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Victims of domestic abuse living in social housing could be given greater protection from homelessness under new measures contained in the government's Social Housing Bill, which returned to Parliament for its Second Reading on 1 June.
The legislation would give social landlords and courts powers to remove perpetrators of domestic abuse from social housing tenancies without requiring victims to leave the property first. The proposals are intended to address longstanding concerns that survivors are often forced to choose between remaining in an abusive home and becoming homeless.
Under the current framework, social landlords are generally only able to pursue eviction action once the victim has left the property. In cases involving joint tenancies, victims may be required to end the tenancy altogether, potentially placing them at risk of homelessness.
The Bill would also prevent perpetrators from using a Notice to Quit to terminate a joint social housing tenancy while court proceedings are ongoing. The government says the change will close a loophole that has enabled abusers to use housing arrangements as a form of coercive control.
Courts would be granted powers to transfer a joint tenancy into the sole name of the victim where appropriate. Where remaining in the property is not considered suitable, landlords could be required to provide alternative accommodation where available.
According to government figures, around 15,000 households in England were required to find alternative social housing accommodation last year as a result of domestic abuse. Ministers say the reforms are intended to enable survivors and their children to remain in their homes, communities and support networks wherever possible.
The proposals have been welcomed by domestic abuse organisations and housing sector representatives.
Nicole Jacobs said the reforms would address the "impossible choice" faced by many victims who either remain with an abuser or risk homelessness and financial hardship by leaving.
The measures have also received support from the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance, which described the tenancy reforms as a significant step forward in improving safety and housing security for victims and their children. The charity Women’s Aid similarly welcomed the provisions, while noting that it would like to see protections extended further in future.
Alongside the domestic abuse measures, the Bill contains a package of reforms aimed at protecting and expanding the social housing sector. The government describes the legislation as the most significant overhaul of the Right to Buy scheme in a generation.
Under the proposals, the qualifying period for Right to Buy would increase from three years to 10 years, newly built social homes would be exempt from the scheme for 35 years, and certain rural properties would be protected from sale. Councils would also be given stronger rights to repurchase former social housing properties.
The reforms follow concerns about the long-term loss of social housing stock. Government figures show that more than two million homes have been sold through Right to Buy since 1980, while between 2012 and 2025 approximately 133,000 council homes were sold compared with around 51,000 replacements.
The Bill would also repeal a number of unimplemented provisions contained in the Housing and Planning Act 2016, including measures requiring councils to sell high-value homes and introduce fixed-term tenancies.
The wider programme is supported by the government's £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which ministers describe as the largest investment in social and affordable housing for a generation.
Commenting on the legislation, Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the tenancy reforms would ensure that perpetrators, rather than victims, face the consequences of losing their home, while also addressing the long-term decline in social housing availability. The government argues that the combined package of domestic abuse protections and housing reforms will make social housing safer, more secure and more sustainable in the long term.
