The Social Housing Bill introduced in May 2026 brought together proposed changes to survivor protection and the sale of social housing in England. This archive article distinguishes the proposals from rules already operating. Reviewed on 15 October 2026.
Protection within social tenancies
The Commons Library’s September briefing described proposals enabling possession action against a domestic-abuse perpetrator without requiring the victim to leave first. It also outlined a mechanism for transferring a joint tenancy into the victim’s sole name and protection against a perpetrator ending that tenancy during relevant proceedings.
These proposals concern social housing. They should not be read as a general power for a private landlord to remove an occupier without the appropriate legal process.
Proposed Right to Buy changes
The same briefing described a longer qualifying period, revised discounts and protection for newly built social homes. The government’s June announcement proposed increasing eligibility from three to ten years and exempting new social homes for 35 years.
These are descriptions of the bill and announcements at the cited dates. An application or possession decision requires checking the final legislation, commencement provisions and current guidance rather than treating this historical report as an operative instruction.
What to check before acting
Our practical recommendation is to identify the exact housing tenure and the decision being considered. Keep policy news separate from advice on an individual household’s position.
A provider updating procedures should record which provisions are proposed, which have become law and which have commenced. That simple distinction helps prevent a promising announcement being used prematurely as a legal power.
Sources: House of Commons Library briefing of 7 September 2026 and MHCLG announcement of 1 June 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.