The Crime and Policing Bill was introduced in February 2025 and is currently in the committee stage in the House of Lords. In this article we outline what is proposed in the bill, the benefits for housing providers when it becomes law, and how housing providers can prepare themselves.
What is proposed?
The bill, which reflects the government’s manifesto commitments, has a very broad scope. Its primary aim is to extend the powers of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle the epidemic of serious violence, protect the public from anti-social behaviour and rebuild public confidence.
The proposed legislation introduces the following powers which will enable housing providers to directly address and intervene in response to anti-social behaviour, thereby limiting the need of police and local authority assistance.
- Respect orders – this new civil order can be issued against a person, over the age of 18, found to have engaged in or threatened anti-social behaviour. Crucially, a housing provider may make an application for a respect order if the anti-social behaviour relates to, or affects, their housing management function.
An application can be made without notice and the terms of the order can include restrictions on behaviour as well as positive requirements. A breach of a respect order carries serious consequences, as it's a criminal offence, and can result in a fine or up to two years' imprisonment.
- Youth injunctions – the bill converts the existing anti-social behaviour injunctions into youth injunctions restricting their use to young people aged between 10 and 17 years old. Housing providers can apply for a youth injunction direct and an injunction can include restricting entry to certain locations and prohibiting specific behaviours.
- Housing injunctions – the bill introduces housing injunctions - civil orders that stop offenders, of any age, from causing nuisance or annoyance relating to the occupation or management of housing. A housing injunction can be applied for by a housing provider and can require the tenant to stop a specific behaviour or compel them to allow access for repairs.
- Closure notices and closure orders – the purpose of a closure notice/order is to prevent anti-social behaviour, linked to a specific property, by temporarily restricting or prohibiting access. These legal tools are currently only available to the police and local authorities and the bill proposes to extend the same to registered social housing providers.
The proposed law extends the maximum exclusion period for dispersal directionsfrom 48 hours to 72 hours. There will be a mandatory review at 48 hours.
- Anti-social behaviour data reporting requirements – new data reporting requirements, requiring social housing providers and other local bodies to report anti-social behaviour data to the Home Office, are also proposed by the bill. The objective of this requirement is to improve transparency and monitoring, helping to provide a more consistent service to those affected by anti-social behaviour.
- Cuckooing - the bill recognises home takeovers, known as cuckooing, as a criminal offence which can act as a prompt for housing providers to use the tools above in order to tackle the same.
How will this benefit housing providers?
The proposed changes will provide housing providers with statutory powers to act directly in serious anti-social behaviour cases, without waiting for the police or local authorities to initiate the process. The bill gives housing providers clarity as to the appropriate tool to stop repeat offenders of anti-social behaviour, allowing for quicker action against offenders and better support for those affected.
What do housing providers need to do to prepare for the bill?
Whilst the bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process, housing providers should start to review their internal policies and procedures. They should also familiarise themselves with the proposed legal tests that they will need to follow when applying for any one of the new orders or injunctions.
Housing providers also need to be mindful of their ongoing compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010, which are likely to be of significant relevance when completing risk assessments for respect orders. It's therefore imperative that housing providers use their case management systems to efficiently collate reports of anti-social behaviour, as these reports will serve as essential evidence to support those applications.
Next steps
We will continue to monitor the progress of the bill and provide further thoughts and guidance as necessary.
If you have any questions or need advice on how to prepare for the new law, please contact our property disputes team.
