Why compliance expertise has become one of property's most valuable hiring assets 

Insights from the deverellsmith Salary Guide & Trends Report 2026 

Across the property sector, two separate but connected trends are converging. Building safety and regulatory compliance are reshaping what good looks like in residential property management, while demand for compliance-experienced support staff is rising sharply across office functions. Taken together, they point to the same conclusion, compliance knowledge is no longer a nice-to-have. It is becoming one of the most sought-after skill sets in the market. 

If you are hiring in residential property management or business support right now, here is what the data and our conversations on the ground are telling us. 

The Building Safety Act has created a talent gap that is not closing quickly 

The Building Safety Act 2022 fundamentally changed the compliance obligations sitting across residential property management. Demand for dedicated building safety managers is significant and growing, yet the talent pool remains extremely limited. The role is still relatively new, formal qualifications tailored to the legislation are still developing, and businesses are using other certifications as the closest available benchmarks while the market catches up. Consultancy firms are stepping in to fill critical gaps on a project basis, but that is not a long-term solution for businesses that need this expertise embedded day to day. 

The picture is unlikely to improve quickly as regulatory pressure is forecast to intensify further, demand for building safety professionals is expected to keep rising, and there is no immediate pipeline of candidates with formal, legislation-specific credentials. Companies waiting for the talent market to self-correct may find themselves waiting a long time. 

Compliance is reshaping the value of property management roles 

The shift is not limited to building safety manager positions. Across residential property management, the value attached to compliance-oriented professionals has risen considerably. Property managers who are process-driven, detail-focused, and genuinely across their regulatory obligations are commanding greater value than they were two or three years ago. Compliance is no longer peripheral to the role; it is increasingly central to it. 

This matters for how you recruit, what you pay, and how you retain. A property manager with strong compliance instincts is a different hire to one without, and businesses that are not recognising that difference in their salary structures risk losing that capability to competitors that are. 

The same dynamic is playing out in office support 

It is not only frontline management roles where compliance expertise is in demand. Across office support functions in property, compliance-focused roles have grown as businesses respond to greater regulatory scrutiny. Workloads are increasing in complexity, particularly for multi-branch organisations, and demand is rising for support staff with strong attention to detail and a solid understanding of regulatory requirements. This is one of the clearest growth areas within the function right now. 

Lettings experience is also highly sought after in this context, particularly as renters' rights legislation continues to reshape operational requirements. The support staff who understand the regulatory environment, not just the administrative tasks within it, are the ones most in demand and the hardest to replace. 

Does this sound like your business? 

If your hiring brief for property management or support roles still treats compliance as a secondary consideration, it is worth revisiting. The regulatory landscape has changed, candidate expectations have shifted, and the businesses best placed to attract and retain this kind of talent are those that have already started to reflect that in how they hire and what they offer. 

If you are looking to strengthen your team's compliance capability, whether at property management level or within your support function, we are well placed to help. Get in touch to talk through what the market looks like right now. 

For full salary data and hiring trends, download the deverellsmith Salary Guide & Trends Report 2026. 

About the Author 

Will Kirby | Senior Business Manager, Leasehold 

Passionate about people and property, Will has built his career within residential block management at deverellsmith and now oversees a team covering concierge, property management, estate management and director-level hires. The Leasehold team focuses primarily on London and the Home Counties, placing individuals at all levels from property manager to director, while also supporting managing agents in their introductions to developers and freeholders.