James Prestwich is the Director of Policy and External Affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing. He joined CIH in early 2020 from the National Housing Federation (NHF) where he held the role of Head of Policy.

Before joining NHF in 2016, James had roles at the Department for Communities and Local Government and several housing associations.  Born in Birmingham, he started his career as a housing officer at North Shropshire District Council.  James has a master’s degree in social housing from Birmingham City University and sits on the board of Hundred Houses Society in Cambridge, where he chairs the Operations Committee.