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. 

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 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.

Chief executive of the National Housing Federation, Kate Henderson, added: “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.”