The Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. This means that we now know the final provisions for various changes to the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2014. However, we do not yet know when these changes will come into force - we await regulations from the Secretary of State to confirm this.

Closure Orders

In terms of the changes it will bring, firstly, it extends the ability to apply for a Closure Order to registered providers of social housing in relation to premises that they own or manage, which are associated with nuisance and disorder. These were previously only available to local authorities. 

For registered providers who aren’t familiar with this means of enforcement, it allows you to apply to a Magistrate’s Court for an order closing a particular premises for a maximum of three months (but see below scope for that to be extended in future). If made, that order prevents anyone from entering the premises. Breach is a criminal offence for the police to pursue. A partial Closure Order can be made, allowing entry to a specified list of people (e.g. the tenant if you want them to be allowed to remain). You can also apply to extend the Closure Order by a further three months (again, see later). A closure notice must be served within a certain timeframe before the hearing – see below. You must consult with certain people before applying (see below) and inform the tenant and possibly other people of your intention to apply before you serve notice. 

Closure Orders can be extremely helpful if you have a vulnerable tenant who is unwilling or unable to control the volume of visitors to the premises and/or their behaviour at the premises. They are often used when a tenant has been cuckooed (see below). Such situations can rarely be managed by injunctions, for which you really need to know the identities of those whose behaviour you want to manage or those you want to exclude – all of whom would also need to be served.      

The criteria for a Closure Order is that there has been/is likely to be:

• disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises from a person; or
• nuisance to members of the public from the use of the premises; or
• disorder near those premises associated with the use of those premises;

and that the order is necessary to prevent the behaviour, nuisance or disorder from continuing, recurring or occurring.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 also changes the duration of a closure notice to 48 hours in default (was 24 hours), with the option for 72 hours (was 48 hours) if the notice is signed by a superintendent, chief executive of a local authority or senior manager of a registered provider of social housing. A senior manager in these circumstances is defined as someone who plays a significant role in the making of decisions about: ‘how the whole or a substantial part of the activities of the provider which relate to social housing are to be managed or organised, or the management or organisation of the whole or a substantial part of such activities.’

Consequential changes regarding consultation are that:

• when the police are applying for a Closure Order, they now have to consult with the local authority (as before) and any registered provider of social housing if they own or manage the premises in question;
• when a local authority is applying for a Closure Order, they now have to consult with the police (as before) and any registered provider of social housing if they own or manage the premises in question;
• when a registered provider is applying for a Closure Order, they have to consult with the police and local authority. 

The Act also gives power to the Secretary of State to make regulations extending the maximum duration of a Closure Order – unless and until that happens, it remains three months initially and six months in total. 

Additionally, the government published a variety of fact sheets on 11 May 2026 to offer guidance on the changes the Act introduces. So, what are the headlines to be aware of? 

Anti-social behaviour 

The Act does not replace the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 but instead enhances it. According to the Government’s ASB factsheet, the reforms are designed to ‘enhance and strengthen the powers available to the police, local authorities and other partners’. 

Respect Orders 

Arguably, one of the most important reforms introduced by the Act is the creation of Respect Orders, a new form of civil behavioural order aimed at tackling the most persistent ASB offenders. The Government’s factsheet makes clear that these orders are intended to fill a ‘significant gap in the existing ASB powers’  by providing stronger enforcement capability.

Respect Orders follow the existing test for Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions, namely, that the individual has: 

• Engaged or threatened to engage in anti-social behaviour; and
• it is just and convenient to grant an order to prevent the individual from engaging in anti-social behaviour 

A defining feature of Respect Orders is that breach constitutes a criminal offence, enabling police to arrest individuals who fail to comply. This represents a significant escalation compared to existing ASB Injunctions, effectively bridging the gap between civil injunctions and criminal enforcement.

This in itself has pros and cons for social landlords, who will not have to shoulder the burden of initiating contempt proceedings to enforce injunctions; however, on the reverse, this also creates a dependency on police involvement to take action. 

Cuckooing 

The Act introduces a new standalone criminal offence of cuckooing and the Government’s factsheet explains that the offence is intended to address situations where criminals take control of a person’s home to use it for criminal activity. The offence will carry a maximum penalty on indictment of five years’ imprisonment or a fine (or both). 

The new offence provides a clear legal framework, defining cuckooing as the exercise of control over another person’s dwelling for criminal purposes without their consent. The introduction of a bespoke offence strengthens the ability of police and partner agencies to intervene and prosecute perpetrators.

The Act recognises that individuals whose homes are taken over are often victims rather than offenders. This has important implications for landlords, who must carefully balance enforcement action with safeguarding responsibilities. The new legislative framework supports this approach by focusing criminal liability on those who exploit rather than those who are exploited.

Conclusion 

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 marks a decisive step forward in the legal framework governing ASB and housing-related crime. Its emphasis on stronger enforcement, clearer legal tools and enhanced partnership working places social housing providers at the centre of the response.

Please also see our previous blog in respect of the changes here.  

The fact sheets relating to ASB and Respect Orders/Cuckooing can be found here: 

• Crime and Policing Bill: child criminal exploitation, cuckooing (home takeover) and coerced internal concealment factsheet - GOV.UK
• Crime and Policing Bill: antisocial behaviour (ASB) factsheet  - GOV.UK