Another Successful Housing Options Conference

On Thursday, 11 June, we were honoured to welcome more than 150 delegates representing over 70 local authorities at the Holiday Inn Regent’s Park for our Housing Options Conference 2026.

A huge thank you to Stef & Philips for sponsoring our conference, and our kindest gratitude to our attendees, speakers, workshop presenters and panelists for allowing the event to be a tremendous success.

This conference was designed to offer practical advice and solutions in the areas of homeless prevention, as well as what the future may hold with the introduction of AI. The event provided a valuable opportunity for housing professionals, speakers, presenters and panellists to explore emerging challenges, topics surrounding allocations and IT, and discuss the future of homelessness prevention.

The day commenced with an insightful keynote presentation from Toby Vanhegan, who explored the latest developments in allocations and homelessness case law, providing attendees with an extensive update on the evolving legal landscape.

This was followed by an engaging session from Joe Kane-Smith, who shared practical guidance on developing effective Local Action Plans to prevent homelessness. His presentation highlighted the importance of strategic partnership working and evidence-based approaches to delivering meaningful outcomes for communities.

Andy Gale then delivered a thought provoking session on how local authorities should set up their service to meet the legislative changes and that they should not forget their statutory decision making.

Following the morning presentations delegates participated in a series of breakout workshops designed to deepen knowledge, encourage collaboration, and provide practical solutions to current sector challenges.

Workshop topics included:

• Forecasting and mitigating temporary accommodation pressures, presented by Joe Kane Smith

  
  

• How the Renters’ Rights Act can strengthen homelessness prevention efforts, presented by Ben Reeve-Lewis, Safer Renting

  
  

• Learning lessons from complaints investigated by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, presented by Elaine Kerr and Michael Veryard

  
  

• Providing personalised cash grants to support individuals in achieving sustainable exits from homelessness, presented by Emma Henley and Fadzai Dzimwasha

  
  

• Intelligent, user-friendly technology to simplify processes and improve outcomes for housing options officers, presented by Minos Perdios

The conference concluded with a fascinating discussion on the future role of Artificial Intelligence within homelessness services, exploring both the opportunities and challenges that AI may present for the sector in the years ahead. The panel of specialists included Professor Michael Sanders, Daniel Ferlance, Tim Pearse and Josh Richardson.

Alongside this, attendees were allowed the opportunity to participate in a Q&A with the panel to further extend their knowledge of AI and how it can impact their workload both positively and negatively.

The conference received large praise from delegates and highlighted a positive change across the housing sector. Thus, proving the Conference was not only a great success but also an important step forward in supporting innovation across homelessness and housing services.

We have already booked next year’s Housing Options Conference 2027, 10 June 2027 – Save the date!