The government will repeal the Vagrancy Act tomorrow (Monday 29 June), bringing an end to nearly two centuries of legislation that has criminalised rough sleeping and begging.
Originally introduced in 1824, the Vagrancy Act has been found to punish people simply for not having a home. As a result, it has pushed vulnerable people away from support, increased the risk of fines or criminal records and made it harder for people to rebuild their lives.
Repealing the Act is a vital step in ending a system that has failed to address the causes of rough sleeping and in shifting the focus towards prevention, support and long-term solutions.
This sits at the heart of the National Plan to End Homelessness – backed by £3.6 billion over the next three years – which aims to halve long-term rough sleeping and end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families by the end of the Parliament.
Alongside this, the government is delivering the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in a generation – £39 billion over the next ten years – providing the homes people need. Recent figures show social and affordable housing starts are up 35% since 2024 and completions have risen again this year.
Following a week of record temperatures, the public are also being reminded of the Streetlink alert system to notify their local authority of anyone who is rough sleeping and in need of support.
Housing Secretary Steve 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By repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act, we are shifting from punishment to prevention, alongside our investment to tackle homelessness for good.
Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern said
Repealing the Vagrancy Act is a long-overdue step that reflects a modern understanding of homelessness.
We are turning our backs on a centuries old approach and instead focusing our attention on what works through providing support, preventing homelessness, and helping people rebuild their lives.
Our Plan to End Homelessness will drive that change, helping more people off the streets and into the security of a permanent home.
The Vagrancy Act was introduced in 1824 in response to rising homelessness following the Napoleonic Wars and Industrial Revolution. While its use has sharply declined, it is still sometimes used to move people on instead of addressing the root causes of a person’s homelessness.
The National Plan to End Homelessness rewires the system to focus support where it’s needed most. This includes
- A £159 million grant for supported housing is getting over 2,500 people across England off the streets and into more stable housing, as well as preventing those from getting onto the streets in the first place.
- Setting clear targets for halving the number who become homeless on their first night out of prison and that no eligible person is discharged to the street after a hospital stay.
- It also sets a clear long-term ambition that no one should be made homeless from a public institution.
The upcoming Social Housing Bill will strengthen protections to victims of domestic abuse in social housing, helping to prevent homelessness – research shows that nearly 70% of women experiencing rough sleeping in 2025 had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16.
There are already powers in place to tackle antisocial behaviour where it occurs, including under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. These are used where behaviour causes harassment or distress – not for simply being homeless. Statutory guidance will be updated to ensure these powers are used appropriately.
The government will continue to take a tough stance on organised crime. New offences in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will target organised begging gangs, those who exploit others for financial gain, and trespass linked to criminal activity.
Chief Executive of Crisis Matt Downie said
This is a watershed moment which marks the end of a deeply cruel policy of criminalising people because they are homeless.
For more than 200 years, the Vagrancy Act has punished people who have been forced to sleep on the streets. This has pushed people in already vulnerable situations away from support services and into the shadows for fear of being penalised. Now, after decades of charities campaigning alongside politicians, law enforcement and people with lived experience of homelessness, we can come together to celebrate the end of this archaic law.
We commend the UK Government for standing up for what’s right and getting rid of a great injustice. We hope this sends a powerful message about the kind of society we want one where people experiencing homelessness are not persecuted but supported to rebuild their lives and fulfil their potential.
Everyone deserves a roof over their head and action to halve long-term rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament and prevent homelessness includes
- A £37 million Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund that is supporting the work of voluntary, community and faith groups delivering day-to-day prevention and support services.
- A £15 million Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme targeting 28 areas facing the greatest long-term rough sleeping pressures – supporting them to find smarter, more joined-up ways to help people off the streets for good.
- The Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, which sees £159 million funded for supported housing and will target 40 local areas with the greatest need to help prevent homelessness.
o Boosting the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation backed by £950 million and reducing the worst forms of temporary accommodation, particularly the use of B&Bs.
This is alongside wider measures to address the underlying causes of homelessness, including
- Abolishing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions through the Renters’ Rights Act – a practice that has pushed thousands of renters into homelessness.
- Investing £39 billion to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation – giving people the homes they need.
St Mungo’s CEO Emma Haddad said
The repeal of the Vagrancy Act marks a defining moment in how society views and responds to people experiencing homelessness. For too long, the Act has criminalised people with nowhere safe to call home and reinforced stigma, rather than putting the focus on rebuilding lives.
Our Outreach teams see every day how people can fall into homelessness when housing and support aren’t in place. When people are sleeping on a pavement, we know that the last thing they want or need is to be arrested. This makes it that much harder for people to access support – either because they have been pushed away from it or they choose not to access it due to distrust.
This change marks an important shift towards a more humane approach – one that focuses on support, tackles root causes, and helps prevent homelessness. Effective delivery of the Government’s recently published National Plan to End Homelessness will hinge on doing exactly that.
Chief Executive of Housing Justice, Bonnie Williams said
Housing Justice welcomes the long overdue repeal of the Vagrancy Act. For more than 200 years the Act has been used to criminalise people who have no other option but to sleep on the streets. But we want the repeal of the Act to be more than symbolic, we want this to be part of a change in approach to supporting people off the streets.
An approach that 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.
CEO of Homeless Link, Rick Henderson said
This is truly a landmark moment that will change the lives of the many people at risk of being criminalised simply for seeking somewhere safe to sleep. That this archaic law is finally being repealed is a credit to all those who have long campaigned for its removal, and to the leadership shown by this Government in finally scrapping the Act.
Rough sleeping should never be a crime. It is a result of people being let down by the systems intended to support them. We hope that the repeal of the Vagrancy Act shows the Government’s ambition and intent to move away from a punitive, crisis led response towards one rooted in prevention, cross government responsibility and targeted support ensuring that everyone has a place to call home and the support they need to keep it.
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Domestic abuse is a significant driver of homelessness and research from the Rough Sleeping Questionnaire 2025 shows that nearly 70% of women experiencing rough sleeping in the past year had experienced domestic abuse since age 16. The government has set a target of halving violence against women and girls within a decade, and taking steps to prevent homelessness for survivors will be a vital part of this.
- In 2025-26, affordable housing starts by Homes England and the GLA increased to 42,499 – up 26% compared to 2024-25 and up 35% compared to 2023/24.
- In 2025-26, affordable housing completions increased to 43,104 in 2025-26 – up 8% compared to the previous year.
- Starts under the 2021–26 Affordable Homes Programme have now exceeded the lower end of the public target range of 110,000 to 130,000 homes, with 117,947 starts confirmed and thousands more expected within the extension period.
