main content Domestic violence housing advice

The options for protection under the civil and criminal law are limited in effectiveness, therefore many women are likely to go on relying on alternative safe accommodation for longer-term protection from violence for themselves and their children.  The most viable option is likely to be through the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1996 with help from the local authority housing department.  Clients who are council or housing association tenants should contact their local housing office; clients who are private sector tenants or owner-occupiers should contact one of the local service centres (see Contacts, help and advice). 

Housing options

Staying with family or friends
Staying with family or friends is often a first option when women flee from violence at home.  However, this may not always be appropriate.  Women can feel they will be harshly judged by their family, which can increase their feelings of shame and guilt.  They are often safe for only a short time, as they may be traced and pressured by their abuser.  Also, family or friends may not be able to accommodate a woman for long, especially if she has children.

Renting privately
Privately rented accommodation is an option in theory, but for many women this is difficult, e.g. for women on benefits, as not all landlords welcome claimants; and for women with children, as many landlords do not accept children.  It can be expensive so it may be an option only for women entitled to Housing Benefit through low income or through being on Income Support.

Temporary accomodation: refuges and hostels
Women’s refuges provide safe temporary accommodation.  This may be the only option for some vulnerable women who are in immediate danger of being pursued by their abusers.  Refuges provide a high level of advice, casework support, practical help, and counselling.  (However, most refuges do not take women that have a current drug or alcohol problem.)  You can get in touch with Bromley refuges through Bromley Women's Aid on 020 8313 9303 or through the National Domestic Violence 24 hour National Crisis Line, Freephone 0808 2000 247. 

Local authority duties under the Housing Act 1996
The local authority has a duty to help women who cannot live in their home (permanently or temporarily) because of violence.  Under the Housing Act 1996, local authorities have a number of temporary duties:

• If the local authority believes an applicant may be homeless or is threatened with homelessness and is eligible for assistance and is in priority need, then it has a duty to provide secure interim accommodation, e.g. in a bed and breakfast, refuge or hostel, whilst it investigates whether it has a further duty.
• The local authority has a duty to ensure that accommodation is available until a settled housing solution is found if a homeless applicant fits all the following criteria: homeless or threatened with homelessness; eligible for assistance; in priority need; not intentionally homeless. (An applicant does not need a local connection if they are homeless due to domestic violence – however, the local authority may fulfil its duty by arranging safe and settled accommodation in another local authority area.)
• To get permanent accommodation, the applicant must apply through the council’s waiting list (housing register) under Part VI of the Housing Act 1996.
• A local authority can fulfil its duties to homeless applicants by temporarily housing them in its own accommodation or by giving advice and assistance to help them get a suitable assured shorthold tenancy in the private sector, if they agree.
• The Code of Guidance states that a woman should not be considered safe just because she has an injunction against her aggressor.  Housing authorities should not require an injunction or police involvement before they offer housing.

Domestic violence and homelessness
The 1996 Housing Act has broadened the definition of homelessness for women experiencing domestic violence.  In the context of domestic violence, a person is homeless if they do not have accommodation that is available to occupy, without fear of domestic violence.  Domestic violence is now defined as violence or threats of violence from a person who is associated with the person under threat.  An ‘associated person’ is defined in the Code of Guidance to the Act (and the definition is the same as under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996; see previous section on civil law).

Bromley Housing Department’s policy defines domestic violence to include actual physical violence, the threat of violence and mental cruelty.  Mental cruelty is defined as a pattern of humiliating and threatening behaviour within an abusive relationship, where it would not be reasonable for both partners to remain in the same household.

Priority need for housing
Homeless people are in ‘priority need’ for accommodation if they:

• are pregnant;
• have dependent children;
• are16/17 years old;
• are a care leaver aged 18-21 years who is a former ‘relevant child’;
• they are vulnerable (this can be due to old age, mental illness, disability, being looked after by the local authority, spending time in the armed forces or in prison or other special reason, such as domestic violence); or
• are homeless as a result of an emergency.

Once a local authority has established that the applicant is homeless and in priority need, it must then decide if she is homeless intentionally.  A person who is homeless due to domestic violence does not need to prove a local connection.

The Code of Guidance gives guidance to local authorities on how they should implement the Housing Act 1996.  The code does not have force of law but local authorities should have regard to it in dealing with homelessness and trying to prevent homelessness.  It makes a number of specific references to the needs of women and children experiencing domestic violence, including good practice recommendations on making enquiries, injunctions, local connections, referrals to other areas, women’s refuges and the vulnerability of women without children who are at risk of violence.

Permanent accommodation
Part VI of the Housing Act 1996 requires local authorities to decide who does and does not qualify for re-housing in local authority permanent accommodation.  Asylum seekers and people from abroad that are subject to immigration control do not qualify.  The local authority allocations scheme must give ‘reasonable preference’ to certain groups, including people who are homeless (or threatened with homelessness) and in priority need.

Women and children seeking re-housing because of domestic violence should apply to be put on the housing register list to get permanent accommodation. They will then be nominated to a local housing association. 

Housing people with immigration restrictions

The Asylum Act 1996 means that people with immigration restrictions, i.e. people with no recourse to public funds, are no longer entitled to local authority accommodation and assistance under homelessness legislation. Housing officers should establish a woman’s immigration status before making referrals on their behalf (see Section 13 on Immigration).  Also, if already housed, those subject to immigration control cannot be allocated a new tenancy.

Avoiding homelessness: remaining in the family home

It may be possible for the victim of domestic violence to remain in her present home and prevent herself from becoming homeless.  If she wishes to remain in her current home, she should ask a solicitor to look at her legal rights to the home.  She should consider whether she feels safe enough to stay in the property and try to get her partner to leave.  If, as is most likely, he is not willing to do so, she may wish to apply for an occupation order through the courts to exclude him from the house (Domestic violence help available under civil law).

If the woman is living in an extended family, that is with her in-laws, she should not assume that the head of the household is the owner - it could be her husband.  However, getting an occupation order or asking the partner to leave may not be practical in this situation, especially if the rest of the family are also abusing her.

Research has shown that many women do not feel safe staying in their own homes.  Even if a woman does want to stay, she may be at risk while getting legal protection and may need alternative temporary accommodation in a refuge or local authority temporary accommodation, whilst she applies for non-molestation or occupation orders.

Through the Bromley Sanctuary Scheme we can assist women by providing additional security measures that will help them stay in their own homes safely.

Transfer of the tenancy to the woman’s name
If the names of both the woman and her partner are on the tenancy agreement, it is now possible to apply under Part IV of the Family Law Act for the tenancy to be transferred to the woman’s sole name.  She can then, if she wishes, use her existing tenancy to access alternative safe accommodation, either through a transfer or through an exchange.  It is also possible to arrange reciprocal transfers between local authorities and/or other social landlords; that is, where two authorities each agree to house a woman from the other area in one of their empty properties.

If there are other members of the family living in the household that do not have a right to stay, such as in-laws, they can be asked to leave.

Owner occupiers
If the matrimonial home is privately owned, the woman needs to find out who is the owner.  If it is in her partner’s name, her solicitor needs to serve a notice to the land registry to put a claim on the property.

Contacts, help and advice

• 24 hour National Crisis Line
• Bromley Sanctuary Scheme
• Domestic Violence One-Stop Shop
• Legal Advice
• Useful Telephone Contacts
• Women's Aid