“Abusers will no longer be able to use a shared home as a weapon of control”

Domestic abusers will face eviction from social housing and their victims are to be given protections under new Government measures.

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Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “No survivor should have to choose between staying with their abuser or losing their home, community and support network”

placeholder image — Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “No survivor should have to choose between staying with their abuser or losing their home, community and support network”

Amendments to the Social Housing Bill also aim to strengthen support for tenants to oversee repairs, maintenance and shared services under a streamlined “right to manage”.

The new proposals tabled on Tuesday target perpetrators of domestic abuse by forcing them to leave a shared property, while survivors will be protected under social housing law for the first time and supported to remain in their homes.

Victims will not be required to prove abuse again when a protection order is already in place, as the Government seeks to strengthen reforms aimed at shielding 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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the new measures also aim to maintain community control of social housing, with councils and housing associations given an extended time to consider buying properties before they become privately owned.

Councils will also be granted more control over protecting areas from right to buy, in recognition that affordable homes can be difficult to replace in rural areas.

These approaches and wider reforms are expected to keep an additional 18,000 homes in the social sector over the next decade.

The Social Housing Bill places requirements on councils and public services to identify people at risk of rough sleeping and provide support before they lose their home.

Housing associations will also be required to secure homes for households referred by councils unless there is good reason not to.

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.”

Rachael Williamson, executive director of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), 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.”

It has also been announced that tenant management organisations managing council housing will be brought under Freedom of Information rules from April next year.

The Social Housing Bill is due to be considered at committee stage in the House of Commons on October 27.