Survivors of domestic abuse will no longer have to leave their social home to escape a violent partner, under changes tabled for the Social Housing Bill on Tuesday 20 October, according to the government.
Key points
- Joint tenancies — the perpetrator, not the survivor, can be made to leave the home.
- Evidence — survivors will not have to prove abuse again where a protection order already exists.
- Social homes — councils and housing associations get twice as long to consider buying properties before they leave the sector.
- Right to Buy — councils gain more control over protecting eligible rural areas.
The Department for Housing said the proposals would give victims certainty that their tenancy and their home are safe. Ministers argue that abusers have been able to use a shared home as a means of control, and that the law should remove them rather than uproot the person they harmed.
The Bill also includes a simpler Right to Manage for council tenants, intended to give residents a clearer route to demand better when repairs and communal services fall short. On homelessness, councils and public services would be required to spot people at risk and cooperate before they lose their home, and housing associations would have to offer suitable homes to households referred by councils unless there is good reason not to. Veterans would be able to approach any council in England for homelessness support, regardless of local connection rules. The wider package is expected to keep an additional 18,000 homes in the social sector over the next decade, alongside £442 million to tackle rough sleeping.
"Housing associations strongly support the government's objectives in the Social Housing Bill to safeguard our social homes for future generations, tackle homelessness and to strengthen protections for survivors of domestic abuse," said Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation.
Rachael Williamson, Executive Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said the measures reflected the importance of ensuring people are not forced to choose between their safety and their home.
What it means in practice
For anyone living with an abusive partner in a council or housing association property, the change matters most: the tenancy can stay with the victim while the abuser is removed, and an existing protection order should be enough to show what has happened. The other measures are slower-burning and will mostly be felt through councils and landlords rather than directly by households.
- If you are affected — keep copies of any protection order and tell your landlord early; you should not need to start again from scratch to prove abuse.
- Council tenants — the simplified Right to Manage is worth watching if repairs or communal services are being neglected.
- Rural areas — councils will have more say over which places are shielded from Right to Buy, which could matter where affordable homes are hard to replace.
