Accommodation warden
Accommodation wardens manage the day-to-day running of services like sheltered housing, hostels and student flats.
Also known as: Property manager, hall manager
- Starter salary£24,000 a year
- Experienced£28,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 40 a week
What you'll do
As an accommodation warden you would:
- look after the welfare of residents
- work with outside agencies, carers and parents
- make health and safety checks, and do risk assessments
- allocate and manage accommodation
- help residents get access to support like healthcare and welfare advice
- deal with disputes, anti-social behaviour and emergencies
- inspect properties and arrange for repairs to be carried out
- supervise catering, cleaning and maintenance staff
Working environment
You could work in the community, at an adult care home, at a children's care home or on an apartment block.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- customer service skills
- the ability to work well with others
- administration skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to use your initiative
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become a accommodation warden
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- applying directly
College
You could take a college course before applying for a job to gain some of the skills needed in this role. Courses include:
- facilities services
- housing practice
- health and social care
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:
- Property Maintenance Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
- Housing and Property Management Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
Work
You could work as a warden's assistant and gain qualifications through on-the-job training.
Volunteering
You may be able to start as a volunteer assistant warden, for example, with the YMCA or Youth Hostel Association .
You could pick up valuable skills and knowledge through volunteering, which might help in interviews for a paid position.
Direct application
To apply directly, you'll usually need some GCSEs or equivalent, including English and maths.
You'll also find it helpful to have paid or unpaid experience of working with vulnerable groups.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become an accommodation manager with responsibility for several centres and a team of wardens. You could also work in housing or residential block facilities management.
With further training, you could move into related areas like social work, welfare rights or counselling.
Career tips
Experience in housing, care or supported accommodation work would be useful.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleResidential support worker
- Job roleHousing officer
- Job roleCaretaker
- Job roleSocial worker
- Job roleCare home manager
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0