About Us

The National Center for Housing Management (NCHM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1972 by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under an Executive Order of the President of the United States. Established to be a national leader in housing management education and professional standards, NCHM was created to “provide objective and independent leadership at the national level in helping meet the Nation’s housing management and training needs…”.

Our Mission

Today, NCHM is the leading national provider of training and certification for professionals in the affordable housing industry. We are also a trusted resource for owners and managers of market-rate apartment communities seeking excellence in housing operations.

Training & Certification

Each year, more than 8,000 housing professionals participate in NCHM’s online training programs, with hundreds more attending in-person sessions offered by their employers. Most participants go on to earn one of NCHM’s fifteen distinct certifications, covering a wide range of roles and regulatory frameworks.

Over 125,000 housing professionals have been certified by NCHM since our inception.

To maintain certification, professionals must complete annual continuing education, ensuring they remain current with evolving industry standards. Certified individuals also gain access to NCHM’s e-hotline, a vital support service providing expert answers to real-world challenges faced by front-line housing personnel.

Supporting The Industry

In addition to training and certification, NCHM provides a suite of tools and services designed to help property management firms build and retain high-performing teams. Our pre-employment testing service is widely used across the industry to assess candidates for roles ranging from maintenance and administrative support to property management leadership.

A Presidential Origin

The idea for a national housing management center was born in 1969 during the deliberations of the President’s Task Force on Low-Income Housing, chaired by Carter Burgess, then head of the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships (NCHP). Recognizing the critical role of skilled housing management in the success of rental housing, Burgess convened the Task Force for Housing Management and appointed Irving Kringsfield as its Staff Director.

In August 1971, the Task Force released its report, “Needed: A Strategy for Housing Management Training,” which recommended creating a national training center. One month later, HUD Secretary George Romney formally requested the establishment of the center via Executive Order. Over the ensuing months, HUD, the Task Force, and the White House worked closely to finalize the initiative.

Notable figures involved in the development of the Executive Order, in addition to Mr. Burgess and Secretary Romney, included:

• John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s Domestic Affairs Advisor
• John Mitchell, U.S. Attorney General
• William Rehnquist, Assistant Attorney General (later Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court)
• Paul O’Neill, head of the Office of Management and Budget (later CEO of Alcoa and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury)
• David Gergen, chief speechwriter for President Nixon (who later advised three additional presidents)

Mr. Gergen was responsible for editing and fine-tuning the Executive Order that brought NCHM into being.

On April 21, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Executive Order #11668, directing the Secretary of HUD to:

“…call upon public-spirited citizens, dedicated and experienced in the appropriate disciplines, to create, in accordance with existing laws, a new, non-governmental, not-for-profit institution to serve as a National Center for Housing Management.”

Soon after, NCHM was incorporated in the District of Columbia, and the Center began its work—an enduring mission that continues to shape and elevate the housing management profession to this day.

Mission

Nearly 50 years since it was created, NCHM today is staying true to the mission given in Executive Order #11668. We continue to “…provide objective and independent leadership at the national level in helping meet the Nation’s housing management and training needs…”.

We are the only organization mandated by the President of the United States to professionalize the housing management industry. As the ultimate resource for knowledge, status, and credibility, owners and managers count on us to keep them ahead of the curve on complex regulations and industry best practices. We professionalize people and organizations, making them more valuable and effective.