Rough sleeping is set to be decriminalised next week as the government finally scraps a 200-year-old law that has long been criticised as outdated. The Vagrancy Act, originally introduced in 1824 for the punishment of “idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds”, will be formally repealed on Monday, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed.
Ministers had previously signalled their intention to repeal the legislation by spring this year. Its removal will now be facilitated by new powers contained within Labour’s Crime and Policing Act, passed in April. These new provisions, which include offences such as facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, are designed to fill any legal “gap” left by the old law’s abolition, according to officials.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed welcomed the move, stating it would help shift the approach to homelessness “from punishment to prevention”. Plans to abolish the Vagrancy Act were initially announced by the Conservative government in 2022, though they insisted alternative measures should be in place first.
The formal repeal will occur on Monday through secondary legislation, a moment that charities and campaigners have widely celebrated as a “watershed” in addressing homelessness.
St Mungo’s chief executive, Emma Haddad, said the change was “an important shift towards a more humane approach – one that focuses on support, tackles root causes, and helps prevent homelessness”.
Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said the 1824 Act had “punished people who have been forced to sleep on the streets” and “pushed people in already vulnerable situations away from support services and into the shadows for fear of being penalised”.
“This is a watershed moment which marks the end of a deeply cruel policy of criminalising people because they are homeless,” he said.
Chief executive of Housing Justice, Bonnie Williams, said repealing the Act should be part of a wider change in approach to helping people off the streets, which “puts the emphasis on compassion, not condemnation, and recognises that homelessness does not truly end until a person has not only housing, but the relationships, community and belonging they need to thrive”.
Housing Secretary Mr Reed said: “Homeless people are not criminals, they are people who need help.
“By repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act, we are shifting from punishment to prevention, alongside our investment to tackle homelessness for good.”
