Ms Oyedele, the chair of Hope Housing in Bradford and board member of Housing 21, received 40% of the votes cast during the close-run election with fellow candidates Jill Haley and Chan Kataria.

Ms Oyedele will join the presidential team in her new role following the CIH’s annual general meeting in December 2021.

She said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been elected as the next vice president of CIH. I want to thank the other candidates, Chan and Jill, for keeping me on my toes during the campaign.

“My mission is to repay your confidence by working as hard as I can so that CIH truly reflects the diversity of the housing sector with strengthened reach and with even more value for our members. For now, I can’t wait to get started by supporting Jo Richardson’s presidency and her Homeful campaign.”

Geraldine Howley, chair of CIH’s Governing board, said: “We’re delighted to announce that Lara will be the next vice president of the Chartered Institute of Housing. I am sure that she will bring huge energy and passion and together, her and Jo Richardson will make an excellent team.

“It was great to see the commitment and enthusiasm for CIH from all three of our vice presidential candidates – Jill and Chan should be extremely proud of the effort they put into their campaigns.

“I’d like to thank all of the CIH members who took the time to vote – we look forward to working with Lara when she becomes vice president in December.”