Round up of housing law and news: June 2025

Legislation

Awaab's law, changes to social housing allocations and suitability of homeless accommodation.

Awaab's law for damp and mould

The government has announced that phase 1 of Awaab’s law will come into force from 27 October 2025. It will apply to social landlords and cover damp, mould and all types of emergency hazards. Electrical safety regulations will also be extended to social housing. Further changes to cover remaining hazards are due in 2026 and 2027.

Gov.uk: Awaab’s Law: Draft guidance for social landlords

Social housing allocations for domestic abuse survivors and care leavers

The government has announced that domestic abuse survivors and care leavers under 25 will be exempt from the local connection criteria when applying for social housing. The regulations will take effect 10 July 2025.

The Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Victims of Domestic Abuse and Care Leavers) (England) Regulations 2025

New arrivals and suitability of homelessness accommodation

Between 1 June 2022 and 1 June 2025, a local authority needed to consider different rules for the suitability of accommodation when a homeless applicant made a homelessness application within two years of their arrival to the UK.

As these rules expired on 1 June 2025, local authorities must now assess all homelessness applications using the same suitability criteria.

The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (Amendment) (England) Order 2022

Case law

Housing needs assessments and suitability, rent repayment orders.

Failure to comply with housing needs assessment

The Court of Appeal has ruled that although local authorities are required under s.189A Housing Act 1996 to conduct housing needs assessments to determine what accommodation would be suitable for homeless applicants. In this case, the failure to complete an updated housing assessment did not make the suitability decision unlawful.

Norton v London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWCA Civ 746 (17 June 2025)

Rent repayment order not available where rent paid in advance

The Upper Tribunal held that that a rent repayment order could not include rent paid before the offence was committed. The tenants were unable to reclaim rent as their only payment was six months' rent in advance at the start of the tenancy, before the relevant offence.

Pearton v Betterton Duplex Ltd [2025] UKUT 175 (LC) (06 June 2025)

News and guidance

Repeal of the Vagrancy Act, Grenfell inquiry update, social housing funding and children in temporary accommodation report.

Government announce repeal of Vagrancy Act

After 200 years, the government has pledged to scrap the Vagrancy Act 1824, a law that criminalises rough sleeping, by spring 2026. Successive governments have previously made similar commitments but the change has never actually been actioned.

Gov.uk press release: Rough sleeping to be decriminalised after 200 years

Grenfell Tower inquiry update

The government has published its first progress report on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 recommendations. The report highlighted 58 recommendations and the government predicts it will take four years for all recommendations to be completed.

Gov.uk policy paper: Grenfell Tower Inquiry Government Progress Report

Housing investment in the 2025 Spending review

Housing was a key element of the Spending Review announced on the 11 June 2025. The Government committed £39 billion investment to the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), pledged £950 million through the Local Authority Housing Fund to support local authorities increase the supply of higher-quality temporary accommodation, and allocated £100 million for the Transformation Fund to support early interventions to prevent homelessness.

Gov.uk: Spending Review 2025

Children in temporary accommodation report

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee states that the government response to the recent report on the crisis of children living in temporary accommodation is disappointingly lacking in detail.

Report: England’s Homeless Children: The Crisis in Temporary Accommodation

Committee response: Government’s response "disappointingly lacking in detail", says Committee Chair

Data and trends

Rough sleeping figures in London.

Rough sleeping in London at record levels

Data from the CHAIN homelessness database shows that between April 2024 to March 2025, rough sleeping in London reached record levels.

The Homeless Link analysis of the data shows:

• 13, 231 people recorded as rough sleeping, a 10% increase from 2023-24

• 8,396 people recorded as sleeping rough for the first time

• a 63% increase in rough sleepers over 10 years

Homeless Link: Rough sleeping in London climbs to record levels | Homeless Link