Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Act 2018

Key Points

• Creates a right to an 'old-style secure tenancy' where a tenancy is offered to someone who was a joint tenant under an old-style secure tenancy, and the housing authority is satisfied that the tenancy should be granted for reasons connected with domestic abuse.
• Expands the understanding of abuse to include cases where the abuse is carried out by another person, and requires the new tenancy to be granted for reasons connected with that abuse.
• Establishes the framework for the new rights by introducing subsections (notably 2A and 2AA) to define eligibility and process for offering an old-style secure tenancy.
• Dealt with policy details around evidence of abuse and related supports by proposing guidance and staff training (some of these guidance/training provisions were withdrawn or not moved in committee stages).
• Proposals about how rents should be set for these tenancies (e.g., alignment with Housing Benefit regulations) and annual reporting obligations were considered but not carried into law in the final form, leaving some flexibility or differing treatment to be determined by future regulation.

Progress

The Bill completed all parliamentary stages and received Royal Assent on 10 May 2018, after agreeing multiple Lords amendments to broaden and clarify the rights for domestic abuse victims. It is now law in England.

Voting

A key report-stage amendment related to creating the old-style tenancy was debated; the recorded vote shows opposition to that particular amendment at that stage, reflecting cross-party debate. Throughout the passage, Labour, Liberal Democrats and some independents supported strengthening protections, while Conservatives and some other parties opposed or sought narrower changes; several Lords amendments were agreed, shaping the final form of the policy.