Housing Week round-up: Closure Orders – practical considerations for social landlords

What’s changing?

From 26 October 2026:

• Registered Providers will be able to apply for Closure Orders directly.
• RPs will no longer be reliant on the Police or Local Authorities to bring applications.
• The powers apply to premises owned or managed by the RP and associated with nuisance or disorder.
• The powers apply to all types of premises, including residential, commercial, owner-occupied and licensed premises.
• Closure Notice periods increase from:
  • 24 to 48 hours; and
  • 48 to 72 hours.
• Closure Orders remain available for up to three months.
• Orders can still be extended by a further three months, giving a maximum period of six months.
• There is no prohibition on bringing further applications after that period where appropriate.

The key change is that not only will RPs be able to obtain Closure Orders, but will now be responsible for making these applications.

Breaking the process down

Although the process can initially seem quite daunting, it can be broken down into four stages:

1. Gathering evidence;
2. Serving the Closure Notice;
3. Attending court;
4. Managing the Closure Order and next steps.

In practice, the first two stages will determine whether an application runs smoothly.

1. Gathering evidence

Evidence gathering is likely to be the most important stage of the process.

Before considering witness statements, landlords should think broadly about the available evidence, including:

• Police intelligence and crime reports.
• ASB case records.
• Environmental Health evidence.
• Information from partner agencies.
• Resident complaints and witness statements.

It is also worth stepping back and asking some basic questions:

• Who is affected?
• What harm is being caused?
• What steps have already been taken?
• Are there alternative remedies available?
• What is the risk if no Closure Order is granted?

A Closure Order does not necessarily need to be a remedy of last resort, but it is a significant power and the court will want to understand why it is necessary.

Most importantly, every piece of evidence should help establish the legal test and demonstrate nuisance or disorder linked to the premises.

Hearsay or direct witness evidence?

One of the most interesting discussions around Closure Orders concerns witness evidence.

Police applications often rely heavily on hearsay evidence, with witnesses anonymised as “Witness A”, “Witness B” and so on. By contrast, some Local Authorities take a very different approach and prefer direct resident evidence wherever possible. There is a balance somewhere in the middle, which I imagine is what will be most likely.

Registered Providers should start considering now what their organisational approach will be.

Questions worth asking include:

• Are residents being asked to provide statements?
• At what stage?
• What support will be available to them?
• How much reliance will be placed on hearsay evidence?

It is also worth remembering that different Magistrates’ Courts may take different approaches, particularly in the early days of the new regime. Organisations should be prepared to adapt their evidence gathering strategy if required.

Perhaps most importantly, Closure Orders protect premises. They do not protect witnesses.

Where residents are supporting an application against specific individuals, landlords should consider whether additional remedies may also be required, such as injunctions against perpetrators or other measures designed to protect witnesses during the process.

2. Closure Notices

A Closure Notice is far more than an administrative step.

Once served, it can immediately restrict access to the property and carries criminal consequences if breached. It is therefore essential that notices contain all required information and are served correctly.

In practical terms, organisations should be asking themselves now:

• Who can authorise a Closure Notice?
• Who signs if that person is unavailable?
• Who physically serves the notice?
• Who liaises with legal?
• What happens during the short period before the court hearing?

The legislation tells us who can authorise a Closure Notice. The more important operational question is who will actually do so within your organisation. If the nominated decision-maker is on annual leave or unavailable, is there a deputy? Is there a clear escalation route?

Similarly, organisations should think carefully about service arrangements. Some landlords have dedicated enforcement teams, making this relatively straightforward. Others rely on broader housing or ASB teams and may need to think more carefully about responsibilities.

These questions are worth resolving now, rather than trying to answer them when an urgent application arises on a Friday afternoon and the statutory timetable is already running.

Don’t forget what happens after service

Once a Closure Notice has been served, the clock starts ticking.

RPs should, therefore, consider whether additional approval stages are genuinely necessary before proceedings are issued. In theory, multiple governance checkpoints can seem sensible. In practice, too many approval layers may make it difficult to utilise a remedy designed to be deployed quickly.

3. Court attendance

Once proceedings have been issued, attention turns to the hearing itself.

Some practical points to consider include:

• Liaising with the court regarding listing arrangements.
• Flagging any high-profile or complex cases early.
• Considering witness attendance requirements.
• Assessing safeguarding and security concerns.
• Demonstrating why a Closure Order is necessary and proportionate.

Presentation can also make a significant difference.

Closure hearings are often dealt with in busy Magistrates’ Court lists. A clear, well-organised bundle helps the court understand the case quickly.

Useful tools include:

• A clear chronology.
• Consistent pagination.
• Cross-referenced evidence.
• Photographs.
• Plans or maps where relevant.
• Incident schedules summarising recurring issues.

None of this changes the legal test, but it often makes it easier for the court to follow the evidence.

4. What happens after the Closure Order?

Finally, obtaining the Closure Order is not the end of the process.

In many cases, it is the start of the next stage.

Landlords should consider:

• Monitoring compliance.
• Whether possession proceedings should follow.
• Ongoing engagement with partner agencies.
• Safeguarding referrals and support requirements.
• What happens when the order expires.
• The longer-term management strategy for the property.

Final thoughts

The new powers represent a significant addition to the social landlord toolkit.

However, the organisations most likely to use them successfully will be those who have spent time now mapping out their internal processes, decision-making structures and evidence gathering procedures before the first application lands on their desk.

If you would like to discuss further, please get in touch with our housing management team.