Back by popular demand, we spoke to Campbell Tickell’s Senior Team about some of the issues Leadership teams across housing, local government, and the charity sectors need on their radar in 2026.
1. Tackling homelessness
Liz Zacharias, Director- Care & Support
Published in late December, the new National Plan to End Homelessness, sets out the government’s intention to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Not before time, as the Plan itself acknowledges that the number of people rough sleeping in England is at near-record highs and the number, and cost, of people living in temporary accommodation remains far too high.
The plan outlines a series of short-term actions alongside longer-term, sustainable paths to preventing homelessness. Many of these are tried and tested initiatives, backed by additional funding that will be welcomed by commissioners and providers alike. However, the decision by government to keep the Local Housing Allowance below average private sector rents means that a significant risk factor remains. Similarly, the impact of the Renters Rights Act – positive in terms of the removal of no-fault evictions, but challenging if it leads to the withdrawal of good quality landlords – and the lack of supported housing, could result in more bad news for the numbers of people experiencing homelessness, before we see a reversal in trends.
2. Emergency accommodation
James McHugh, Senior Consultant
Recent years have seen a huge increase in people being housed in various forms of emergency accommodation, such as hotels, due to mounting pressures across asylum, prisons, and homelessness. This is the consequence of overstretched systems, a failure to invest in long-term solutions, and inadequate focus on prevention. It is a highly visible situation which has caused much political grievance, often exacerbated by misinformation and ‘bad faith’ actors, culminating in civil disobedience across several communities.
The Government recognises that this situation cannot continue and has announced plans to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by 2029 and eliminate the use of B&Bs for families. What the alternative solutions are and how they will be any more cost-effective is less clear. Current asylum plans entail a shift to a dispersal model and the use of large ex-military sites, but such efforts continue to be stymied by local opposition and to date have failed to prove any more financially sustainable.
3. Supported housing regulation
Holly Holder, Senior Consultant – Care & Support
Change is on the horizon for supported housing with the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 inching closer to being implemented. MHCLG has told us to expect further guidance on the requirements around supported housing strategies and needs assessments, accompanied by new burdens funding, in early 2026. There is likely to be an expectation that all local areas should have an evidence-based, five-year supported housing strategy by March 2027. A key challenge lies in ensuring there is robust data available to inform these strategies and collaborating with providers to fill any gaps.
MHCLG is also set to publish a second consultation on the Act, potentially focussed on the new licensing regime and quality assurance measures that local authorities will need to implement and providers will need to adhere to. Questions remain about how these will function in practice and if they will genuinely lead to an increase in both the availability and quality of supported housing. Given the sector’s critical role in supporting some of society’s most vulnerable groups, we remain hopeful.
4. Private Rented Sector and Build To Rent
Greg Campbell, Partner
The Renters Rights Act 2025 has plainly been positive for many private renters, not least in clamping down on no-fault evictions and in promoting better property standards. At the same time, it has introduced challenges for landlords. It’s well known that private rented sector (PRS) conditions in many properties are especially poor. The need to change and improve standards, and also to recognise there will be a new ombudsman for the sector, is likely to prove a disincentive for some small landlords, who may well sell their properties and exit the PRS. This could have implications in some areas for availability of rented housing, even accepting that quality of some PRS stock has been inadequate.
For the volume PRS landlords in the Build To Rent (BTR) arena, there are challenges too. Investment has been slower in the past couple of years, taking account of property prices stagnating as well as the prospects of regulation. Nevertheless, there is an opportunity and a need for them to step up too. Property quality is less likely to be a major challenge, not least as most BTR properties are relatively recently built; although with new build schemes, more stringent building safety requirements (such as the second staircase in tall buildings) will add to development costs.
There will be a need for BTR landlords moreover to ensure they have access to suitably qualified building safety specialists and are in a position to engage with the new ombudsman for the PRS. There is a welcome drive in progress to enhance professionalism in the sector.
5. Rents convergence
Helen Routledge, Director
Rents convergence would permit Registered Providers to increase social rents that are below formula rent by an additional £1 or £2, above the CPI+1% annual increase. It is estimated that 65% of general needs properties are let at levels below formula rent and this could generate £291m of missed income.
The advantages of introducing convergence are:
a) Fairness, as tenants in similar properties would pay the same rent compared to the current system where tenants can pay different rents for similar properties; and
b) Rental income has fallen in real terms, estimated at 15% over the last 10 years and this would provide additional income to invest in existing and new homes.
Modelling by 40 large RPs indicates that the higher the convergence factor, the more new homes can be developed. A convergence factor of £3 would enable 51,000 new homes to be developed and a further £2.1 billion to be invested in existing homes. This will of course be impacted by the cost of meeting the incoming regulations on housing quality.
We are still waiting to hear the details of how this will work in practice, and government decision on convergence – and at what level it would apply – is expected shortly.
Read further: What is rent convergence and how can organisations prepare?
6. For-Profit RPs, funds and institutions
Greg Campbell, Partner
We’ve often heard in recent years that there’s a ‘wall of money’ out there, potentially available to invest in social and affordable housing. Our experience is that there’s a lot of truth to this, when we are talking, for example, about institutions such as pension funds and insurance businesses. This is both UK-based funds and institutions, and overseas ones. What’s more, many funds that would previously have focused more on investing in the USA, are now looking for political and economic environments that are not volatile, and are open to investing in the UK and Europe.
Given the UK’s desperate and growing need for more affordable housing, this should be welcome. Government recognises this, but seems to struggle to understand fully how to encourage investment, beyond for example Local Government Pension Schemes.
Nonetheless, we’re seeing increasing numbers of ‘new entrants’ to the social housing sector, with organisations coming forward to establish more for-profit registered providers, or otherwise invest in social housing. And we’re seeing more non-profit RPs either engaging on a partnership basis with commercial bodies, or getting involved themselves in establishing their own for-profit RPs, to help access new forms of investment.
Naturally, there may be concerns about some of the new commercial involvement – and we would always advise clients to look closely at their potential counterparties before entering deals. However, the robust regulatory framework for social housing should help ensure acceptable and responsible behaviour, and that customers are treated fairly and appropriately.
Read further: For-profit registered providers – Key considerations for effective governance
7. Consumer Regulation
Jon Slade, Director
As we approach two years of proactive consumer regulation, we expect to see the Regulator of Social Housing refine their approach and likely evolve their areas of focus. This could well take them increasingly beyond tenant safety into tenancy management and meaningful resident engagement.
Two existing themes that will remain of key importance to the regulator are data quality and integrity on the one hand, given that it underscores every standard. At the same time, how well each organisation understands the diversity of its customer base and has considered whether service delivery lands equally across diversity strands is a critical focus. This should include how the organisation ‘hears its silence’. I.e. how it understands and interacts with those customers who never make contact.
Assurance will continue to be the lens through which the regulator looks at housing businesses.Read further: What can councils learn from the social housing regulation grades to date?
8. Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
James McHugh, Senior Consultant
‘LGR’ became acronym of the year, as the Government pushed forward with its plans for the reorganisation of all existing two-tier local authorities into a more streamlined system of large unitaries and regional mayoral authorities. This saw a flood of submissions to the Secretary of State proposing a complex array of different and often conflicting options for how to carve up England’s counties into new areas.
How the Government makes sense of all this, whilst avoiding accusations of bias or electoral gerrymandering, will be one to watch in 2026.
We may have seen some hints of the Government’s thinking in the recent decision to split Surrey into two, while few favours were gained by the short notice offer for councils to delay this May’s elections, which was issued just before Christmas. Some may even question whether this degree of reorganisation is all achievable within a single Parliament as planned, especially when there are so many other pressing issues to contend with domestically.
9. Changes to employment law
Clare Sion, Senior Consultant – HR & People
In 2026, UK employment law will continue to shift in favour of stronger worker protections, following the implementation of the Employment Rights Act reforms. Key changes include:
- Statutory sick pay becoming a day-one right for all workers;
- The removal of service thresholds for parental and paternity leave;
- Increased protection against unfair dismissal practices such as ‘fire and rehire’, enhanced duties on employers to prevent harassment (including by third parties);
- Longer time limits for bringing employment tribunal claims; and
- Trade union rights being strengthened, alongside the creation of a new Fair Work Agency to improve enforcement of employment rights.
Together, these changes place greater emphasis on fairness, wellbeing and compliance.
For housing associations, local authorities and charities, these reforms are likely to bring both cultural and financial impacts. Organisations with large or diverse workforces may see increased costs from day one: sick pay, higher statutory payments and rising minimum wage rates, alongside reduced flexibility when managing restructures or contractual changes. There will moreover be a need to review and update HR policies, sickness absence arrangements, whistleblowing procedures and harassment prevention measures. However, the changes also align closely with public service and social purpose values, reinforcing good employment practice, workforce wellbeing and organisational reputation. That is, provided employers plan ahead and ensure policies, managers and budgets are ready.
10. Charity Governance
Matthew McClelland, Director
The revised Charity Governance Code (developed by a steering group chaired by CT’s Radojka Miljevic) was published in November 2025, and reflecting on how well your charity meets the principles and outcomes will no doubt be on every charity trustee’s to-do list for 2026. Campbell Tickell Associate, Dan Currie has written elsewhere about how helpful the Code is – but also how much more demanding it is in three areas: organisational purpose and impact; leadership and values; and equity, diversity and impact (EDI).
Sadly, public discourse is likely to remain highly polarised in 2026. This poses particular challenges for charities, which can find themselves suddenly drawn into ‘culture wars’ through misinterpretation of public messages, social media amplification, stakeholder pressure, or employee activism.
There are a number of considerations for trustees:
•How good are we at reflecting on what the external environment means in the context of our charitable purpose and values, adapting our strategy where we need to?
• How can we best use our values and commitment to EDI as a genuine compassr in debate and strategic decision-making?
• How wide-ranging is our diversity of thought? Do Board behaviours and practices enable us to hear and debate different points of view on sensitive topics and avoid group-think?
• How effective are our policies at making sure our team and our messaging stay focussed on our charitable purpose and values, managing the risk of getting drawn into ‘culture wars’, and supporting the team if we do?
Further reading: Key updates in the Charity Code of Governance
11. Ireland
Kathleen McKillion, Senior Associate
2026 brings with it many questions for Ireland.
Will Northern Ireland see electoral stability, or will the threat of a Stormont collapse ring true? How will the social housing grant cuts impact new housing development for housing associations, especially in areas of highest demand?
Will the focus on alleviating homelessness be evident on the ground and on our streets, and what impact will the recent rise in hate crime have on our vision for shared neighbourhoods?
In the South, will we see the start of real progress on consolidation and mergers at scale, reducing the vast numbers of AHBs. In November 2025, the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) published its annual report setting out that at the end of 2024, it had regulatory oversight of 438 AHBs. Given Ireland’s size and population, many feel this is excessive.
Consolidation would reduce reliance on the state and create a more self-sufficient and reliant public housing system. It would also address the succession planning issues we have observed, with the continuity challenges faced by Boards and Executives of small and micro AHBs that struggle with renewal, thereby leading to overall improvements in governance.
)We can expect large AHBs to continue expanding rapidly to meet rising housing demand, subject to funding and ongoing infrastructure constraints, particularly water connection issues similar to those seen in Northern Ireland. However, 2026 needs to see growth in specialist and supported accommodation, including for older people and people with disabilities who have largely been left behind in housing delivery.
The much-awaited report from the AHB Strategic Forum review was published in late December 2025. Will we see change being driven forward by AHBRA, the Housing Agency and the Department? Or will we have to wait until2027 before real progress is considered?
12. AI and cyber security
James Tickell, Partner
We can – sadly – be confident that during 2026, more social landlords and other organisations of all kinds will be subject to cyber attacks, and that in some cases, the criminals will get through. Services to tenants and property maintenance may be affected, in some cases for a considerable time. Paying a ransom is all very well, but may not release the data – the bad guys on the other side are after all criminals, and not to be trusted. Now is the time to invest in better security, and also in recovery plans. If the worst happens, the plan should be to get at least a skeleton service running again within 24 hours.
Artificial Intelligence is a different story, though hackers use it too, to explore and overcome defences. We will see social landlords investigating AI solutions, and tentatively beginning to implement them. The possibilities are endless – better services, people freed up to focus on the needs of tenants and communities, really intelligent asset management, and more besides. But even AI can only be as good as the underpinning data, and we know that many organisations struggle with aspects of data integrity. 2026 is unlikely to see any dramatic new use of AI in housing, but we can predict steady progress, and increasing use of AI solutions for particular defined tasks.
Further reading: Case study – cybersecurity assurance
To discuss or comment on any issues raised in the article, please feel free to email: comms@campbelltickell.com.
Find out how Campbell Tickell can help your organisation remain resilient and effective in the year ahead.
