Round up of housing law and news: June 2026
Legislation
HHSRS updates and enforcement, recovery of benefit overpayments, repeal of Vagrancy Act.
Housing Health and Safety Rating System
The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and updated Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) Enforcement and Operating Guidance came into force on 23 June 2026.
The regulations condense the list of hazards under the HHSRS to 21 from 29 and reduce the number of hazard bands. Government guidance has been updated with new hazard descriptions and new guidance on fire safety assessments.
Find out more about The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
Find out more about the updated HHSRS definition of hazards on Shelter Legal.
Local authority HHSRS enforcement
From 22 June 2026, local authorities can fine private landlords up to £7000 if they do not take reasonable steps to remove the most serious category 1 hazards. This power is introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026.
Read the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
Read more about local authority HHSRS enforcement on Shelter Legal.
Direct deduction for benefit overpayments
From 24 June 2026, the DWP can make a direct deduction order for universal credit and housing benefit overpayments. Where the claimant is not in receipt of benefits or it is not reasonably possible to recover through deductions from earnings, the DWP can make direct deductions from a person's bank account to recover an overpayment.
Read The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
Repeal of Vagrancy Act
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (Commencement No. 9) Regulations 2026 came into force on 29 June 2026. These regulations repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824, which has been widely criticised for criminalising rough sleeping.
The regulations also introduce two new offences:
trespassing with intent to commit a criminal offence
arranging or facilitating begging for gain
Read The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (Commencement No. 9) Regulations 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
Draft Social Housing Bill
The draft Social Housing Bill has now passed through its second reading and committee stage in the House of Lords. Measures in the Bill include Right to Buy reforms and landlord powers to evict domestic abuse perpetrators from social homes.
Read the draft Social Housing Bill at UK Parliament.
Case law
Equality Act and allocations, breach of main housing duty, overpayments and selective licensing.
Allocations scheme discriminated against disabled applicants
The High Court ruled that a local authority who gave extra priority to working households while excluding full-time carers breached the Equality Act. Although the authority pursued legitimate aims, it failed to justify the policy as less discriminatory alternatives were available.
The court found that the policy amounted to unlawful indirect discrimination.
Breach of main housing duty
The High Court ruled that a local authority breached the main housing duty by failing to secure suitable accommodation for a seriously ill refugee.
The court found that the properties offered did not meet the assessed bedroom need or proximity to medical care and family support. The council’s delays and reliance on a referral to another borough did not discharge its duty.
Reasonable adjustments and out of area placements
The High Court considered a county court appeal by a disabled homelessness applicant.
The claimant argued that the local authority had failed to make reasonable adjustments when placing him in out of area temporary accommodation.
The court found that the authority had taken systemic steps to avoid disadvantaging disabled applicants by prioritising them for in-area placements.
The local authority had not breached its duty to make reasonable adjustments.
Asiimwe v The London Borough of Lambeth [2026] EWHC 1479 (KB) (17 June 2026)
Selective licensing and HMOs
The Upper-tribunal dismissed an appeal against financial penalties for licensing failures of flats in a converted building in a selective licensing area.
The tribunal found that the fact that a building is an HMO does not prevent each dwelling from being treated as a house under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004. It held that legislation allows local authorities to apply selective licensing to each flat unless the property meets the requirements for HMO licensing.
The tribunal ruled that each flat required a separate license and that the local authority was entitled to impose a financial penalty for each unit.
Mohammed Abid Zaman v Leeds City Council [2026] UKUT 180 (LC)
Domestic abuse and local connection
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that a council acted wrongly when it refused to assist a domestic abuse survivor and her child after she fled to a refuge and sought homelessness help.
The council declined to help on the basis that the applicant had no local connection and referred her back to the area she had fled, despite clear evidence of serious risk and an application for a non‑molestation order. It also dismissed challenges based on the Homelessness Code of Guidance and closed her case.
The Ombudsman found that the council had misapplied homelessness law and failed to follow its duties, exposing the applicant and her child to risk.
The council agreed to apologise, pay £1,000 for distress, and improve staff training to prevent similar failures.
South Gloucestershire Council (25 006 248) Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
News and guidance
Government response to temporary accommodation report
In April 2026, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published a report on temporary accommodation (TA). This report called for an end to the use of unsuitable shared and bed and breakfast accommodation for families.
The government has published its response, which points to progress made so far. For example, the number of families staying in bed and breakfast accommodation beyond six weeks has reduced since last year. But the government disagrees with other recommendations made in the report, such as:
phasing out all forms of shared accommodation for families
expanding the six week limit to other types of housing, including accommodation that fails the Decent Homes Standard
increasing the rate councils are reimbursed to match the current Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate
Read the response to the report on Gov.uk.
Read the committee's report on housing conditions in temporary accommodation on Parliament.uk.
Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme
The three-year Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme aims to end the unlawful use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament.
In 2026-27, £10 million of the available funding will be allocated to 23 local authorities. Local authorities are selected based on the number of families in bed and breakfast placements for over six weeks.
Read the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme 2026-27 allocations at Gov.uk.
Out of area placements by London councils
Councils have been criticised for moving families hundreds of miles away from London, far from schools, health services and support networks. In one case, a highly vulnerable woman who had experienced sex trafficking was told to move with her two young children 260 miles away to County Durham.
Councils such as Croydon and Enfield have signed contracts with Reloc8, a company that specialises in moving homeless families out of the capital. The company website claims that it has moved 400 households out of London to date.
Read the article from The Guardian.
Pilot of 56-day move on period from asylum accommodation
The Home Office has published an independent evaluation of the 56-day move on period pilot from asylum accommodation. Positive changes include:
fewer cases remaining in asylum support for six months or more
earlier intervention by local authorities under the prevention duty
The evaluation makes further recommendations, such as extending the move on period for single adults who find it more difficult to secure suitable housing.
Read the evaluation of initiatives to enhance the move on process at Gov.uk.
Free flu jabs for people experiencing homelessness
In the autumn, people experiencing homelessness will be given free flu jabs on the NHS. The vaccination programme will be rolled out in homeless hostels and night shelters, as well as to people who are rough sleeping.
Read the press release at Gov.uk.
Housing benefit
Working age housing benefit will be abolished on 1 July 2026, for people who are not living in temporary or specified accommodation. The DWP has published guidance on exceptions to the 1 July 2026 closure date. For example, where housing benefit is:
due to terminate at the end of the two-week transition to universal credit housing payment
paid to someone who also receives income-related employment and support allowance, who had an appointee immediately before 1 July 2026 or needs to have one appointed
paid to someone in prison, on remand or serving a sentence in hospital
Read the guidance on closure of working age housing benefit at Gov.uk.
Non-decent index for homes in the private rented sector
Researchers at the University of Sheffield have created a tool to help identify areas in England with a high number of private rented sector homes that fail the Decent Homes Standard.
While the Decent Homes Standard will not come into force in the private rented sector until 2035, the tool can support local authorities to:
target inspections in the private rented sector
evidence place-based interventions such as selective licensing
understand and analyse rental submarkets
Read the report into the Non-Decent Index from the University of Sheffield.
Use the Non-Decent Index (NDI) Explorer app to view the NDI for a specific local authority.
Court and tribunal fee changes
Changes to fees across the Residential Property Division of the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal will apply from 13 July 2026.
Fees are set at one of five tiers, depending on the case type and access to justice considerations. For most cases, the application fee will be £114 to £200 and the hearing fee will be £227 to £300.
Read the court and tribunal fees updates on Gov.uk.
Data and trends
Trends in homelessness support
Homeless Link launched their annual review of homelessness services in England. Key findings include:
the number of bedspaces available has increased by 4% from 2024, but decreased by 41% since the research began in 2008
77% of accommodation projects have turned a client away from the service because their needs were too high or too complex
55% of people waiting to move on from accommodation have been waiting for six months or more
Read the full report on homelessness services at Homeless Link.
Rough sleeping data
The government has released the latest rough sleeping data framework for the period of January to March 2026. Key findings include:
7,541 people were estimated to be sleeping rough in March 2026, a decrease of 6% since last quarter and a decrease of 2% since March 2025
40% of those had been sleeping rough long term
4% of those were under 25 years old
Read the rough sleeping data framework January to March 2026 at Gov.uk.
Access to civil legal aid
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has published a report into shrinking civil legal aid provision. Key findings include:
3.5 million people live in local authorities in England and Wales without an active civil legal aid provider
the number of active civil legal aid providers halved between 2010 and 2024, from about 3,000 to 1,400
the share of local authorities with no civil legal aid provider increased from 1.6% in 2010 to 11.9% by the end of 2023
Read the full report on civil legal aid provision in England and Wales at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Poor service from letting agents
Citizens Advice research has revealed the extent of poor letting agent service experienced by private renters. Key findings include that, among private renters:
48% of those who dealt with a letting agent in the last three years faced rule-breaking behaviour
68% waited more than 24 hours for the letting agent to fix an emergency repair
55% waited longer than two weeks to have all or some of their deposit returned
Read the press release from Citizens Advice.
Updates from the Renters' Rights Act
The monthly round up of legislation, cases, news and data from Housing Matters