Issued by: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

New law will help remove abusers from social homes while survivors keep their tenancy

For the first time, domestic abuse survivors will be protected in social housing law without having to flee, helping them keep their tenancy and stay safely in their home while the perpetrator is made to leave.

A new measure tabled for the Social Housing Bill today (Tuesday 20 October) will stop survivors having to prove abuse again where a protection order is already in place. The proposals strengthen reforms in the Bill that will protect joint tenancies from abusive partners, helping end the choice between staying in danger and losing a home and support network.

Council tenants will also get stronger support to take charge of repairs, maintenance and communal services through a simpler Right to Manage, giving residents a clearer route to demand better when services fail.

Together, the reforms will put tenants first, raise standards and protect social homes, alongside the biggest investment in new social and affordable housing in a generation.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said:

"No survivor should have to choose between staying with their abuser or losing their home, community and support network. We are changing the law so the perpetrator, not the survivor, can be made to leave.

"Abusers will no longer be able to use a shared home as a weapon of control. Survivors will get the certainty of knowing their tenancy and their social home are protected.

"We are also putting power back in tenants’ hands so they can demand better when services fail, while protecting the social homes communities need for generations to come."

New laws will help keep more social homes in the hands of communities, giving councils and housing associations twice as long to consider buying them before they leave the sector, alongside better information to help them make that decision.

Recognising that affordable homes can be particularly difficult to replace in rural communities, councils will have more control over protecting eligible areas from the Right to Buy, with the wider package of reforms expected to keep an additional 18,000 homes in the social sector over the next decade.

Alongside our £442 million investment to tackle rough sleeping, the Bill will also help tackle homelessness earlier by requiring councils and public services to identify people at risk and work together before they lose their home, while housing associations will be required to offer suitable homes to households referred by councils unless there is good reason not to. Veterans will also face fewer barriers to getting help, with plans to ensure they can seek homelessness support from any council in England regardless of local connection rules.

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

"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.

"No one should be forced to lose their home to escape abuse. We strongly welcome new powers to protect survivors’ ability to remain safely in their homes and reduce their risk of homelessness.

"With almost 180,000 children growing up in temporary accommodation, we need councils, housing associations, mayors and the government all working together to end the housing crisis. Housing associations are committed to tackling homelessness in all its forms, as well as other damaging consequences of our broken housing system, such as overcrowding. We will continue to work with government to ensure these proposals deliver on our shared objectives, while strengthening our partnerships with councils to help more families access safe, secure and affordable homes."

Rachael Williamson, Executive Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Housing, said:

"We welcome these measures, particularly the strengthened protections for domestic abuse survivors, which reflect the importance of ensuring people are not forced to choose between their safety and their home. CIH has worked closely with government and sector partners throughout the development of the Bill to make the case for stronger protections for tenants, earlier action to prevent homelessness and measures that support the long-term future of social housing. We will continue to do so as the Bill progresses.

"Alongside long-term investment in social and affordable housing, these reforms have the potential to improve outcomes for residents, strengthen communities and help ensure social housing continues to meet the needs of current and future generations."

Also confirmed today, from April 2027 Tenant Management Organisations that manage council housing will be brought under Freedom of Information rules. This means residents will be able to request information about services such as repairs, estate management, and rent collection, improving transparency and making these organisations more open and accountable.

Backed by £39 billion investment in council, social and affordable housing, the biggest in a generation, the measures will help protect the homes communities rely on while building the new homes they need.

Additional Information:

• The Social Housing Bill was introduced to Parliament on 14 May 2026. The amendments will be tabled as the Bill progresses through its Commons stages. These include:

• Extending the notification period for social housing disposals from 4 to 8 weeks;

• Including additional property information in the notification for social housing disposals to include type of rent the home was previously let at;

• Allowing councils to designate eligible rural areas themselves against specified criteria in order to exempt them from the Right to Buy. Currently councils are required to apply formally to Government for designation, and this will reduce bureaucracy;

• Bolstering the discretionary possession grounds within the Bill’s domestic abuse tenancy reforms, streamlining the process for victims by ensuring the existence of a relevant protective order is sufficient for the court to consider to take action;

• Modernising the social housing Right to Manage framework, including clearer and more proportionate governance requirements, stronger information-sharing requirements and new safeguards where serious failures put residents at risk

• Introducing a new statutory ‘Duty to Collaborate’, requiring key public bodies to take proactive steps to identify households at risk of homelessness and take coordinated action to prevent homelessness or address it sooner;

• Introducing a new statutory ‘Duty to Offer’, which will require a private registered provider to offer suitable accommodation to a homeless household referred to them by a local housing authority, unless they have a good reason not to do so; and

• Providing a power for the Secretary of State to set out circumstances where local connection referrals must not apply, which the government intends to use for armed forces veterans.

• This is backed by the government’s £39bn investment in social and affordable housing, the biggest in a generation

• The social housing Right to Manage allows local authority tenants to take responsibility for managing housing services through a Tenant Management Organisation. It is separate from the Right to Manage available to qualifying leaseholders. This comes as new strengthened measures will be introduced to submit Freedom of Information requests to Tenant Management Organisations.

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