.

To get on to a degree course you will usually need:

• at least two A levels/three H grades; and
• five GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3).

To qualify as a technical surveyor you will need an accredited BTEC higher national certificate/diploma (HNC/HND) or a foundation degree. To get on to these courses you will usually need one A level/two H grades. 

You should check with universities for their exact requirements, as you might be considered if you have equivalent qualifications or extensive experience in a related area such as architectural or technical engineering.

You can do relevant accredited courses by distance learning through the College of Estate Management. Please see Further Information for contact details.

Relevant qualifications for estates officers are also offered by the Royal Institution of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV). Please see Further Information for contact details. 

Training

After your degree you will need further experience and assessment to gain chartered status.

Through the RICS you need to complete an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). This involves:

• finding employment and completing at least two years' practical training and experience
• a practical assessment and interview.

If you have successfully completed an accredited industrial training year as part of a degree course this will count towards the two year requirement.

To qualify through the CIOB you will need either two years' relevant experience or the CIOB examination.

As an estates officer you can work towards NVQ/SVQ in Property Management or Housing at Level 4.

Opportunities

Most estates officers work in local government. Other employers include development corporations, health authorities and government bodies.

There are likely to be better promotion prospects in larger departments in local authorities and other government/government-supported organisations.

Increasingly, local authorities are contracting out much of the work of their estate departments, so jobs are becoming available in the private sector.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only. Income for estates officers varies considerably depending on qualifications and responsibilities.

Estates officers in local government are likely to earn between £18,000 and £26,000 a year.
Senior managers can earn from around £32,500 to around £35,000.

Further information

41 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2LF
Tel: 020 7831 3505 2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Helpline: 08000 567160 Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire
RG6 6AW
Tel: 0800 019 9697 Englemere
Kings Ride
Ascot
Berkshire
SL5 7TB
Tel: 01344 630700 Surveyor Court
Westwood Way
Coventry
CV4 8JE
Tel: 0870 333 1600