Street Works Charges and Penalties 2026

From 5 January 2026, new regulations will significantly change how street and road works are charged and penalised in England. The updates will increase financial penalties, tighten rules around overruns, and place new requirements on how lane rental income is spent.

For utilities, contractors, and highway authorities, the message is clear: compliance errors and delays will become more expensive, and expectations around planning and delivery will rise.

This article explains what is changing, why it matters, and how organisations can prepare.

Background: How Street Works Are Regulated Today

Street and road works in England are governed by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA), supported by later regulations covering permits, fixed penalties, overrun charges and lane rental schemes.

These controls are designed to:

Manage disruption on traffic-sensitive roads
Coordinate work between promoters
Encourage accurate planning and timely completion

The Street and Road Works (Charges and Penalties) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2025 build on that framework. While the structure remains familiar, the new measures strengthen enforcement and increase financial consequences.

When Do the Changes Take Effect?

The regulations were made in 2025 and come into force on 5 January 2026

From that date, the revised penalty levels and charging rules will apply to works in scope.

Key Changes Coming in January 2026

Fixed Penalty Notices Will Double.

From January 2026, Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued for street works offences will double in value. The updated penalty levels are:

Lower-level penalties: £80 increasing to £160
Standard penalties: £120 increasing to £240
Higher-level penalties: £300 increasing to £600
Maximum Fixed Penalty Notice: £500 increasing to £1,000

While the regulations do not introduce new offences, the higher penalty levels significantly increase the financial impact of existing ones. Issues such as late or missing notices, breaches of permit conditions and wider non-compliance with scheme requirements will therefore carry greater cost exposure, particularly for organisations managing large volumes of street works.

Overrun Charges Will Apply to All Days

Under existing rules, overrun charges are typically applied only to working days. This meant weekends and bank holidays were often excluded if work ran beyond their agreed end date.

From January 2026:

Overrun charges can be applied to any day of overrun
This includes weekends and bank holidays
The change removes the distinction between “working” and non-working days

The effect is to close a long-recognised loophole and reinforce the importance of realistic programmes and timely completion.

Lane Rental Surplus Must Be Spent More Transparently

For highway authorities operating lane rental schemes, the regulations introduce a clearer obligation regarding the use of surplus income.

At least 50% of the net surplus (after scheme operating costs) must now be applied to:

Reducing disruption caused by street works, and
Highway maintenance, such as resurfacing and pothole repairs

This change ensures lane rental charges deliver visible benefits to road users and help address long-running concerns about road conditions.

Supporting Changes to Systems and Guidance

Alongside the regulatory amendments, the Department for Transport is:

Updating Street Manager, including improvements linked to lane rental streets
Updating the Statutory Code of Practice to support the new enforcement approach

These changes are intended to improve coordination, data quality and consistency across inspections, charges and penalties.

Why the Government Is Strengthening Street Works Rules

The changes are intended to address long-standing issues with how street and road works are planned, delivered and enforced. The focus is on reducing disruption, improving compliance and ensuring road users see clearer benefits.

Reducing disruption: Late-running works are a major cause of congestion. Allowing overrun charges to apply to every day beyond the agreed end date removes incentives to delay completion into weekends or bank holidays and encourages more realistic scheduling.
Improving compliance: Doubling Fixed Penalty Notices increases the cost of poor administration and permits breaches. This places greater emphasis on submitting accurate notices, complying with permit conditions and completing works within agreed timescales.
Supporting road maintenance: Requiring a share of lane rental surplus to be reinvested in disruption reduction and highway maintenance helps address visible issues such as resurfacing needs and pothole repairs, ensuring road users benefit directly.

Who Will Be Most Affected?

The changes will be most felt by organisations that:

Carry out works on traffic-sensitive streets
Manage high volumes of notices or permits
Are subject to lane rental schemes
Frequently work to tight programmes

Utilities, contractors, and works promoters should expect greater scrutiny and higher costs where planning or delivery falls short.

Managing the 2026 Changes with Depotnet’s Street Manager

With higher penalties and overrun charges applying to every day of delay, having clear visibility and real-time control over permits will become increasingly important from 2026.

Depotnet’s Street Manager feature integrates directly with the Department for Transport’s Street Manager system, enabling organisations to apply for, track, and manage permits in real time from a single platform.

Key capabilities that align with the 2026 regulatory changes include:

Total compliance visibility: Dashboards and reports provide a clear view of permit status at every stage, helping teams stay audit-ready and demonstrate compliance when inspections or enforcement action occur
Live operational control: Real-time updates from field to office enable quicker action on starts, stops and permit changes, helping prevent overruns and reduce exposure to Section 74 charges
FPN and overrun handling: Fixed Penalty Notices, inspections and overrun warnings can be tracked and managed directly against linked permit records, supporting faster responses as penalties increase
Unified permit management: Permits can be created, managed and registered from application through to completion, with every update synchronised, auditable and aligned with DfT Street Manager requirements

As enforcement tightens and financial consequences rise, having a consolidated view of permits, timings and compliance activity can help organisations manage risk more effectively and avoid avoidable penalties under the 2026 rules.

Street Works Charges and Penalties 2026 FAQs

The changes coming into force in January 2026 introduce higher penalties, broader overrun charging and clearer rules around lane rental income. The FAQs below explain how the updated street works charges and penalties operate in practice, who they apply to, and what organisations carrying out works on England’s roads need to understand as enforcement tightens.

What are the new 2026 street works charges and penalties? ▾

From 5 January 2026, the Street and Road Works (Charges and Penalties) (Amendments) (England) Regulations 2025 increase fixed penalty amounts, allow Section 74 overrun charges to be applied on any day of delay, and tighten rules on how lane rental surplus is used. The overall aim is to reduce disruption, encourage better planning and ensure that income from works on busy roads is reinvested in the network.

When do the new street works rules start? ▾

The amended regulations come into force on 5 January 2026. From that date, higher fixed penalties and the broader application of overrun charges can be used by highway authorities operating the relevant schemes. Organisations that carry out or manage works in the street should assume that works programmed for 2026 onwards will be assessed under the new framework.

Do overrun charges now apply at weekends and bank holidays? ▾

Yes. The changes remove the focus on “working days” so that Section 74 overrun charges can be applied to any day a site runs beyond its agreed end date, including weekends and bank holidays. It will be for each highway authority to decide how it uses these powers, but in practical terms contractors should now plan on the basis that every extra day on site may carry a cost.

How are Fixed Penalty Notice amounts changing? ▾

The regulations double the standard Fixed Penalty Notice levels for relevant notice and permit offences under existing street works and permit scheme regulations. In practice this makes failures such as late noticing, incorrect permit information or breaches of conditions significantly more expensive, particularly for organisations that handle a high volume of works.

What is changing with lane rental income and pothole funding? ▾

For authorities that operate lane rental schemes, at least 50% of the net surplus (after running costs) must be spent on two areas: reducing disruption from street works and carrying out highway maintenance. That maintenance can include resurfacing and pothole repairs, meaning that more of the money collected from lane rental charges should be seen in tangible improvements to road condition.

Who do the 2026 street works changes apply to? ▾

The changes apply to street and road works in England that fall under the relevant noticing, permit, Section 74 and lane rental regulations. In practice this affects utilities, contractors, works promoters and any organisations that regularly occupy the highway to carry out works on or under the road.

How can Depotnet Street Manager help with the new rules? ▾

Depotnet’s Street Manager solution connects directly to the DfT Street Manager service so teams can apply for, track and manage permits in one place. Live dashboards, real-time start/stop updates and linked FPN and Section 74 records give better visibility of risk, help prevent overruns and support faster responses when warnings or inspections are raised. As charges and penalties increase from 2026, that level of control can make a measurable difference to both compliance and cost.