Social Housing Bill: An essential step towards protecting survivors from housing-based abuse
Woman’s Trust welcomes the increased powers in the Social Housing Bill, bringing forward long-awaited measures designed to prevent domestic abuse perpetrators from using housing as a tool of control.
For many survivors, abuse does not stop at physical or emotional violence. Housing insecurity and the threat of homelessness are frequently used by perpetrators to trap women in abusive relationships, forcing them to choose between their safety and having a roof over their heads.
And for many survivors, abuse continues long after separation. Perpetrators may weaponise housing, tenancy arrangements, rental deposits, financial liabilities and homelessness threats as part of ongoing coercive control, using housing systems to maintain power and force continued contact.
The constant fear of losing a home can have a profound impact on mental health, contributing to trauma responses, anxiety, hypervigilance and a sense of entrapment that can make it harder for survivors to seek safety and recover.
The proposed legislation would give social landlords and courts new powers to remove perpetrators of domestic abuse from social housing while allowing survivors and their children to remain safely in their homes. It would also prevent perpetrators from exploiting tenancy arrangements to make victims homeless and create new routes for tenancies to be transferred into a survivor’s sole name.
At Woman’s Trust, we know that safe, secure housing is often the foundation that allows survivors to begin recovering from the trauma of abuse. Safe housing is not simply a housing issue. It is a basic need and mental health issue. Recovery from trauma requires both physical and psychological safety. When housing remains uncertain, survivors can remain in a prolonged state of threat, making recovery significantly more difficult.
Hester’s story highlights why these protections matter
Hester was given a social housing property at the age of 24 after becoming homeless. When she met her former partner, he gradually established himself in the property, despite the tenancy being solely in her name.
Over the next 25 years, Hester experienced sustained domestic abuse. Throughout the relationship, her former partner repeatedly pressured her to add him to the tenancy. She resisted because she understood that doing so could weaken her housing security and make it harder to protect herself and her children.
He repeatedly used housing as a means of control, attempting to force her to change the tenancy arrangements while claiming she “had all the power”. In reality, the ongoing threat to her sense of safety and security contributed to the psychological toll of living with abuse for so many years.
Following a violent incident, the relationship eventually came to an end. Crucially, because the tenancy remained solely in her name, Hester and her children were able to stay in their home. The stability of remaining in familiar surroundings and avoiding homelessness gave her the opportunity to focus on healing and rebuilding her life.
Reflecting on that experience, Hester said: “I was lucky that I still had my home for me and my children. Without that – and specialist mental health support from Woman’s Trust – I do not believe I would have survived. I would not be here today. It allowed me to reclaim my identity and rebuild strength and stability.”
A tool of coercive control
Hester’s experience reflects a wider pattern seen by specialist domestic abuse services. Housing insecurity is frequently used as a tool of coercive control, both during and after relationships, leaving survivors trapped between ongoing abuse and the threat of homelessness. Survivors should not have to lose their homes in order to achieve safety.
The Social Housing Bill is an important step towards recognising how housing can be weaponised by perpetrators and how secure housing can support survivors’ recovery. Importantly, it recognises that housing can be weaponised as part of coercive control and that abuse does not necessarily end when a relationship ends. The proposed reforms acknowledge that victims should not have to become homeless before action can be taken and that perpetrators, not survivors, should face the consequences of their abuse.
At the same time, Hester’s experience highlights the need for continued attention to the ways perpetrators exploit housing systems to gain control. Protections for survivors whose social housing tenancies are solely in their name remain an important part of preventing abuse, preserving housing security and protecting mental wellbeing.
As the Bill progresses through Parliament, we welcome measures that strengthen those protections and help ensure that women and children can remain safely in their communities, close to their support networks, schools and work. By helping survivors stay safely housed, these reforms can also support the recovery, stability and mental health that are essential for rebuilding lives after abuse.
For women and children, remaining safely housed can mean retaining community connections, support networks, schools and access to specialist services. These are not simply practical considerations. They are often the foundations upon which recovery is built.
