Housing Day 2026: Latest developments in housing law

09:30 – 09:45   Registration and refreshments

09:45 – 10:00   Opening address and welcome

10:00 – 10:55    Morning Plenary

Renters Rights Act 2025 update and Crime and Policing Act 2026 with Kuljit Bhogal KC, Andrew Lane, Riccardo Calzavara and Luke Decker

10:55 – 11:45     BREAKOUT SESSION 1

Lawful decision-making (practical session) with Kelvin Rutledge KC, Sarah Salmon and Lindsay Johnson

Good decision-making is at the heart of effective housing management, but getting decisions wrong can lead to challenge, delay, reputational damage and costly legal consequences.

This practical session will provide landlords with clear guidance on how to make lawful, robust and defensible decisions first time. It will cover the key requirements of lawful decision-making, the main legal frameworks that govern decisions, and some of the more controversial and challenging legal issues landlords regularly face.

The session will focus on practical application, helping attendees understand what good decision-making looks like in practice, where decisions can go wrong, and how to reduce the risk of successful legal challenge.

Housing Fraud and short-term lets with Andrew Lane and Victoria Osler

The Cabinet Office announced in July 2026 that it had agreed a data-sharing partnership with Airbnb and its press release started with: “Tenants who are fraudulently subletting social housing will be identified and removed under a new data sharing agreement between the Cabinet Office and Airbnb.”

This builds on the Norwich Pharmacal order obtained by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in Kensington and Chelsea RBC v Airbnb Payments UK Ltd [2022] EWHC 2209 (Ch) and indicates a recognition at the highest level of the difficulties thrown up by social housing tenants using their properties for short-term lets. This session will address these disclosure and investigation issues, alongside practical legal issues raised in possession claims brought as a result of such activity (such as whether the arrangements are tenancies or licences) and relevant tenancy terms (which may include restrictions on business activity).

Housing regulation including ombudsman decisions with Dr Lois Lane and Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris

Last year at Housing Day, we covered the regulatory changes brought in by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 and key lessons to be learned from recent regulatory decisions. Regulatory issues have remained at the forefront of the social housing landscape over the past year. In this session, we’ll be looking at:

• What’s new in general needs social housing regulation in 2026.
• Supported housing regulation and the implementation of measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.
• How the Housing Ombudsman has been exercising its new powers.

11:45 – 12:15      Refreshments

12:15 – 13:00     BREAKOUT SESSION 2

Access Injunctions with Kuljit Bhogal KC(chair), Luke Decker and Deia Russell-Smith

Access injunctions are tricky to obtain and can be difficult to enforce. This session will focus on:

• the obstacles to obtaining access to certain tenants’ homes and how to overcome them;
• how landlords can prepare an application for an access injunction best;
• and whether (and when) forced access can be ordered by the court (and the conflicting reported judgments at first instance on this topic)

Dealing with vexatious tenants/civil restraint orders with Catherine Rowlands and Victoria Osler 

The impact of a vexatious tenant – the ones who complain again and again, the ones who take up all your time, the ones who bring repeat claims, the ones who are convinced that they are “entitled” to what they want…

We will look at effective complaints management, what courts can (and can’t) do to stop repeated complaints and how to obtain a civil restraint order.

Section 204 appeals and suitability with Andrew Lane and Alistair Cantor 

One of the most common issues raised in homelessness appeals brought under section 204(1) of the Housing Act 1996 is that of the suitability of accommodation offered in discharge of one of an authority’s Part 7 accommodation duties. This session will address this question, including by reference recent Court of Appeal decisions, such as Fatolahzadeh v Barnet LBC [2025] EWCA Civ 1174; [2026] HLR 2, on the impact of defective (or lack of) housing needs assessments. It will also consider the issue of section 208 and out-of-borough placements challenges alongside the relevance of policies dealing with matters of location, and common pitfalls faced by local authorities in such appeals.

13:00 – 14:00      Lunch and coffee

14:00 – 14:55       BREAKOUT SESSION 3

Court of Protection/mental health capacity/disability discrimination with Tara O’Leary, Lindsay Johnson and Alexander Campbell 

This session will cover recent case law, practical tips and examples about the complex interplay between the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Equality Act 2010 and the Housing Acts to help legal representatives navigating litigation within the County Court and Court of Protection, in particular possession proceedings and welfare decisions on residence and care.

Use of AI in housing litigation with Matthew Feldman and Deia Russel-Smith

AI is fast developing the world of housing litigation, from landlords using public-facing AI chatbots to handle complaints to tenants using ChatGPT to draft complex legal arguments. This session will cover how AI has increased the length, complexity and cost of claims, some of the ways landlords can best utilise AI to assist in discharging their housing management functions, and the risks landlords should be aware of with the increasing reliance on AI.

Awaab’s Law with Catherine Rowlands and Luke Decker 

15:00 – 16:00      Afternoon Plenary

16:00 – 17:00     Networking Reception

We look forward to welcoming you to our event.

Timings, content and speakers are subject to change