What's on at the revamped Housing Brighton conference?

We’ve got so many brilliant sessions to boost your professional knowledge at Housing Brighton: People and Place 2026.

Whether you’re interested in the development of new homes, policy and legislation updates, improving living conditions, or anything else to do with boosting your skills and knowledge in the housing sector — we’ve got something for you. Get your ticket now to learn, network and shape the debate with others who are as passionate about housing as you are. 

Development of new homes 

We know there’s a significant need for new homes, but what’s the right way to go about delivering them? We’ve put together several sessions that explore more.  

We’ll explore the future of new homes in the session: The Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP): Will it Deliver? With 1.5 million new homes promised, it’s important that we investigate how the ten-year programme can become a success. 

When thinking about new homes, it’s just as important to consider the local landscape as it is to look at the whole of the UK. In Building Homes to Meet Local Need, we’ll delve into the decision-making process involved in selecting the location and type of homes your area needs. If you live in a rural area, the session Rural England: Scaling Up and Managing Social Housing Development is for you.  

As we make plans for new homes, we also need to plan the right building methods and draft in the right professionals for the job. Who Will Build the Homes: The Construction Shortage explores examples from those in the sector working on building construction capacity. Other useful case studies will be shared at Alternative Building Methods to Meet Development Targets, where you’ll delve into modern methods of construction (MMC) and other approaches being used to boost new home development.  

While reacting quickly is important to combat the housing crisis, we’ll keep you on the right track with the sessions Quality vs Quantity: Ensuring New Homes are Long-Lasting and Balancing Regulation, Retrofit and Development. Quality and safety are at the front of our minds as a housing professionals, and you’ll have the chance to discuss your options with experts and peers. 

Policy and legislation updates 

It wouldn’t be a CIH housing event without an update on the latest regulations affecting our sector.  

You might be planning to upgrade your qualifications before the competence and conduct regulations are introduced in October 2026. Find out more about what you and your colleagues need to do in our session What the Competence and Conduct Standard Means for the Sector Workforce.  

Using best-practice examples, the session Building Safety Act: Implications for Development, Remediation and Future Schemes will cover how housing providers are making improvements as a result. They’ll share their successes as well as the hurdles they’ve faced so you can learn together and strengthen your approaches to building safety Looking specifically at Brighton and its surrounding region, the session What Does the New Towns Programme Mean for the Southeast? will cover developments from the government’s New Towns Taskforce and the effects this might have on you. We’ll also look at  how homes in your area could be impacted by the extension of the Decent Homes Standard, asking the question: What does the Decent Homes Standard Mean in Practice? 

Improving living conditions for all 

Many new housing regulations have been introduced to improve homes for people across the UK, so we’ve made sure to schedule in lots of practical discussions and workshops  on how to create the best living environment for communities across London and the Southeast. 

Awaab’s Law is now in place to ensure tenants’ health and safety is a priority for everyone. Implementing Awaab’s Law Principles and Vulnerability Considerations into Repairs and Maintenance will provide real-world examples and take-away actionable insights for your own practice. Delve into the latest statistics and feedback at the session Learning from the Latest Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) for Service Improvement and Accountability to analyse what more we need to be doing to ensure tenant satisfaction across the board.  

Growth is important, but we must not neglect the homes already here. The session Social Housing Governance: Push for Growth, or Invest in Existing Homes? will explore this issue in full, questioning how we can strike the right balance between new builds and improving what we already have. If you’re specifically interested in the improvement of specialist housing, the session Improving Asset Management Strategies for Supported Housing might also be a good one to attend.  

Everybody wants to live in a happy, safe community, so it’s important that we look at Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour Through Collaboration. This session will cover how housing providers, local authorities, support services, and tenants can come together to tackle disruptive behaviour, hoping to build local community spirit instead of alienating certain groups.  

Developing as a housing professional 

While you’re improving the lives of others as a housing professional, it’s important that you develop your own skills and knowledge so you can excel in your career. 

Our sessions Partnership Working: The Key to Unlocking Quality Development and Harnessing Different Communication Methods to Ensure Effective Resident Engagement will both develop your collaboration and communication skills. Understanding tenant and community need is as important as ever. 

One of the big challenges facing housing professionals is combatting the stigmas unfairly attached to some of the groups we support. The session Migration and Housing: Challenging Misconceptions will encourage discussion on how we can build understanding and inclusion in the communities we work with. We’ll bust some of the myths surrounding migration and lead decision-making with compassion. 

You can’t take care of others unless you look after yourself first. CIH president Julie Haydon’s campaign focusses on the mental wellbeing of housing professionals — you can hear her discuss the Rooted in Resilience campaign with other passionate housing professionals in its dedicated session. Take away new approaches for self-care and build your resilience with us. 

The future of the UK housing sector 

Those interested in housing must always look to the future, so we conducted the UK’s first ever survey to  focus on young housing professionals. Unpack the results with us in the CIH Futures — A Sector in Transformation session.  

Interested in more? We’ve not even managed to fit everything from Housing Brighton: – People and Place 2026 into this blog, so you’ll have to visit the programme to see the full list. Don’t miss out and book your ticket today.