Currently CIH has over 17,000 members, mostly in the UK but also overseas, notably in Hong Kong.
[1] The CIH traces its organisational roots back to the philanthropic work carried out by pioneers such as Octavia Hill, in response to the revelation of the appalling housing conditions endured by much of the population in the 1884-1885 Royal Commission on the Housing of Working Classes.
Hill established a method of letting properties on short-term tenancies and trained a group of women to manage the properties by collecting rents and dealing with repairs and tenants' welfare issues.
The organisation was renamed the Institute of Housing in 1974 and its royal charter was granted in 1984.
CIH works with universities to develop housing qualifications, and provides distance learning courses.