Round up of housing law and news: February 2026
Renters' Rights Act
The Renters' Rights Act will be implemented in phases from 1 May 2026.
Key reforms in phase 1 include the abolishment of section 21 notices, the end of assured shorthold tenancies and new grounds for possession.
Later phases will introduce a landlord database, a private rented sector landlord Ombudsman and improved housing condition standards.
Learn more about the Act
Read the latest articles on the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 at Shelter Legal.
Legislation
New Decent Homes Standard not fit for purpose and cuckooing to become a criminal offence.
Cuckooing to become a criminal offence
Cuckooing is an exploitative technique that perpetrators use to take control of a vulnerable persons home to use it for criminal activity. The government has announced that the Crime and Policing Bill will include child criminal exploitation and cuckooing as a criminal offence.
Decent homes standard rated not fit for purpose
The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) recently reviewed the government's plans to update the Decent Homes Standard and to extend it to the private rented sector by 2035. Although the Committee found the case for reform strong, it said the impact assessment wasn't fit for purpose because it lacked a proper comparison of alternative options and justification for it's preferred way forward.
Gov.uk: RPC opinion: Decent Homes Standard impact assessment
Rightsnet: Regulatory Policy Committee rates Decent Homes Standard impact assessment as ‘not fit for purpose’
Case law
Judicial review dismissed as academic and what counts as money's worth to create a tenancy.
Judicial review dismissed as academic after main duty provided
A homeless applicant brought a judicial review against the local authority for failing to provide interim accommodation for her and her daughter. The High Court dismissed the claim because the council later offered accommodation which the applicant refused believing it was unsuitable.
The court ruled the judicial review was no longer relevant, as the same accommodation was later offered and refused under the main housing duty. The courts confirmed the correct route for challenging a housing duty decision is a statutory review under section 202 Housing Act 1996.
Bailii: Walker, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Bromley [2026] EWHC 382 (Admin)
Services with no monetary value did not count as rent
The Court of Appeal held that a tenancy requiring two days’ gardening work per week, with no agreed monetary value, was a tenancy under which no rent was payable for the purposes of schedule 1 Housing Act 1988.
The services had no agreed value, so they could not amount to rent and the tenancy was not an assured tenancy. The landlord’s notice to quit was therefore valid.
The appeal was dismissed.
News and guidance
Social and Affordable Homes Programme, poor social housing conditions and government funding to end rough sleeping.
Bids now open for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme
The Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036 (SAHP), delivered by Homes England, provides grant funding to support the delivery of new social and affordable homes.
Gov.uk bidding guidance: Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026 to 2036
Report on poor social housing conditions
The Housing Committee has published a report highlighting poor conditions in social housing. It found that nearly 430,000 social homes fail the Decent Homes Standard, with issues such as damp, overcrowding, and poor energy performance. The report calls for interim targets and clearer timelines to address the issues.
UK Parliament: Housing Conditions in the Social Rented Sector
Funding to end homelessness
The Government has published guidance on how organisations can apply for the Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund (EHCF) to work alongside statutory services to prevent and end homelessness.
Gov.uk guidance: Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund - prospectus
Pets in social housing
Housing Minister, Baroness Taylor, has written to social landlords urging them fairly consider requests from tenants to keep a pet. She asks landlords not to unreasonably refuse requests and encourages those without pet policies to adopt them.
Gov.uk: Fair consideration of requests to have a pet in social housing
Ombudsman compensation guidance
The Housing Ombudsman has published compensation guidance aimed to deliver a fair and consistent award process. It sets out when the Ombudsman awards compensation, how compensation is quantified and how offers of compensation by landlords are considered.
The guidance will take effect from 1 April 2026.
Housing Ombudsman service: 'Single vision of fair compensation’ across the sector
Data and trends
Latest rough sleeper statistics, research into the homelessness sector and UK housing market indicators.
Record high number of rough sleepers
The Government has published its annual rough sleeping snapshot, estimating the number of people sleeping rough in England for one night in Autumn 2025. The data shows that:
around 4,793 people slept rough
rough sleeping rose by 3% compared to 2024
since 2010, rough sleeping has increased by 171%
Gov.uk: Rough sleeping snapshot in England: autumn 2025
Research into the homelessness workforce
Homeless Link has carried out research into who works in the homelessness sector. The study profiles the workforce, their routes into the sector, experiences and retention. The survey data shows:
34,519 individuals work in the sector, with 16,417 volunteers
the workforce is predominantly female
the median salary is £37,430
a quarter of staff had lived experience of homelessness
Gov.uk: Mapping the homelessness workforce: Exploring the profile and experiences of the homelessness sector
Social housing sales and demolitions
The Government has released data on the number of social housing properties sold and demolished in England between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. The data shows:
19,941 homes were sold, an increase of 14%
40% of sales were local authority homes, mainly through Right to Buy
3,119 social housing properties were demolished, a 14% decrease
Gov.uk: Social housing sales and demolitions 2024-25
Economic indicators summary for the UK housing market
The House of Commons Library has released a research briefing on the key UK housing market indicators.
The research briefing shows:
house prices increased 2.4% between December 2024 and December 2025
mortgage approvals fell by 8% in the last year
new home starts rose to 29,620 between July and September 2025
home completions fell to 33,020 over July and September 2025
House of Commons library: Housing market: Economic indicators
Updates from the Renters' Rights Act 2025
The monthly round up of legislation, cases, news and data from Housing Matters