Round up of housing law and news: May 2026
Legislation
Draft regulations for private landlord redress schemes and the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
Draft private landlord redress scheme regulations
The government has issued draft regulations setting out the requirements that new landlord redress schemes must meet for approval. The schemes are due to be introduced under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, with the full service expected to begin in 2028.
Read the draft The Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
New duty to notify services of children in temporary accommodation
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has received Royal Assent. The Act makes amendments to the Housing Act 1996 to:
require local authorities to notify GPs, schools and relevant health services when a child is placed in temporary accommodation
change when a care leaver can be found to be intentionally homeless
The amendments to the Housing Act 1996 have not yet come into force.
Read the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 at legislation.gov.uk.
Case law
Section 21 and gas safety, allocations and personal housing plans.
Section 21 notices and gas safety certificates
The Court of Appeal considered the validity of a section 21 notice where no gas safety certificate was provided for the gas safety check carried out before the tenancy started.
The court held that the section 21 notice could not be valid, even if the landlord provided subsequent gas safety certificates.
Muca v El Amrani; Harker & Ors v Hubert & Anor [2026] EWCA Civ 515
Legal test and medical evidence to determine housing priority
The High Court found that a local authority applied the wrong test when considering a claimant's medical priority. The decision-maker used the phrase 'a high risk to life or limb' in their decision letter. But the council's allocation policy referred to 'alleviating an immediate risk to wellbeing', which is a much broader definition.
The council did not consider medical evidence relating to the claimant's middle child, including letters from the GP, children's centre and school that described the life-threatening impact of the family's housing conditions.
The court declared that the council's decision was unlawful.
LLJ, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Hackney [2026] EWHC 1145 (Admin)
Steps under a personalised housing plan
The Court of Appeal ruled that steps to secure social housing under Part 6 do not fall within scope of section 189A Housing Act 1996, under which an authority has duty to produce a personalised housing plan.
It found that it was reasonable for the local authority to exclude steps to secure housing under Part 6 in the personalised housing plan. The appeal was allowed.
AA, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2026] EWCA Civ 626
Minor errors in prescribed information did not invalidate section 21
The Court of Appeal considered whether a section 21 notice was invalidated by errors in the tenancy deposit prescribed information provided to the tenant.
The court held that minor errors, such as an incorrect address or an unsigned certificate, did not invalidate the notice. A reasonable recipient would understand what was intended, and the tenant was not disadvantaged by the error.
News and guidance
Right to Buy and leasehold reforms, crisis and resilience fund and more.
Right to Buy proposed reforms
The government has announced it intends to reform Right to Buy rules with the aim of protecting social housing stock. The reforms plan to:
require tenants to have lived in their home for ten years before they can apply, instead of the current three years
reduce the discount available
introduce a new build exemption, preventing new social homes from being sold under Right to Buy for 35 years after construction
Read more about the Right to Buy overhaul at gov.uk.
Leasehold reforms
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was confirmed in the King's Speech. The bill will create a new legal framework for commonhold and make commonhold the default tenure for new flats. A new process will be introduced to make conversion from leasehold to commonhold easier.
Existing leaseholders will have improved rights, including capped ground rents, fairer enforcement and the right to request improvements such as faster broadband connection.
Read the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill at gov.uk.
Select committee report
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee made further recommendations to strengthen the draft bill. This includes proposals to:
introduce the £250 cap on ground rents two months after the Act receives Royal Assent
reduce the transitional period for moving to zero ground rent from 40 years to 20 years
make conversion to commonhold the default outcome of a collective enfranchisement
Read the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report at UK Parliament.
Crisis and Resilience Fund
The government has confirmed the details of the Crisis and Resilience Fund for 2026-27. The fund covers housing payments and crisis payments.
Housing payments (formerly discretionary housing payments) can help people who are entitled to universal credit housing element or housing benefit with their housing costs. Crisis payments help people meet essential living needs in a period of short-term financial shock. Crisis payments are not limited to people in receipt of benefits.
Read the 2026/27 grant determination at gov.uk.
Universal credit ID requirements for people leaving prison or experiencing homelessness
The DWP has updated its guidance on what it considers acceptable ID for people who are leaving prison or experiencing homelessness and need to claim universal credit.
Bank cards can no longer be used as primary evidence. Current debit or credit cards can be used as secondary evidence, if accompanied by an account statement that confirms the details on the card.
Read the guidance on universal credit and supporting prison leavers and universal credit and supporting homeless people on gov.uk.
Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme lettings guidance
The government has published guidance on letting accommodation funded through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, setting out how local authorities and registered providers should allocate homes. The guidance includes eligibility criteria, tenancy expectations and support arrangements for people who are homeless or at risk of rough sleeping.
Read the rough sleeping accommodation programme lettings guidance at gov.uk.
Homelessness, rough sleeping and domestic abuse grant
The government has released the grant determination for the homelessness, rough sleeping and domestic abuse grant 2026-27.
The purpose of the funding includes supporting local authorities to discharge their statutory homelessness duties and their duties under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
Read the 2026/27 grant determination at gov.uk.
New Judicial and Legal Diversity Board
A new Judicial and Legal Diversity Board, chaired by the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice, met for the first time on 21 May. The board will work with Black and other minority legal professionals, including those from working class backgrounds.
Read the press release at gov.uk.
Data and trends
Data on possession proceedings, children in the private rented sector, the housing market and more.
Latest possession statistics
The Ministry of Justice has released the latest quarterly possession statistics for the period January to March 2026. Key findings include:
mortgage possession claims decreased by 23% compared to the same quarter in 2025
landlord possession claims decreased by 5% compared to the same quarter in 2025 – orders, warrants and repossessions by county court bailiffs also decreased
the median timeline for landlord repossessions is currently 26.4 weeks, an increase of 0.3 weeks compared to the same quarter in 2025
Read the mortgage and landlord possession statistics at gov.uk.
Children in the private rented sector
The Resolution Foundation has published research showing that children are now more likely than adults to live in the private rented sector. Key findings include:
the number of children living in the private rented sector has almost tripled over the past 25 years, from 1.1 million children in 2000-01 to 3.2 million in 2024-25
over a quarter of children under 1 (27%) now live in the private rented sector
Read the press release at Resolution Foundation.
Housing market data
The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing covering the latest data on house prices, mortgage approvals and house building in the UK. Key findings include:
house prices increased by 1.2% between February 2025 and February 2026
mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased by 1% in March 2026 compared to a year ago
house building starts in England increased by 24% in Q4 2025 compared with the same quarter in 2024
Read the housing market economic indicators on the House of Commons Library.
English Housing Survey results by age group
Data from the English Housing Survey 2024-25 shows people's housing circumstances across different age groups. Key findings include that for:
16-34 year olds, 42% are owner-occupiers, 43% are private renters and 15% are social renters
35-64 years olds, 64% are owner-occupiers, 18% are private renters and 17% are social renters
65 year olds and over, 79% are owner-occupiers, 6% are private renters and 15% are social renters
Read the English Housing Survey 2024-25 age cohorts at gov.uk.
Statistics on housing following release from custody
The Ministry of Justice has released the latest Justice in Numbers data, which detail trends in housing of offenders on release from custody. Key findings include:
84% of people were housed on release from custody between April 2024 and March 2025
80% of people in settled accommodation at three months post release from custody between May 2024 and March 2025
85% of people in settled accommodation at three months post community disposal between May 2024 and March 2025
Read the latest Justice in Numbers statistics at gov.uk.
Council tax statistics
The latest council tax statistics covering Band D council tax figures, average council tax per dwelling and council tax statistics for parish and town councils. Key findings include:
the average Band D council tax across local authorities in England between 2026-27 is £2,392, a 4.9% increase on the previous year
the average council tax per dwelling in England between 2026-27 is £1,868, a 5.5% increase on the previous year
Read the council tax live tables at gov.uk.
Updates from the Renters' Rights Act
The monthly round up of legislation, cases, news and data from Housing Matters