- Abusers could be evicted from social housing without victims having to leave first.
- The Bill would prevent perpetrators from using tenancy rules to make survivors homeless.
- Ministers are also proposing major reforms to the Right to Buy scheme.
Domestic abuse victims living in social housing could soon be allowed to remain in their homes while perpetrators are forced to leave, under a new government-backed Social Housing Bill returning to Parliament.
The Social Housing Bill, which received its second reading on June 1, includes a series of domestic abuse protections designed to stop perpetrators using housing arrangements as a tool of control. The proposed changes come as thousands of households each year are forced to move because of domestic abuse, often losing access to schools, jobs and support networks in the process.
Under the plans, social landlords and courts would gain new powers to remove perpetrators from social housing properties without requiring victims to leave first. At present, landlords can generally only pursue eviction after a victim has already moved out, while joint tenancies often leave survivors facing the prospect of homelessness if they attempt to escape abuse.
Turning the tables on perpetrators
The Bill would also close what campaigners have described as a significant loophole in housing law.
Currently, a perpetrator in a joint tenancy can serve a Notice to Quit, potentially ending the tenancy and leaving victims without a home. Under the proposed legislation, such notices would no longer take effect while court proceedings linked to domestic abuse are ongoing. Courts would also be able to transfer a tenancy into the victim's sole name or, where remaining in the property is not appropriate, require landlords to provide suitable alternative accommodation where available.
Government figures show around 15,000 households in England were forced to find a new social home last year because of domestic abuse. Ministers argue the reforms would help survivors remain close to support services, workplaces and schools rather than being displaced.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reportedly said no victim should have to choose between remaining in danger and losing their home, while housing secretary Steve Reed reportedly described the current situation as a "moral failure" that needed to be addressed.
A wider shake-up of social housing
Alongside the domestic abuse measures, the legislation proposes one of the biggest overhauls of the Right to Buy scheme in decades.
More than two million social homes have been sold through Right to Buy since 1980, with many never replaced. Government figures show that between 2012 and 2025, around 133,000 council homes were sold compared with just 51,000 replacements. At the same time, around 1.3 million households remain on waiting lists for social housing and more than 175,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.
The proposed reforms would increase the minimum tenancy period required to qualify for Right to Buy from three years to 10 years, protect newly built social homes from sale for 35 years and exempt many rural properties from the scheme. Councils would also receive stronger powers to buy back former social homes that return to the market.
The government says the changes are intended to protect existing social housing stock while supporting plans to build more affordable homes. The reforms are backed by £39 billion through a 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which ministers describe as the largest investment in social housing for a generation.
Housing charities and domestic abuse organisations have broadly welcomed the proposals. Dame Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, reportedly said campaigners had long argued that perpetrators should not be allowed to weaponise joint tenancies against survivors. Women's Aid and the National Housing Federation also backed the measures, saying they could reduce the risk of homelessness among domestic abuse victims and strengthen protections for social housing tenants.
