The government has announced new plans to help domestic abuse survivors to stay in social housing while evicting perpetrators of abuse.
A new measure tabled for the Social Housing Bill is designed to stop survivors having to prove abuse again where a protection order is already in place.
The proposals strengthen existing reforms in the Bill to protect joint tenancies from abusive partners.
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.”
The Social Housing Bill was introduced to Parliament on 14 May 2026. The tabled amendments include extending the notification period for social housing disposals from four to eight weeks, including additional property information in the notification for social housing disposals to include type of rent the home was previously let at, and allowing councils to designate eligible rural areas themselves against specified criteria in order to exempt them from the Right to Buy.
The changes also bolster 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.
Last year, around 15,000 households in England had to find a new social home because of domestic abuse.
The March 2025 the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 3.8m of people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse in the past year.
Under the new measures, 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.
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.”
The government has also confirmed that 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.
Also included in the tabled amendments to the Bill are: modernising the social housing Right to Manage framework; 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; a new statutory ‘Duty to Offer’, which will require a private registered provider to offer suitable accommodation to a homeless household; and powers for the Secretary of State to set out circumstances where local connection referrals must not apply, such as for armed forces veterans.
