diff --git a/src/Avatar.ts b/src/Avatar.ts
index 60bdfdcf75..e2557e21a8 100644
--- a/src/Avatar.ts
+++ b/src/Avatar.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,9 @@ export function avatarUrlForRoom(room: Room, width: number, height: number, resi
         return explicitRoomAvatar;
     }
 
+    // space rooms cannot be DMs so skip the rest
+    if (room.isSpaceRoom()) return null;
+
     let otherMember = null;
     const otherUserId = DMRoomMap.shared().getUserIdForRoomId(room.roomId);
     if (otherUserId) {
diff --git a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
index e8a4b86c77..f443c4961b 100644
--- a/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
+++ b/src/i18n/strings/en_EN.json
@@ -777,6 +777,7 @@
     "%(senderName)s: %(reaction)s": "%(senderName)s: %(reaction)s",
     "%(senderName)s: %(stickerName)s": "%(senderName)s: %(stickerName)s",
     "Change notification settings": "Change notification settings",
+    "Spaces prototype. Incompatible with Communities, Communities v2 and Custom Tags. Requires compatible homeserver for some features.": "Spaces prototype. Incompatible with Communities, Communities v2 and Custom Tags. Requires compatible homeserver for some features.",
     "Render LaTeX maths in messages": "Render LaTeX maths in messages",
     "Communities v2 prototypes. Requires compatible homeserver. Highly experimental - use with caution.": "Communities v2 prototypes. Requires compatible homeserver. Highly experimental - use with caution.",
     "New spinner design": "New spinner design",
diff --git a/src/settings/Settings.ts b/src/settings/Settings.ts
index 9ad0e8987e..b452f10e73 100644
--- a/src/settings/Settings.ts
+++ b/src/settings/Settings.ts
@@ -120,6 +120,14 @@ export interface ISetting {
 }
 
 export const SETTINGS: {[setting: string]: ISetting} = {
+    "feature_spaces": {
+        isFeature: true,
+        displayName: _td("Spaces prototype. Incompatible with Communities, Communities v2 and Custom Tags. " +
+            "Requires compatible homeserver for some features."),
+        supportedLevels: LEVELS_FEATURE,
+        default: false,
+        controller: new ReloadOnChangeController(),
+    },
     "feature_latex_maths": {
         isFeature: true,
         displayName: _td("Render LaTeX maths in messages"),
@@ -134,6 +142,7 @@ export const SETTINGS: {[setting: string]: ISetting} = {
         ),
         supportedLevels: LEVELS_FEATURE,
         default: false,
+        controller: new IncompatibleController("feature_spaces"),
     },
     "feature_new_spinner": {
         isFeature: true,
@@ -159,6 +168,7 @@ export const SETTINGS: {[setting: string]: ISetting} = {
         displayName: _td("Group & filter rooms by custom tags (refresh to apply changes)"),
         supportedLevels: LEVELS_FEATURE,
         default: false,
+        controller: new IncompatibleController("feature_spaces"),
     },
     "feature_state_counters": {
         isFeature: true,
@@ -733,6 +743,7 @@ export const SETTINGS: {[setting: string]: ISetting} = {
     [UIFeature.Communities]: {
         supportedLevels: LEVELS_UI_FEATURE,
         default: true,
+        controller: new IncompatibleController("feature_spaces"),
     },
     [UIFeature.AdvancedSettings]: {
         supportedLevels: LEVELS_UI_FEATURE,
diff --git a/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts b/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
index 24906f678c..393f4f27a1 100644
--- a/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
+++ b/src/stores/BreadcrumbsStore.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ export class BreadcrumbsStore extends AsyncStoreWithClient<IState> {
     }
 
     private async appendRoom(room: Room) {
+        if (room.isSpaceRoom() && SettingsStore.getValue("feature_spaces")) return; // hide space rooms
         let updated = false;
         const rooms = (this.state.rooms || []).slice(); // cheap clone
 
diff --git a/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore.ts b/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore.ts
index ea118a4c58..667d9de64d 100644
--- a/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore.ts
+++ b/src/stores/room-list/RoomListStore.ts
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ export class RoomListStoreClass extends AsyncStoreWithClient<IState> {
     private filterConditions: IFilterCondition[] = [];
     private tagWatcher = new TagWatcher(this);
     private updateFn = new MarkedExecution(() => {
-        for (const tagId of Object.keys(this.unfilteredLists)) {
-            RoomNotificationStateStore.instance.getListState(tagId).setRooms(this.unfilteredLists[tagId]);
+        for (const tagId of Object.keys(this.orderedLists)) {
+            RoomNotificationStateStore.instance.getListState(tagId).setRooms(this.orderedLists[tagId]);
         }
         this.emit(LISTS_UPDATE_EVENT);
     });
diff --git a/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts b/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
index af38141e5d..388bb061e3 100644
--- a/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
+++ b/src/stores/room-list/filters/VisibilityProvider.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {Room} from "matrix-js-sdk/src/models/room";
 import CallHandler from "../../../CallHandler";
 import { RoomListCustomisations } from "../../../customisations/RoomList";
 import VoipUserMapper from "../../../VoipUserMapper";
+import SettingsStore from "../../../settings/SettingsStore";
 
 export class VisibilityProvider {
     private static internalInstance: VisibilityProvider;
@@ -37,22 +38,23 @@ export class VisibilityProvider {
     }
 
     public isRoomVisible(room: Room): boolean {
-        let isVisible = true; // Returned at the end of this function
-        let forced = false; // When true, this function won't bother calling the customisation points
-
         if (
             CallHandler.sharedInstance().getSupportsVirtualRooms() &&
             VoipUserMapper.sharedInstance().isVirtualRoom(room)
         ) {
-            isVisible = false;
-            forced = true;
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        // hide space rooms as they'll be shown in the SpacePanel
+        if (room.isSpaceRoom() && SettingsStore.getValue("feature_spaces")) {
+            return false;
         }
 
         const isVisibleFn = RoomListCustomisations.isRoomVisible;
-        if (!forced && isVisibleFn) {
-            isVisible = isVisibleFn(room);
+        if (isVisibleFn) {
+            return isVisibleFn(room);
         }
 
-        return isVisible;
+        return true; // default
     }
 }