Crime and Policing Bill: new powers for landlords tackling anti-social behaviour

The Crime and Policing Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in February 2025 and is currently in the legislative process, undergoing scrutiny in the House of Lords. This means it could come into force at some point in 2027.

While the overarching aim of the bill is to make communities safer (and its scope is far wider than the social housing sector), the implication for social landlords is significant. 

By introducing a number of proposed amendments to the existing legislative framework that social landlords use to respond to and manage anti-social behaviour (ASB) – in other words, widening their powers to respond to ASB – the bill positions social landlords as key partners in community safety. This could reshape how housing management teams deal with ASB, protect tenants and manage tenancies.

This article explores the bill’s key provisions, as they are currently drafted, and how they could expand powers for housing management teams.

Cuckooing: a new offence with housing implications

Cuckooing, defined as taking control of another person’s home for criminal purposes, is a serious form of exploitation which often involves individuals who are isolated and vulnerable being coerced into allowing illegal activity in their homes.

The Crime and Policing Bill creates a standalone criminal offence of cuckooing, which will carry a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

To meet the legal criteria for cuckooing, there are three essential elements that need to be met:

1. The perpetrator (Person A) exercises control over the dwelling of another individual (Person B)
2. They do so for the purpose of enabling that dwelling to be used in connection with the commission (by any person) of one or more of the offences (currently listed in Schedule 6 of the bill) 
3. Person B does not consent to Person A exercising control for that purpose

Cuckooing will be a criminal matter for the police to enforce. However, the bill provides a clearer legal route for housing providers to address exploitation within tenancies and to ensure consequences for perpetrators.

Housing management staff will need to work closely with police and safeguarding teams to identify victims and support enforcement.

Closure order: direct action for housing providers

While closure orders have been around since the 2000s, the introduction of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 led to an increase in closure orders as a useful tool for local authorities and police to allow the temporary closure of premises where the use of the property leads to nuisance or disorder (see the full criteria here). 

The Crime and Policing Bill extends the power to issue closure notices and apply for closure orders to other registered providers of social housing, as well as local authorities. This change will empower landlords to act directly in appropriate cases rather than relying on other agencies, as they currently have to do.

The person signing the notice will need to be a part of the organisation’s senior management, which is defined in the bill. This will enable housing associations to quickly close any premises they manage or own if these are being used, or are likely to be used, to commit nuisance or disorder.

The test for issuing a closure notice remains unchanged. But the timeframe within which an agency may apply to a magistrates’ court for a closure order after serving a closure notice is proposed to increase from 48 hours to 72 hours. While modest, this extension gives housing providers valuable additional time in their window to act when a property under their control is being misused.

Closure orders can be full or partial. A partial closure order allows for certain specified individuals to enter and remain in the property, including the resident and any approved family members or external support providers. This can be a useful tool where there is suspected cuckooing, as it allows the resident to remain living in their home while ensuring that the people seeking to exploit them would be subject to criminal proceedings should they breach the terms of the order. 

Respect order: strengthening enforcement and possession grounds

A respect order is a new civil behaviour order designed to address persistent and/or highly disruptive ASB.

These can be sought by housing providers, police and local authorities via an application to the county or high court.

For housing providers, a respect order can only be obtained if the ASB directly or indirectly relates to or affects its housing management function.

To grant a respect order, the court must be satisfied that two conditions are met. 

First, on the balance of probabilities, the individual must have either engaged in or threatened to engage in behaviour defined as ASB. This means “conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress”. 

Second, the court must find it just and convenient to issue the respect order.

Before applying for a respect order, the relevant authority or registered housing provider must undertake a risk assessment. While this is a new statutory requirement, in reality most social landlords already conduct similar evaluations when applying for a civil injunction order.

Successful respect orders will ban adult perpetrators from engaging in specific activities relating to ASB. A breach of a respect order, without reasonable excuse, will amount to a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.

For housing associations, respect orders will offer a strengthened type of order (compared with the existing civil injunction) which will be swiftly enforceable and should avoid the need for committal proceedings to be instigated by the landlord. 

During the House of Commons committee stage, an amendment was approved to make a breach of a respect order one of the conditions that establishes a mandatory ground for possession under Section 84A of the Housing Act 1985 or Ground 7A of the Housing Act 1988. This will allow landlords to seek to terminate a tenancy when a respect order has been breached. 

Housing and youth Injunctions: tailored responses to ASB

The bill amends the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 to introduce two new civil injunctions available for housing providers: the housing injunction and the youth injunction.

A youth injunction may be granted against a person aged between 10 and 17 if the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person has engaged in or is threatening to engage in ASB, and that it is just and convenient to grant the injunction. 

The housing injunction applies to people aged 18 or over whose behaviour is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance relating to the occupation or management of housing. 

Both new injunctions operate similarly to existing civil injunctions under Part 1 of the 2014 Act and can be tailored to impose behavioural conditions such as excluding individuals from certain areas, or mandating engagement with support services.

The current bill allows courts to consider respect orders and housing injunctions interchangeably, allowing flexibility where it is considered that the other type of order may be more appropriate to the individual circumstances.

Other provisions: data reporting and consultation duties

The Crime and Policing Bill also gives the home secretary the power to create regulations that require local bodies, including councils and social housing providers, to report specific data on ASB to the Home Office. This is intended to improve data-sharing between local authorities and agencies and local government, as the centralised data on ASB is said to be limited.

While there will be an administrative element to this, gathering and collating this data could be helpful in managing and tackling ASB. 

Additionally, the bill requires local policing bodies (LPBs) to consult relevant bodies and housing providers when undertaking LPB review procedures. 

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