Housing Loophole Enables Domestic Abusers to Maintain Control Over Victims
Hackney Council has issued a stark warning about a dangerous social housing loophole that allows domestic abusers to continue manipulating and controlling their victims even after they have fled their homes. The local authority is joining calls for urgent regulatory changes that would empower councils across England to evict perpetrators who exploit tenancy agreements to maintain coercive control.
The Joint Tenancy Trap
Under current UK housing legislation, joint tenancies treat couples as a single legal entity. This means that when a survivor of domestic abuse leaves a property, both parties remain equally liable for the tenancy, rent payments, and property conditions. This legal framework creates what campaigners describe as a "trap" that perpetrators can weaponise against their victims.
The council has highlighted alarming scenarios where even when victims obtain court orders for protection, they cannot legally change the locks to keep abusers out of their homes because both names remain on the tenancy agreement. This leaves survivors vulnerable to continued harassment and intimidation in what should be their safe space.
Financial and Legal Barriers
Hackney Council officers have detailed multiple barriers facing domestic abuse survivors in social housing. Transferring a tenancy to a single person can burden victims with court costs reaching up to £20,000 if they cannot access legal aid. This creates a significant financial hurdle for those already dealing with the trauma of abuse.
Furthermore, survivors face a devastating catch-22 situation. If they leave their home while their name remains on the tenancy, they are still technically considered "housed" under the law. This means they cannot claim housing benefit to secure safe accommodation elsewhere, effectively trapping them between danger and homelessness.
Scotland's Progressive Approach
While English authorities struggle with these challenges, Scotland has recently approved progressive regulations that will allow social landlords to apply to courts to remove individuals believed to be abusive from tenancy agreements. These measures are scheduled to come into force from 1 August 2026, creating a stark contrast with the situation south of the border.
For councils in England, however, navigating these issues remains fraught with complexity and risk. The current system relies on lengthy and costly court processes that require victims to have already left the property before action can be taken against perpetrators.
Hackney's Response and Challenges
At a recent council meeting, Assistant Director of Tenancy Services Helena Stephenson acknowledged the need for better data about who is living "behind the doors" of social housing properties. She admitted that the existing recording system is "just not a fit vessel" for tracking the complex realities of domestic abuse cases within housing services.
Since 2022, Hackney Council has dealt with 86 'high risk moves', with 7% of these involving domestic abuse cases complicated by joint tenancy arrangements. The council is implementing "creative workarounds" to address these risks, including establishing a new specialised team dedicated to managing all domestic abuse support services.
Future Solutions and Government Action
Councillor Clare Joseph (Labour) has raised concerns that current approaches still rely on abusers having court convictions, which may not reflect the reality of many coercive control situations. The borough's domestic abuse and housing specialist, Eleonora Serafini, suggests that policies should become "potentially more flexible" once the Government rolls out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) nationwide.
"These were crafted to better address coercive control," Serafini explained, highlighting how DAPOs could provide stronger protection measures including distance bans, curfews, device restrictions, and mandatory behaviour change programmes for perpetrators.
Cross-Borough Cooperation Challenges
The council is exploring ways to collaborate with neighbouring authorities and registered social landlords to facilitate safer relocation for survivors who need to leave the borough. However, their report identifies significant problems with other councils "gatekeeping" resources and refusing assistance to victims from different boroughs.
This inter-authority barrier can force vulnerable individuals to return to dangerous situations or face homelessness, undermining efforts to protect domestic abuse survivors across London's housing system.
As Hackney Council continues to push for legislative change, their warnings highlight a critical gap in England's housing protections that leaves domestic abuse survivors vulnerable to continued manipulation and control through tenancy agreements that were never designed to address the complexities of coercive relationships.
