Domestic abusers to be evicted under new landmark housing law

Abusers will be evicted from social homes and victims will be able to stay safely in their communities, under a new landmark Social Housing Bill returning to Parliament for its Second Reading today (Monday 1 June).

Under new protections, landlords and courts will be able to evict perpetrators of domestic abuse from social housing – without the victim having to leave first. 

Currently, landlords can only evict a perpetrator after the victim has already left the home, and in joint tenancies, the only option for the victim is to end the tenancy entirely – potentially leaving them homeless.

The Bill also closes a loophole that let abusers serve a Notice to Quit to make victims homeless. Under the proposed new law, a Notice to Quit served by a perpetrator will not end the social housing joint tenancy while court proceedings are ongoing.  

In addition, for joint tenancies, courts will be able to transfer the tenancy into the victim’s sole name, or where staying is not appropriate, require the landlord to provide suitable alternative accommodation where available. 

Last year, around 15,000 households in England were forced to find a new social home because of domestic abuse. This Bill means victims can stay safely in their homes and communities, close to support networks, schools, and work. 

The news follows the swift introduction of the Bill earlier this month, which also includes the biggest overhaul of Right to Buy in a generation to reverse the decline of social housing.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“No victim of domestic abuse should face the awful choice between staying in danger or losing their home. This government is putting that right, so perpetrators are forced out and survivors and their children can stay safely in the homes and communities they know and love.

“We’re also fixing the systemic issue of failing to protect and invest in social housing. I will never stand by as much-needed housing is sold off while families do not have a safe place to call home and children are growing up in temporary accommodation.

“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 said:

“Victims of domestic abuse have faced an impossible choice – stay in danger or make themselves homeless. This is a moral failure this government is determined to end and these changes are deeds not words that put victims first, give landlords the powers they need, and make sure perpetrators can no longer use housing as a weapon of control. 

“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 also addresses and fixes the long-term decline in social housing. More than two million homes have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme since 1980, with many never replaced, and between 2012 and 2025, around 133,000 council homes were sold against just 51,000 replacements.

Not only has this depleted much-needed stock, but it has also reduced the motivation and confidence of councils to build, and restricted broader investment in council housing. This has depleted supply, undermined councils’ confidence to build and restricted investment – at a time when 1.3 million households are on councils’ waiting lists and more than 175,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.

The Right to Buy scheme provides an important route for social housing tenants to own their own home, many of whom may not otherwise be able to access home ownership, boosting social mobility and opportunity for families across the country.

The Bill rebalances Right to Buy without closing the door on home ownership. Following extensive consultation, reforms will see eligibility rise from three to 10 years, newly built social homes protected for 35 years, hard-to-replace rural homes will be exempt, and discount rules will be updated to reflect the cash discounts cap introduced in November 2024. Councils will gain a stronger right of first refusal to buy back properties – helping recover homes lost to the scheme.

The Bill also strips out outdated and unimplemented requirements from the Housing and Planning Act 2016, including rules forcing councils to sell high-value homes, offer fixed-term tenancies and charge higher rents to higher-income tenants, giving providers the certainty they need to build for the long term. 

These reforms are backed by £39 billion through the 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme – the biggest investment in a generation. Together, they will protect existing social homes and build at the scale the country needs.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs said:

“Sharing a social home with a perpetrator presents victims and survivors of domestic abuse with an impossible choice. Remaining in their home means facing further abuse but leaving could put them at risk of homelessness and struggling financially. 

“Alongside survivors and campaigners, I have been calling for action to be taken to stop perpetrators from weaponising joint tenancies – and I’m pleased to see that the 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 said:

“The Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) welcomes the Government’s tenancy reforms proposed within the Social Housing Bill. These changes represent an important and long overdue step forward, with the potential to transform the lives of many domestic abuse victims.

“Domestic abuse typically takes place in the home and it is where most women are killed. By enabling landlords to safeguard victims and hold the perpetrators of abuse to account, these reforms will enable domestic abuse victims, including children, to achieve safety, stability and long-term housing security. This is essential for all individuals impacted by domestic abuse to rebuild their independence and move forward with lives free from harm.

“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 said:

“Today, the Social Housing Bill has received its second reading, and we are pleased to see that it contains measures to protect some survivors of domestic abuse in joint tenancies, which Women’s Aid, along with sector colleagues, have long 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 said:

“This Bill demonstrates the government’s commitment to safeguarding our social homes for future generations and to strengthening protections for survivors of domestic abuse.

“No one should be forced to lose their home to escape abuse. We strongly welcome new powers to evict perpetrators of domestic abuse from social housing. This will support survivors to remain safely in their homes where that is the right option for them and reduce their risk of homelessness.

“Reforms to Right to Buy are an essential step towards protecting social housing stock. The policy has led to the sale of over two million social homes in its lifetime, severely depleting numbers available for low-income families.

“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 information

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

For further details on the full list of measures in the Bill are available here.

The Bill’s Right to Buy reforms build on the steps the government has already taken to date, including returning the maximum Right to Buy cash discounts to the pre-2012 levels, following a review of the impact of the higher discounts on social housing stock.

The government response to the consultation on Reforming the Right to Buy was published in July 2025.

The Right to Buy reforms in this Bill include:

• Extending the minimum period of secure public sector tenancy to be eligible for the scheme from 3 to 10 years
• Reforming the percentage discounts for the scheme, to start at 5% of the property value, increasing by 1% per annum up to a maximum of 15%, subject to the revised cash caps (whichever is lower).
• Exempting newly built social and affordable homes from the scheme for 35 years.
• Exempting rural properties from the scheme, which will include homes in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and areas designated as rural.
• Preventing tenants who have previously benefitted from the Right to Buy from using the scheme again, with exceptions for victims of domestic abuse and in cases of irretrievable relationship breakdown.
• Exempting council homes for market rent from the Right to Buy.
• Extending the period in which, on resale of the property, the council has the right to ask for all, or part, of the Right to Buy discount to be repaid, from 5 to 10 years.
• Extending the right of first refusal, in which a former Right to Buy property when sold must first be offered to the former landlord, from 10 years after the original sale to in perpetuity.
• Allowing the Secretary of State to determine the rules governing the spending of Right to Buy capital receipts through issuing a determination.
• Amending the Right to Acquire scheme for housing association tenants in line with the changes to the Right to Buy, to better align the two schemes.
• Supporting councils with the administration of Right to Buy applications.

The territorial extent of the Bill is England and Wales, with all measures at introduction applying to England only. 

Eligibility for social housing remains unchanged. Asylum seekers are not eligible for social housing. 

The Bill does not make changes to the private rented sector. From 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act gives private renters greater security and stability.

For the social rented sector this Act will be implemented from October 2027.

Under the Bill, a Notice to Quit served by a perpetrator in a social housing joint tenancy will not take effect where a notice under the domestic abuse grounds is in force, or during ongoing court or eviction proceedings, preventing the misuse of such notices to force tenants out of their homes.