Housing and domestic abuse — your rights to a safe home

After domestic abuse, housing is often the most urgent practical problem: where will

you and the children sleep tonight, and can you ever go home? England's housing law

gives abused people real options — through the local authority, through social

landlords, and alongside family court orders.

REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-31

Your first night

If you have nowhere safe to go:

Local authority homelessness duty: if you are homeless (or likely to be within 56 days) and domestic abuse makes it unreasonable to stay, your council must provide interim accommodation while it assesses you under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (which made abuse a specific ground of homelessness and removed most local-connection barriers for victims)
Refuges: specialist domestic abuse refuges take women and children (and some accept men); contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 (free, 24/7)
Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation: councils must commission support in safe accommodation under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 duty
Sanctuary schemes / Target Hardening: some councils can make your current home safe (alarms, locks, target-hardening) so you do not have to leave

Do you have to leave the family home?

Not automatically. Options to keep or share the home:

Occupation order (Family Law Act 1996, Part IV, form FL401): regulates who may live in or enter the home, and how far the other person must stay from it
Exclusion requirement / non-molestation order with powers of arrest: courts can exclude an abuser even from a jointly owned or rented home
You may occupy a home you do not own or have no tenancy in, by virtue of marriage, civil partnership, cohabitation or a permitted occupation order — see our occupation order guides

Abandoning the home quickly can weaken both your housing position and any occupation order application. Get advice before you walk out if it is safe to wait.

Renting — protecting the tenancy

Joint tenancies: both tenants are equally liable; an abuser cannot unilaterally evict you from a joint tenancy
Sole tenancy in the abuser's name: for social tenancies, survivors can apply to succeed or be assigned; the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires social landlords to have policies allowing a survivor to retain a secure lifetime tenancy where the abuser is removed
Private tenancies: a landlord can end a tenancy but cannot evict you without a court order; harassment by a landlord is a criminal offence
Ask your landlord about transferring the tenancy to you, especially for housing association homes

Owned homes

Both owners can exclude the other via an occupation order; the home itself remains dealt with under property/family law (financial remedy, TOLATA for cohabitants)
If you leave, do not sign anything transferring your interest in the home without independent legal advice

The Homelessness Code of Guidance

Chapter 18 of the Homelessness Code deals specifically with domestic abuse and directs councils to:

Assess risk properly, including risk from community, family or "honour"-based abuse
Not insist on a local connection that would put you at risk
Consider accommodation away from the abuser's area where that is what you need

Money while you sort housing

Universal Credit / housing costs continue while you establish where you will live; ask the DWP about separating claims after split households
Legal aid covers many housing and protective order cases for abuse survivors
Some councils run Discretionary Housing Payments for deposits and rent gaps

Where the housing and family cases meet

An occupation order made in the family court can support your case to the council that you cannot return home
Conversely, leaving voluntarily may be criticised by a court deciding who should occupy the home — get legal advice before making the choice if you can
Children's arrangements (CAOs) usually assume children stay in the home they know; a safe rehousing plan strengthens your position

Practical checklist

1. Call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline or your local service before making big decisions 2. Report incidents to the police and keep reference numbers (evidence for both housing and FL401 applications) 3. Take ID, children's documents, and money if you can leave safely; if not, leave and apply for interim accommodation the same day 4. Apply to the council as homeless (they must assess you even if you have somewhere for one night) 5. Apply for an occupation order / non-molestation order (FL401) — legal aid may be automatic for abuse survivors 6. Tell your landlord (in writing) about the abuse and ask about the tenancy

Official links

Get help with domestic abuse / housing options: https://www.gov.uk/domestic-violence-and-abuse
Homelessness help from your council: https://www.gov.uk/homelessness-help-from-council
Housing Act 1996 and Domestic Abuse Act 2021: https://www.legislation.gov.uk
FL401 injunction form: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-forms
National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Refuge): https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk

This page is general information, not legal advice. YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory and is not affiliated with HMCTS or gov.uk.

Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.