Emily’s Blog – Cuckooing is Now a Criminal Offence – What this Means for Housing Providers
On 29th April 2026, changes to the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 came into force. Among them is the extension of ‘closure orders’ for registered social housing providers. This means housing providers can now request closure orders for premises they own or manage that are affected by anti-social behaviour. For social housing providers like Creative Support, this is a crucial development that will enhance our ability to safeguard the people we support.
What is a closure order?
Through the Magistrate’s Court, closure orders allow you to close a premises for a maximum of three months. Once in place, the order prevents anyone from entering the premises, and if they do, it is a criminal offence.
A partial closure order can also be made, allowing only specified individuals such as the tenant and support staff to enter the premises. This makes them especially appropriate for tenants who are unable to control the amount and behaviour of visitors, especially where it involves anti-social behaviour by criminal perpetrators of cuckooing. In many cases, it may enable early intervention to prevent criminals entering premises and beginning cuckooing operations.
What is cuckooing?
Formally recognised as controlling another’s home for criminal purposes, cuckooing results in a person’s home being used for anti-social and criminal purposes without the tenant’s consent. It can have a slow snowball effect as the perpetrators persuade victims to let them into their homes by befriending them, before turning hostile.
In an interview with the BBC earlier in June, Jamie shared how a criminal gang befriended him so that they could take advantage and move into his home without his consent. They then began using his flat to sell drugs.
Jamie said: “People went from being really nice and sound to me, to just taking whatever they can. They robbed my clothes and started taking everything worth taking at my house, like stealing it without you knowing. And when I did realise it was them, they would deny it.”
For the people being exploited by cuckooing, the emotional and psychological impact can lead them to retreat from support and contact with friends and family, making it easier for the perpetrators to take advantage of them. The number of criminals exploiting vulnerable people is growing, and laws like this help fight back.
Cuckooing has a devastating impact, especially on people who are vulnerable or rely on extra support and care services in day-to-day life. A BBC investigation found that 1,539 incidents of cuckooing were reported to police in London alone between May 2025 and April 2026. The growing prevalence of cuckooing highlights the increased risks facing tenants who are disabled, experiencing a mental health condition, or long-term health condition.
Introducing cuckooing as a criminal offence will now allow police and partner agencies to intervene and prosecute perpetrators, and protect the victims whose homes are taken over. Perpetrators of cuckooing will receive a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. For adults with care and support needs, it’s a vital safeguarding step that focuses the criminal liability on those who are doing the exploiting, rather than the exploited.
Claire Robinson, Head of Quality at Creative Support, said: “Cuckooing is one of the most complex safeguarding situations that housing providers can face. It requires robust multi agency collaboration between housing providers, professionals, local authorities, support providers and the police. Cuckooing targets the most vulnerable people in society, often with devastating consequences; people can lose their independence, their homes and even their lives to cuckooing. This key change in legislation strengthens the police’s ability to act, which in turn will support us to protect the people that we support.”
– Emily Bicknell, Communications Officer