Domestic abusers to be evicted below new landmark housing legislation

Abusers can be evicted from social properties and victims will be capable of keep safely of their communities, below a brand new landmark Social Housing Bill returning to Parliament for its Second Reading at this time (Monday 1 June).

Under new protections, landlords and courts will be capable of evict perpetrators of home abuse from social housing – with out the sufferer having to depart first. 

Currently, landlords can solely evict a perpetrator after the sufferer has already left the house, and in joint tenancies, the one possibility for the sufferer is to finish the tenancy totally – doubtlessly leaving them homeless.

The Bill additionally closes a loophole that permit abusers serve a Notice to Quit to make victims homeless. Under the proposed new legislation, a Notice to Quit served by a perpetrator is not going to finish the social housing joint tenancy whereas court docket proceedings are ongoing.  

In addition, for joint tenancies, courts will be capable of switch the tenancy into the sufferer’s sole identify, or the place staying isn’t acceptable, require the owner to present appropriate different lodging the place obtainable. 

Last 12 months, round 15,000 households in England had been compelled to discover a new social residence due to home abuse. This Bill means victims can keep safely of their properties and communities, near help networks, faculties, and work. 

The information follows the swift introduction of the Bill earlier this month, which additionally contains the largest overhaul of Right to Buy in a technology to reverse the decline of social housing.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated:

“No sufferer of home abuse ought to face the terrible selection between staying in peril or shedding their residence. This authorities is placing that proper, so perpetrators are compelled out and survivors and their kids can keep safely within the properties and communities they know and love.

“We’re additionally fixing the systemic situation of failing to guard and spend money on social housing. I’ll by no means stand by as much-needed housing is offered off whereas households do not need a secure place to name residence and kids are rising up in momentary lodging.

“This government will stop at nothing to get Britain building, invest in social housing, and restore pride in communities in every part of our country.”

Housing Secretary Steve Reed stated:

“Victims of home abuse have confronted an inconceivable selection – keep in peril or make themselves homeless. This is an ethical failure this authorities is decided to finish and these adjustments are deeds not phrases that put victims first, give landlords the powers they want, and ensure perpetrators can not use housing as a weapon of management. 

“But protecting tenants is only half the picture. We also need more social homes – and this Bill tackles the decades of sell-off that has left over a million families on waiting lists with nowhere to turn. Together, these reforms will make social housing safer, fairer and built to last.”

The Bill additionally addresses and fixes the long-term decline in social housing. More than two million properties have been offered below the Right to Buy scheme since 1980, with many by no means changed, and between 2012 and 2025, round 133,000 council properties had been offered towards simply 51,000 replacements.

Not solely has this depleted much-needed inventory, however it has additionally decreased the motivation and confidence of councils to construct, and restricted broader funding in council housing. This has depleted provide, undermined councils’ confidence to construct and restricted funding – at a time when 1.3 million households are on councils’ ready lists and greater than 175,000 kids live in momentary lodging.

The Right to Buy scheme supplies an necessary route for social housing tenants to personal their very own residence, lots of whom might not in any other case be capable of entry residence possession, boosting social mobility and alternative for households throughout the nation.

The Bill rebalances Right to Buy with out closing the door on residence possession. Following intensive session, reforms will see eligibility rise from three to 10 years, newly constructed social properties protected for 35 years, hard-to-replace rural properties can be exempt, and low cost guidelines can be up to date to replicate the money reductions cap launched in November 2024. Councils will achieve a stronger proper of first refusal to purchase again properties – serving to get better properties misplaced to the scheme.

The Bill additionally strips out outdated and unimplemented necessities from the Housing and Planning Act 2016, together with guidelines forcing councils to promote high-value properties, supply fixed-term tenancies and cost greater rents to higher-income tenants, giving suppliers the knowledge they should construct for the long run. 

These reforms are backed by £39 billion via the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme – the largest funding in a technology. Together, they are going to shield current social properties and construct on the scale the nation wants.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs stated:

“Sharing a social residence with a perpetrator presents victims and survivors of home abuse with an inconceivable selection. Remaining of their residence means dealing with additional abuse however leaving may put them prone to homelessness and struggling financially. 

“Alongside survivors and campaigners, I’ve been calling for motion to be taken to cease perpetrators from weaponising joint tenancies – and I’m happy to see that the federal government has listened. 

“People experiencing domestic abuse need safety and stability in order to recover and rebuild free from harm. This will be an important step towards that for many.”

Head of Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance, Nicki Clarke stated:

“The Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) welcomes the Government’s tenancy reforms proposed inside the Social Housing Bill. These adjustments characterize an necessary and lengthy overdue step ahead, with the potential to remodel the lives of many home abuse victims.

“Domestic abuse sometimes takes place within the residence and it’s the place most ladies are killed. By enabling landlords to safeguard victims and maintain the perpetrators of abuse to account, these reforms will allow home abuse victims, together with kids, to attain security, stability and long-term housing safety. This is crucial for all people impacted by home abuse to rebuild their independence and transfer ahead with lives free from hurt.

“We look forward to working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support the development and implementation of these measures, and to ensure that the detail of the reforms delivers meaningful, practical outcomes for those affected.”

Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, Veronica Oakeshott stated:

“Today, the Social Housing Bill has obtained its second studying, and we’re happy to see that it comprises measures to guard some survivors of home abuse in joint tenancies, which Women’s Aid, together with sector colleagues, have lengthy campaigned on.

“For too long, survivors have been faced with impossible choices – either staying with their abusers or risking homelessness – all because of outdated practices. The measures introduced in this Bill begin to change that picture by enabling social landlords to transfer a tenancy to a survivor in certain circumstances or, where needed, evict perpetrators and prevent them from unilaterally ending a tenancy. While ultimately we hope the measures will go further to enable more survivors to qualify, this is an important start.”

Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, Kate Henderson stated:

“This Bill demonstrates the federal government’s dedication to safeguarding our social properties for future generations and to strengthening protections for survivors of home abuse.

“No one must be compelled to lose their residence to flee abuse. We strongly welcome new powers to evict perpetrators of home abuse from social housing. This will help survivors to stay safely of their properties the place that’s the proper possibility for them and cut back their threat of homelessness.

“Reforms to Right to Buy are a vital step in direction of defending social housing inventory. The coverage has led to the sale of over two million social properties in its lifetime, severely depleting numbers obtainable for low-income households.

“We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the government to deliver a decade of renewal for social housing and to build the new social homes our country needs.”

Further info

The Social Housing Bill was confirmed within the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026 and launched to Parliament on 14 May 2026.

For additional particulars on the complete checklist of measures within the Bill can be found right here.

The Bill’s Right to Buy reforms construct on the steps the federal government has already taken thus far, together with returning the utmost Right to Buy money reductions to the pre-2012 ranges, following a evaluate of the impression of the upper reductions on social housing inventory.

The authorities response to the session on Reforming the Right to Buy was revealed in July 2025.

The Right to Buy reforms on this Bill embrace:

• Extending the minimal interval of safe public sector tenancy to be eligible for the scheme from 3 to 10 years
• Reforming the share reductions for the scheme, to start out at 5% of the property worth, rising by 1% every year as much as a most of 15%, topic to the revised money caps (whichever is decrease).
• Exempting newly constructed social and inexpensive properties from the scheme for 35 years.
• Exempting rural properties from the scheme, which can embrace properties in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and areas designated as rural.
• Preventing tenants who’ve beforehand benefitted from the Right to Buy from utilizing the scheme once more, with exceptions for victims of home abuse and in instances of irretrievable relationship breakdown.
• Exempting council properties for market lease from the Right to Buy.
• Extending the interval wherein, on resale of the property, the council has the appropriate to ask for all, or half, of the Right to Buy low cost to be repaid, from 5 to 10 years.
• Extending the appropriate of first refusal, wherein a former Right to Buy property when offered should first be supplied to the previous landlord, from 10 years after the unique sale to in perpetuity.
• Allowing the Secretary of State to find out the principles governing the spending of Right to Buy capital receipts via issuing a dedication.
• Amending the Right to Acquire scheme for housing affiliation tenants according to the adjustments to the Right to Buy, to raised align the 2 schemes.
• Supporting councils with the administration of Right to Buy purposes.

The territorial extent of the Bill is England and Wales, with all measures at introduction making use of to England solely. 

Eligibility for social housing stays unchanged. Asylum seekers aren’t eligible for social housing. 

The Bill doesn’t make adjustments to the personal rented sector. From 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act offers personal renters better safety and stability.

For the social rented sector this Act can be applied from October 2027.

Under the Bill, a Notice to Quit served by a perpetrator in a social housing joint tenancy is not going to take impact the place a discover below the home abuse grounds is in drive, or throughout ongoing court docket or eviction proceedings, stopping the misuse of such notices to drive tenants out of their properties.