GOVERNMENT PROPOSES HOUSING PROTECTIONS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVIVORS

The Government has tabled changes to the Social Housing Bill that would allow domestic abuse perpetrators to be made to leave shared social homes while survivors keep their tenancies. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it tabled the measure on Tuesday 20 October. Under the proposal, survivors with a protection order would not have to prove the abuse again. The Bill also includes proposed protections for joint tenancies held with 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.”

The proposed changes would give domestic abuse survivors protection under social housing law for the first time, according to the ministry. They form part of a wider set of amendments covering tenants’ control over their homes and the retention of social housing. Council tenants would get a simpler Right to Manage process for taking charge of repairs, maintenance and communal services. The Government said the change would give residents a clearer route to seek improvements when services fail.

Other proposals would give councils and housing associations twice as long to consider buying social homes before those properties leave the sector. The ministry said they would also receive better information to help them decide whether to buy. Councils would gain more control over which eligible areas receive protection from the Right to Buy, particularly in rural communities where the Government says affordable homes can be difficult to replace. The ministry expects the wider package of reforms to keep an additional 18,000 homes in the social sector over the next decade.