There is positive national coverage of the Social Housing Bill as it heads into its Second Reading in the House of Lords today. Much of the coverage leads with stronger protections for domestic abuse survivors as well as reforms on Right to Buy.
The Daily Mirror and iNews both report on government measures to protect survivors of domestic abuse in social housing, highlighting that abusers could be evicted without victims having to leave their homes first. Coverage notes that around 15,000 households in England were forced to find a new social home due to domestic abuse last year, and that the Bill closes loopholes in joint tenancy arrangements. Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs is quoted welcoming the reforms as overdue and vital, while Housing Secretary Steve Reed describes the current situation as a "moral failure."
The Guardian covers the Bill's domestic abuse protections in depth, focusing on the joint tenancy loophole and courts' new powers to transfer tenancies into a victim's sole name. The piece also sets out wider Right to Buy reforms, including extending the qualifying period from three to ten years and protecting new social homes from sale for 35 years. The paper also features a piece from the Prime Minister Keir Starmer who says families have been "left in limbo on waiting lists for years" and reaffirms the government's commitment to the biggest increase in social and affordable homes for a generation.
Metro similarly leads on the domestic abuse protections, reporting that the Bill will allow landlords and courts to evict perpetrators without requiring victims to leave, and will prevent abusers using "notice to quit" powers to end tenancies.
The story is also receiving broadcast coverage, with GB News featuring it in last night’s bulletins immediately after the embargo lifted, and again this morning outlining the protections. Elsewhere, Heart and Greatest Hits Radio’s regional morning drive shows carried brief bulletins reporting that new social housing laws will help domestic abuse survivors avoid homelessness, including a survivor’s voice welcoming the changes.
This announcement has also been welcomed by charities and sector bodies including the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance, Women’s Aid and the National Housing Federation.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said:
“Victims of domestic abuse have faced an impossible choice – stay in danger or make themselves homeless. This is a moral failure this government is determined to end and these changes are deeds not words that put victims first, give landlords the powers they need, and make sure perpetrators can no longer use housing as a weapon of control.
“But protecting tenants is only half the picture. We also need more social homes – and this Bill tackles the decades of sell-off that has left over a million families on waiting lists with nowhere to turn. Together, these reforms will make social housing safer, fairer and built to last.”
https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/01/coverage-of-the-social-housing-bill/
seen at 14:35, 1 June in MHCLG in the Media.