The government announced on 20 October 2026 an amendment to the Social Housing Bill under which a relevant protective order would be sufficient for a court to consider taking action, affecting domestic abuse survivors in social housing.
Key facts
- Who: Survivors of domestic abuse in social housing
- From: 20 October 2026 (amendment tabled; the Bill is still going through Parliament)
- Source: Domestic abusers face eviction as survivors gain housing rights
The Social Housing Bill was introduced to Parliament on 14 May 2026. On Tuesday 20 October 2026 the government said it had tabled a new measure. The amendments will be tabled as the Bill progresses through its Commons stages.
What the amendment does
The government says the measure would stop survivors having to prove abuse again where a protection order is already in place.
It builds on reforms already in the Bill to protect joint tenancies from abusive partners. The government says the aim is for survivors to keep their tenancy and stay safely in their home while the perpetrator is made to leave.
The amendment bolsters the discretionary possession grounds in the Bill's domestic abuse tenancy reforms. The existence of a relevant protective order would be sufficient for the court to consider taking action.
Other changes announced
The same announcement covers other parts of the Bill:
- A simpler social housing Right to Manage, allowing local authority tenants to take responsibility for managing housing services through a Tenant Management Organisation.
- From April 2027, Tenant Management Organisations that manage council housing will come under Freedom of Information rules, so residents can request information about services such as repairs, estate management and rent collection.
- A longer notification period for social housing disposals, from 4 to 8 weeks.
- A statutory 'Duty to Collaborate' on preventing homelessness, and a 'Duty to Offer' requiring a private registered provider to offer suitable accommodation to a homeless household referred by a local housing authority, unless it has a good reason not to.
- A power for the Secretary of State to set out circumstances where local connection referrals must not apply, which the government intends to use for armed forces veterans.
What this means for social housing tenants
The amendment is a proposal tabled as the Bill goes through the Commons. The announcement gives no date for the domestic abuse reforms to take effect.
The only date it gives for a change taking effect is April 2027, when Freedom of Information rules are to apply to Tenant Management Organisations that manage council housing.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Domestic abusers face eviction as survivors gain housing rights, 20 October 2026