Barnet Council backs domestic abuse victim housing plan

Barnet Council has formally backed government plans to provide social housing landlords with new powers to evict domestic abuse perpetrators from social homes, allowing victims to remain in their properties.

The motion, passed at a full council meeting on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, welcomed the proposed measures within the Social Housing Bill. Councillor Sara Conway, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Community Cohesion, and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, moved the motion, highlighting the current difficulties faced by victims who often have to leave their homes due to shared tenancies with abusers.

Currently landlords have few options to support survivors to remain in their home if they share a tenancy with an abuser, Councillor Conway stated. Many survivors are forced to either leave or end the tenancy entirely, which can leave them homeless.

The new legislation aims to close a loophole that allowed abusers to serve a Notice to Quit, potentially making victims homeless. It will also enable courts to transfer joint tenancies into the survivor's sole name or, where remaining in the property is not appropriate, require landlords to provide suitable alternative accommodation.

Councillor Conway added that these changes would allow survivors to stay close to their support networks, schools and work, instead of being forced to start over. The council's own Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2025-2029 was also referenced, which states that ending such violence is not just an aspiration but a clear commitment.

The council's officers have been directed to explore how these new powers can be exercised within Barnet once the legislation is passed. The Leader of the Council, Councillor Barry Rawlings, will also write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls to welcome the measures and inquire about additional provisions for cases where the abuser is the sole tenant.