Location
Dorchester

Hours
Full Time

Salary
£23,280 - £26,810 per year

About the Role
Housing enforcement is changing with the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the biggest shift in private rented sector regulation in a generation. Dorset Council is seeking a dedicated professional to join the Housing Standards Team to improve housing conditions and protect tenants’ rights. The role involves a wide range of enforcement activities to ensure private homes are safe and fit to live in. The work is varied, challenging, and highly rewarding, making a real difference to people’s lives and their homes.

You may be a qualified Environmental Health Officer with extensive experience or just starting your professional journey. Alternatively, for the Housing and Health Standards Officer post, you will be a highly experienced housing standards enforcement professional with proven skills and knowledge in this specialist housing discipline.

The work includes licensing houses in multiple occupation, managing an award-winning service to bring long-term empty homes back into use, and enforcing minimum energy efficiency standards. You will have the opportunity to develop specialist roles, including licensing and regulation of Park Home sites. The role offers the chance to shape how standards are enforced, influence landlord improvements, and enhance residents’ housing experiences across Dorset.

Why work in Housing Standards at Dorset Council:
- Real influence on council housing standards and tenants’ rights implementation
- Broad experience across enforcement, prevention, and housing standards
- Protected time to plan proactive projects beyond reactive demand
- Autonomy to make professional decisions with confident support
- Varied and complex casework without metropolitan volume pressures
- Hybrid working supporting focused case management and site visits
- Professional development support for career progression

This is a rare opportunity to build serious experience while making a visible difference to residents and communities across Dorset.

Experience
For Environmental Health Officer applicants: relevant qualifications and experience in environmental health.
For Housing and Health Standards Officer applicants: significant experience and proven skills in housing standards enforcement and regulation.
Experience in licensing, enforcement, and housing standards is essential.

About you
Committed to improving housing conditions and protecting tenants’ rights.
Professional, confident in decision-making, and able to manage complex casework.
Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively within a team.
Willingness to travel extensively across Dorset; access to a vehicle or suitable transport is required.
Respectful of confidentiality and able to handle sensitive information.

Qualifications
Environmental Health Officer qualification(s) for EHO applicants.
Relevant housing standards qualifications or demonstrable experience for Housing and Health Standards Officer applicants.
Basic Criminal Records Check clearance will be required.

Additional Information
This role involves significant travel across the county.
Access to sensitive information requires adherence to confidentiality policies.
Dorset Council is committed to diversity and inclusion and is a Disability Confident Employer, offering guaranteed interviews to disabled candidates meeting essential criteria.
Reasonable adjustments are available throughout the recruitment process to ensure accessibility.