Respect orders explained

Key points

• Respect orders start on 26 October 2026. They are civil orders made by the High Court or the county court against people aged 18 or over.
• Only a relevant authority can apply. For the police, that is the chief officer, not an individual officer.
• An order can ban things and require things, and in limited cases exclude someone from their home.
• Breach without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, triable either way, with up to 2 years on indictment.
• Part A1 attaches no power of arrest of its own. Arrest for breach is under PACE s.24, so the necessity test applies.
• Injunctions granted, or applied for, before 26 October stay under the old rules.

What a respect order is

Respect orders are created by a new Part A1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, inserted by s.1 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. They come into force on 26 October 2026 under regulation 4 of SI 2026/960.

The test is in s.A1(1). A court may make a respect order against a person aged 18 or over if:

• “the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the respondent has engaged in or threatens to engage in anti-social behaviour”, and
• “the court considers it just and convenient to make the order for the purpose of preventing the respondent from engaging in anti-social behaviour”.

For this Part, s.A1(9) defines antisocial behaviour as “conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person”. The standard is the civil one, the balance of probabilities.

The order must either “specify the period for which it has effect” or “state that it has effect until further order” (s.A1(4)).

Where it fits

From the same date, the old s.1 injunction is confined to people aged 10 to 17 and renamed the youth injunction. Adults are dealt with by a respect order or by the new s.1A housing injunction. A court can treat an application for a respect order as an application for a housing injunction, and the other way round (s.A1(8) and s.1A(9)).

Who can apply

Section A1(6) says: “A respect order may be made only on the application of a relevant authority.” Section A1(7) sends the application to the High Court or the county court. The relevant authorities in s.B1(2) are:

• a local authority
• a housing provider
• the chief officer of police for a police area
• the chief constable of the British Transport Police Force
• Transport for London and Transport for Greater Manchester
• the Environment Agency and the Natural Resources Body for Wales
• the Secretary of State or the Welsh Ministers exercising NHS security management functions

A housing provider can apply “only if the application concerns anti-social behaviour that directly or indirectly relates to or affects its housing management functions” (s.B1(4)).

Before applying, the applicant must carry out a risk assessment (s.J1). It covers the risk of harassment, alarm or distress to others, any vulnerabilities of the respondent, other ways of preventing the behaviour, and anything else the applicant considers relevant. The applicant must also tell anyone it considers appropriate about the application (s.K1).

What the order can contain

Under s.A1(2), a respect order may “prohibit the respondent from doing anything described in the order” and “require the respondent to do anything described in the order”. As far as practicable, the terms must avoid clashing with the respondent's work or education, or with another court order.

Positive requirements

Any requirement must name a supervisor, which can be a person or an organisation (s.D1(1)). The supervisor must tell the applicant and, if different, the appropriate chief officer of police if they think the respondent has failed to comply, unless they think there was a reasonable excuse or the activity requirement warning rule applies (s.D1(6)).

Where the court considers that a requirement makes the respondent take part in a particular activity, it must declare it an “activity requirement” (s.D1(4)). That label matters for breach, below.

Excluding someone from their home

An order can exclude the respondent from where they normally live only if two conditions in s.C1 are met:

• the application was made by the local authority, the chief officer of police for the area the premises are in, or the housing provider that owns or manages the premises, and
• the antisocial behaviour includes “the use or threatened use of violence against other persons”, or “there is a significant risk of harm to other persons from the respondent”.

Without notice and interim orders

An application can be made without notice to the respondent (s.E1). If it is, the court must adjourn and make an interim order, adjourn without one, or dismiss the application. An interim order made at a hearing the respondent was not told about cannot require them to take part in particular activities (s.F1(3)).

The applicant or the respondent can apply to vary or discharge the order. The court that made it hears the application (s.G1).

What breach means

Section I1(1) makes it an offence for a person without reasonable excuse:

• “to do anything the person is prohibited from doing by a respect order”, or
• “to fail to do anything the person is required to do by a respect order”.

The activity requirement warning

Failing to do an activity requirement is not an offence straight away. Section I1(2) says s.I1(1)(b) does not apply to an activity requirement “unless, within the period of 12 months ending with the date of the failure, the person has been given a warning under section H1 in relation to that requirement”.

The supervisor gives that warning under s.H1. It must be in writing, describe the failure, and tell the respondent that another breach within 12 months makes them liable to prosecution. It can be given by hand or by first class post to their last known address.

This only covers activity requirements. Breaching a prohibition, or another kind of requirement, is an offence without any warning.

What officers can and cannot do

You can

• Arrest for breach under PACE s.24. Breach is an offence, so the general power of arrest applies. Section 24(4) still applies: the power is “exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question”.
• Require a name and address. A constable in uniform can use s.50 of the Police Reform Act 2002 where they have reason to believe the person has engaged, or is engaging, in antisocial behaviour.
• Gather evidence for your force's application. The chief officer of police is a relevant authority, so your force can apply. Check the terms, the supervisor and any activity requirement before you deal with a breach.

You cannot

• Apply in your own name. The applicant is a relevant authority, such as the chief officer of police, not the individual officer.
• Use a power of arrest attached to the order. Unlike s.4 for injunctions, Part A1 has no section that lets the court attach a power of arrest. Arrest is under PACE.
• Treat a missed activity as an offence without a warning. It needs a s.H1 warning within the previous 12 months.
• Get a respect order against someone under 18. For 10 to 17 year olds the order is the youth injunction, made in the youth court.

Injunctions granted before 26 October

The new respect order does not change existing injunctions. Section 2(3) of the 2026 Act says the Schedule 1 amendments do not apply in relation to:

• (a) “injunctions under section 1 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 granted before the commencement day”
• (b) “applications for such an injunction made before the commencement day”
• (c) “injunctions granted on such an application (even if granted after the commencement day)”

Under s.2(4), the commencement day is the day Schedule 1 comes into force, which is 26 October 2026. So an adult injunction granted on 1 October 2026, or applied for before 26 October and granted later, carries on under the old wording. That includes any power of arrest attached under the old s.4, and the old s.9(3) on which court the person is brought before after arrest.

Statutory guidance

Section M1 lets the Secretary of State issue guidance on respect orders, and applicants must have regard to it when carrying out the risk assessment (s.J1(3)). The Home Office has published updated statutory guidance on the antisocial behaviour powers. GOV.UK says it comes into force on 26 October 2026, and that until then frontline professionals should keep using the guidance published in July 2025.

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Last checked 21 October 2026 against legislation.gov.uk. General information for officers, not legal advice: check the current law and your force policy.