Social Housing Bill [HL]

What this bill does

Currently at 2nd Reading in the Commons.

Tightens rules for buying social homes and adds extra protections for tenants.

This bill is currently focused on keeping more social housing in the rented sector by making it harder to buy, and in some cases resell, social homes. It also adds new protections for tenants affected by domestic abuse and changes several older housing rules, including some consent and tenancy provisions. The latest version says it applies to England and Wales only.

• Increase the Right to Buy qualifying period from three years to ten years.
• Stop the Right to Buy in some cases where the tenant, spouse/civil partner or co-habitee owns another residential property, with a domestic abuse exception.
• Restrict Right to Buy for people who have already used it before, unless certain domestic abuse or relationship-breakdown conditions are met.
• Extend some Right to Buy and purchase-notice timescales.
• Allow landlords to suspend a Right to Buy claim if they suspect fraud.
• Reduce the Right to Buy discount and increase the period over which discount may be repaid on early disposal.
• Remove or shorten some post-sale rights, including the right of first refusal period.
• Create new exceptions to the Right to Buy for homes in National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, certain rural areas, newly built affordable housing, and some market-rent homes.
• Require private registered providers to give notice before certain sales of social housing in England.
• Introduce new domestic abuse protections in secure and assured tenancy law, including new possession grounds and possible transfer of tenancy instead of possession in some cases.
• Remove the vacant higher value local authority housing regime and the high income social tenants rent policy.
• Change rules on secure, introductory and demoted tenancies, including succession rules and related repeals.
• Amend consent and disposal rules for social housing and related local government provisions.
• Allow the Secretary of State to make consequential and transitional regulations.
• Extend to England and Wales only.

The stage line is the same Parliament bill record as the heading. The summary is AI-generated and not independently reviewed. Report an error.

Progress

1. 1st reading · Lords
2. 2nd reading · Lords
3. Committee stage · Lords
4. Report stage · Lords
5. 3rd reading · Lords
6. 1st reading · Commons
7. 2nd reading · Commons
8. Programme motion · Commons
9. Committee stage · Commons