Households that have lived with repeated noise, intimidation or damage near their home have a set of formal tools, from community protection notices to closure orders. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 changes several of them in England and Wales. This article summarises Part 1 of the Act on legislation.gov.uk and the Home Office’s anti-social behaviour (ASB) factsheet. Most of the changes described below were shown as prospective on legislation.gov.uk when this was written, meaning they are not yet in force and wait for commencement regulations, with the exception noted in the final section. It is general information, not legal advice.
Respect orders
Section 1 inserts a new Part A1 into the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 creating respect orders. A court may make one against a person aged 18 or over if it is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person has engaged in or threatens to engage in anti-social behaviour and it considers the order just and convenient to prevent that behaviour. The Act defines anti-social behaviour as conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person. An order can prohibit the respondent from doing something and can require them to do something, for a specified period or until further order.
Only a relevant authority can apply. The list includes a local authority, a housing provider, the chief officer of police, British Transport Police and the Environment Agency, and an application goes to the High Court or the county court. A housing provider may apply only where the behaviour relates to or affects its housing management functions. An order can exclude someone from their normal home only if the application comes from a local authority, the police or the housing provider that owns or manages the premises, and the court considers the behaviour includes violence or threatened violence or that there is a significant risk of harm. The Home Office factsheet says breach of a respect order will be a criminal offence, so police can arrest for suspected breaches.
Closure notices and dispersal
Section 3 amends the 2014 Act so that a dispersal direction excluding a person from an area can last up to 72 hours instead of 48, with a review by an inspector after the first 48 hours when the exclusion period exceeds that. The Act also extends the timings for closure notices and applications. The Home Office factsheet explains the aim: allowing directions to cover weekends and bank holidays and giving agencies more time to apply for a closure order, which protects victims and communities in the interim.
Section 5 and Schedule 2 let registered social housing providers close premises they own or manage that are associated with nuisance and disorder. The factsheet says at present only local authorities and the police can issue closure notices, even though housing providers are often the first to know about the problem. The Act also gives the Home Secretary a power to change the maximum duration of closure orders, after consulting.
Higher penalties for breaching notices
Section 4 raises the upper limit on a fixed penalty notice for failing to comply with a community protection notice, or for an offence connected with a public spaces protection order, from £100 to £500. It also requires the Secretary of State to issue guidance on the use of fixed penalty notices within 6 months of the Act being passed. The factsheet says the increase is intended to provide a stronger deterrent, and that the guidance will address proportionate use for low-level incidents and make clear that private firms used as contractors should not receive greater revenue just from increasing the number of penalties.
Reviews when agencies do not act
Section 6 adds a second level of review to the ASB case review, known as the Community Trigger, which is explained in the guide to repeated anti-social behaviour. New section 104A provides that if the relevant bodies in an area decided that the threshold for a case review was not met, or carried out a review, the applicant can apply to the local policing body for a further review. The body must carry out the review if it considers the threshold was met. It may make recommendations to anyone exercising public functions, who must have regard to them, and must tell the applicant the outcome. Each local policing body must publish its procedures and a point of contact, and publish annual figures on applications and outcomes.
The factsheet describes this as a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners to promote awareness of the ASB case review and provide a route for victims to query decisions through their office.
What is in force
Legislation.gov.uk shows sections 1, 4, 5 and 6 as prospective. The exception on the pages reviewed is section 3(5) and (6), the power for the Secretary of State to change closure order durations by regulations, which came into force on 29 June 2026 under S.I. 2026/689. Until the other measures are in force, the existing 2014 Act powers continue to apply. Security equipment can help with evidence but, as the related guide on the case review says, it does not oblige agencies to act. The guide to security lights and neighbours covers a different kind of neighbour dispute.
The bottom line
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 adds respect orders against adults who engage in anti-social behaviour, longer dispersal directions, closure powers for registered social housing providers, fixed penalties of up to £500 for breaching community protection notices and public spaces protection orders, and a review by the local policing body when agencies fail to act on persistent complaints. These changes apply in England and Wales and, apart from one power in section 3, were awaiting commencement when this article was written.
Sources
- Crime and Policing Act 2026, sections 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Crime and Policing Act 2026: anti-social behaviour (ASB) factsheet, Home Office (gov.uk)