Social Housing Bill [HL] 2026-27

25

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of shared ownership and staircasing
(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, conduct and publish a review of the operation and effectiveness of the shared ownership scheme in England.
(2) The review must consider in particular—
(a) the affordability of shared ownership for leaseholders;
(b) the extent to which shared ownership provides a viable route to full home ownership;
(c) the operation of staircasing arrangements, including the costs, fees and valuation requirements associated with the purchase of additional shares;
(d) barriers faced by shared ownership leaseholders in staircasing to higher levels of ownership or to full ownership;
(e) the impact of service charges, repairs obligations and other housing costs on shared ownership leaseholders;
(f) whether legislative or regulatory changes are required to improve transparency, affordability and access to full ownership.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the review before Parliament together with a statement setting out any proposed actions in response to its findings.”

7

Clause 8, page 8, line 9, leave out from beginning to end of line 18 and insert—
“(c) any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

20

Clause 12, page 13, line 25, leave out “171C” and insert “171CA”

81

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Board composition of private registered providers with social housing stock
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations to be made by statutory instrument require that private registered providers which own social housing stock have a minimum of two elected local councillors on their board.
(2) The regulations under subsection (1) must specify—
(a) how the elected local councillors are to be appointed to the boards,
(b) how many elected local councillors are to be appointed to the boards, and
(c) which local authorities the councillors must represent where the private registered provider operates across more than one local authority.
(3) Regulations under subsection (2)(b) must ensure that no private registered provider’s board is comprised of a majority of elected local councillors.
(4) The Secretary of State must make regulations under this section within six months of the day on which this Act is passed.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

82

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Provision of information and collaboration on housing for prison leavers
(1) The Secretary of State has a duty to—
(a) ensure local housing authorities receive the necessary information, and
(b) facilitate effective collaboration between local housing authorities, HM Prison and Probation Service and other relevant organisations,
to prevent prison leavers at risk of homelessness from being unable to access housing.
(2) The Secretary of State must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, publish—
(a) requirements for the nature of the information that must be shared with local housing authorities,
(b) the timescales on which the information must be provided to local housing authorities,
(c) the timescales within which local housing authorities must respond, including when they need to confirm whether or not housing will be available,
(d) requirements for local housing authorities to respond to the person or body which made the social housing referral for a prison leaver, and
(e) guidance for local housing authorities on their responsibility to provide further information as required.
(3) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State must publish a report setting out the number of prison leavers provided with social housing by local housing authorities on release from prison.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay the report under subsection (3) before Parliament.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

This amendment seeks to place a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that local housing authorities receive information and effectively collaborate with other organisations as necessary to provide housing to prison leavers at risk of homelessness. It also to require the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on social housing provision to prison leavers.

1

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, after second “years” insert “subject to subsection (A2)”

This amendment, and another in the name of Baroness O’Neill of Bexley, seeks to extend the transition period for the commencement of provisions in clause 1 in relation to secure tenancies.

2

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, at end insert—
“(b) after subsection (A1) insert—
“(A2) In relation to a secure tenancy entered into before the coming into force of section 1 of the Social Housing Act 2026, the right to buy does not arise unless the period which, in accordance with Schedule 4, is to be taken into account for the purposes of this section is at least three years.””

This amendment, and another in the name of Baroness O’Neill of Bexley, seeks to extend the transition period for the commencement of provisions in clause 1 in relation to secure tenancies.

3

Leave out Clause 1

This amendment would retain the current qualifying period of three years before a secure tenant becomes eligible to exercise the Right to Buy.

4

Leave out Clause 4

This amendment retains the existing statutory timescales for processing Right to Buy applications.

5

Leave out Clause 6

This amendment would retain the existing Right to Buy discount arrangements, including the existing provisions governing the accumulation and maximum level of discount.

6

Leave out Clause 7

This amendment would remove the extension of the Right of First Refusal in perpetuity.

8

Clause 8, page 8, line 25, leave out “35” and insert “10”

This amendment seeks to reduce the period during which newly built social housing is exempt from the Right to Buy from 35 years to 10 years.

13

Clause 12, page 11, line 24, leave out “C” and insert “D”

15

Clause 12, page 12, line 2, at end insert—
“(4A) Condition D is that before making a relevant sale to a purchaser that is not a registered provider, a private registered provider must have—
(a) offered the dwelling to each registered provider that provides social housing in the same local housing authority area as the dwelling,
(b) allowed a period of not less than the period specified in subsection (3) for any such provider to indicate whether it wishes to purchase the dwelling, and
(c) where any such provider indicated a wish to purchase the dwelling, not proceeded with a relevant sale to any other purchaser unless negotiations with that provider have ceased without agreement or did not result in agreement within such period as the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe.
(4B) Where Condition D was not met because more than one registered provider indicated a wish to purchase the dwelling, the disposing registered provider may determine the order in which negotiations are conducted.”

17

Clause 12, page 13, line 11, at end insert—
“(h) the tenure of the dwelling, distinguishing between social rent and affordable rent,
(i) the current energy performance certificate rating of the dwelling,
(j) whether the dwelling complies with the Decent Homes Standard,
(k) the findings of the most recent stock condition survey of the dwelling, where one has been completed,
(l) whether the dwelling contains adaptations to meet accessibility needs and, if so, a description of those adaptations and details of any public financial assistance received in relation to those adaptations, including any disabled facilities grant,
(m) details of any financial assistance received in relation to the dwelling under section 19 of this Act (financial assistance),
(n) the rent payable immediately before the relevant sale, and
(o) details of any material building safety or compliance information held in relation to the dwelling, including, where applicable, gas safety, electrical safety and asbestos information.
(2A) For the purposes of subsection (1)(h), “social rent” and “affordable rent” have the meanings given in the Rent Standard issued by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194(2A) of this Act (standards relating to economic matters).”

19

Clause 12, page 13, line 24, leave out “171C” and insert “171CA”

21

Clause 12, page 14, line 5, at end insert—
“171E National register of disposal notifications
(1) The Regulator of Social Housing must establish and maintain a national register through which notifications under section 171A (requirement to give notice of proposed sale) are submitted and which records the information provided in accordance with section 171C (sale notices).
(2) The register must be accessible to—
(a) local housing authorities, and
(b) registered providers that provide social housing in the local authority area in which the dwelling is situated.
(3) The Regulator must update the register as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving each notification, having regard to the need to enable local housing authorities and registered providers to exercise rights under section 171A.
171F Post-disposal reporting
(1) The Regulator of Social Housing must require registered providers, in any return made following completion of a disposal notified under section 171A (requirement to give notice of proposed sale), to include information identifying the tenure of the dwelling disposed of, distinguishing between social rent and affordable rent.
(2) The Regulator must publish annually information relating to disposals notified under section 171A in a format that enables analysis and comparison over time, broken down by—
(a) registered provider name;
(b) local authority area;
(c) tenure of the dwelling disposed of, distinguishing between social rent and affordable rent;
(d) purchaser category;
(e) whether the disposal was made at open market value or below market value;
(f) the number of dwellings disposed of in each combination of the categories specified in paragraphs (a) to (e).
(3) For the purposes of this section, “social rent” and “affordable rent” have the meanings given in the Rent Standard issued by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194(2A) of this Act (standards relating to economic matters).”

22

Clause 12, page 14, line 5, at end insert—
“171E Post-disposal reporting
(1) The Regulator of Social Housing must require registered providers, in any return made following completion of a disposal notified under section 171A (requirement to give notice of proposed sale), to include information identifying the tenure of the dwelling disposed of, distinguishing between social rent and affordable rent.
(2) The regulator must publish annually information relating to disposals notified under section 171A in a format that enables analysis and comparison over time, broken down by—
(a) registered provider name,
(b) local authority area,
(c) tenure of the dwelling disposed of, distinguishing between social rent and affordable rent,
(d) purchaser category,
(e) whether the disposal was made at open market value or below market value, and
(f) the number of dwellings disposed of in each combination of the categories specified in paragraphs (a) to (e).
(3) For the purposes of this section, “social rent” and “affordable rent” have the meanings given in the Rent Standard issued by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194(2A) of this Act (standards relating to economic matters).”

The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that post-disposal reporting includes social and affordable rent.

26

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Responsible disposal practice
After section 10 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (restrictions on disposal of land), insert—
“10A Responsible disposal practice
(1) Homes England must, in consultation with the Regulator of Social Housing and bodies representative of registered providers, prepare and publish a code of responsible disposal practice within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this section comes into force.
(2) The code must set out the principles and standards expected of registered providers when disposing of social housing, having regard to—
(a) the need to protect the supply of social housing in local communities,
(b) the interests of households on local authority housing waiting lists,
(c) the importance of transparency in the disposal process, and
(d) the desirability of retaining social housing within the social housing sector wherever reasonably practicable.
(3) Homes England must include compliance with the code among the criteria applied in determining eligibility for financial assistance under section 19 of this Act.
(4) The Secretary of State may by direction require Homes England to review and, where appropriate, amend the code.””

27

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Geographic and tenure requirements for recycled capital grant
After section 33 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (section 32: interest and successors in title) insert—
“33A Geographic and tenure requirements for recycled capital grant
(1) In exercising its powers under section 33(1), Homes England must include in any direction relating to the recycling of capital grant requirements that—
(a) where a relevant event, as defined in a determination under section 32 of this Act (recovery etc. of social housing assistance), occurs in relation to a dwelling let at social rent, any capital grant recovered or recycled must be applied towards the provision of a replacement dwelling let at social rent within the same local authority area as the disposed dwelling;
(b) where such a relevant event occurs in relation to a dwelling let at affordable rent, any capital grant recovered or recycled must be applied towards the provision of a replacement dwelling let at social rent or affordable rent within the same local authority area as the disposed dwelling.
(2) Homes England may grant an exemption from the requirement to provide a replacement dwelling within the same local authority area where a registered provider demonstrates that this is not reasonably practicable and in such a case, the recovered or recycled capital grant must be applied towards the provision of a replacement dwelling meeting the tenure requirements set out in subsection (1) in another local authority area agreed by Homes England, where Homes England is satisfied that there is demonstrable housing need.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a disposal made with the consent of Homes England under which the grant liability passes to the receiving registered provider pursuant to a determination under section 32 of this Act does not constitute a relevant event.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “social rent” and “affordable rent” have the meanings given in the Rent Standard issued by the Regulator of Social Housing under section 194(2A) of this Act (standards relating to economic matters).””

78

Leave out Clause 17

This amendment opposes provisions in the Bill which amend existing uncommenced legislation regarding rents for high-income tenants.

83

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Access to social housing: British citizenship
(1) Where a dwelling is social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (Regulation of Social Housing), the landlord must be satisfied that the lead tenant is a British citizen.
(2) Where the landlord is not a local authority, the relevant local authority should take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with subsection (1).”

This amendment seeks to ensure that those who are not British citizens cannot access social housing.

84

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Local connection requirements
(1) The Secretary of State must use powers under sections 166A(7) and 167(3) of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation schemes), to require that local housing authorities publish whether they have a policy that ensures reasonable preference in allocations policies takes account of local connection.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), local connection includes—
(a) residence;
(b) employment;
(c) family association;
(d) service in His Majesty’s Armed Forces.”

This amendment strengthens local connection considerations in social housing allocations.

85

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“High income social tenants
(1) The Secretary of State must, within the period of six months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, publish proposals for ensuring that social housing is targeted towards those with the greatest housing need.
(2) The proposals required under subsection (1), must include consideration of—
(a) income thresholds for higher-income tenants;
(b) rent levels payable by higher-income tenants;
(c) incentives to support higher-income tenants into home ownership or the private rented sector;
(d) the impact on the availability of social housing for households on waiting lists.”

This amendment seeks to require the Government to consider how social housing can remain focused on those in greatest housing need while supporting higher-income tenants into home ownership where appropriate.

86

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Illegal subletting enforcement review
(1) The Secretary of State must, within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, publish a review of the effectiveness of enforcement activity relating to unlawful subletting of social housing.
(2) The review must include—
(a) rates of prosecution;
(b) recovery of properties;
(c) barriers to enforcement.
(3) The review must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require review of enforcement activities relating to unlawful subletting of social housing.

87

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“National strategy for management of social housing stock
(1) Within the period of 12 months beginning on the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish a strategy for improving the management and utilisation of existing social housing stock.
(2) The strategy must include proposals for—
(a) reducing vacancy periods;
(b) improving re-letting performance;
(c) tackling unlawful subletting and tenancy fraud;
(d) improving waiting list management;
(e) addressing under-occupation;
(f) tackling barriers to downsizing, where appropriate;
(g) improving transparency and data collection in stock management.
(3) Every local housing authority and registered provider of social housing must publish annually, in such form as the Secretary of State may direct, information relating to—
(a) the number of void properties;
(b) average re-let times;
(c) unlawful subletting investigations and prosecutions;
(d) recovered properties;
(e) the date on which the housing waiting list was most recently reviewed.
(4) The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament an annual report summarising and analysing the information published under this section.”

This amendment seeks to require a national strategy to improve the management of existing social housing stock and requires social landlords to publish key stock-management data, with the Secretary of State reporting annually on performance.

88

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Governance standards
The Secretary of State must publish guidance establishing minimum governance standards for registered providers of social housing, including—
(a) financial transparency,
(b) democratic accountability,
(c) executive remuneration,
(d) tenant representation, and
(e) publication of performance criteria.”

This amendment seeks to strengthen governance and transparency among registered providers.

89

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Empty dwelling management orders: prescribed period of time
In the Housing (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) (Prescribed Period of Time and Additional Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/2625), omit Article 2 (prescribed period of time).”

This amendment seeks to reinstate the period of time that a dwelling has to be unoccupied for before local councils can apply for empty dwelling management orders to six months.

90

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Long-term empty homes use: strategy and funding
(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed—
(a) publish a national strategy for increasing the acquisition and renovation of long-term empty homes for use as low-cost rental accommodation, and
(b) establish a ring-fenced recyclable loan scheme for bringing empty homes back into use as low-cost rental accommodation.
(2) In this section, “low-cost rental accommodation” has the meaning given in section 69 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (low cost rental).
(3) The strategy under subsection (1)(a) must include—
(a) the steps the Government will take to facilitate social impact investment into the acquisition and renovation of empty homes;
(b) an assessment of the impact of the strategy on local authority and central government finances, with particular regard to reductions in expenditure on temporary accommodation for homelessness support.
(4) Within one year, and every year thereafter, of the publication of the strategy under subsection (1)(a), the Secretary of State must publish—
(a) the number of empty homes renovated as a result of the strategy, and
(b) the number of acquired empty homes allocated to people previously in temporary accommodation or rough sleeping.
(5) Funding provided by the ring-fenced loan scheme established under subsection (1)(b)—
(a) must be made available to local authorities for direct use or for on-lending to charities or social enterprises;
(b) is restricted to the acquisition and refurbishment of long-term empty homes for use as low-cost rental accommodation.
(6) All money from loans that are repaid under the scheme must be recycled back into the scheme for further loans.”

This amendment would create a national strategy and loan scheme to bring long-term empty homes into use as low-cost rental accommodation. The creation of the loan scheme seeks to remove the financial barriers that currently prevent many local authorities from investing in empty homes.

91

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Development of brownfield land for social housing
(1) The Government must include provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework requiring that, in exercising any function relating to the determination of an application for planning permission for development on previously developed land, a local planning authority must apply a strong material presumption in favour of granting planning permission where the development satisfies one or more of the conditions in subsection (2).
(2) The conditions are that—
(a) the development will provide social housing comprising not less than 25% of the total residential units,
(b) the development consists of the redevelopment or regeneration of an existing social housing estate and will result in a net increase in the number of social housing units, or
(c) the development will provide supported housing comprising not less than 15% of the total residential units.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the strong material presumption in favour of granting planning permission may be displaced only where material considerations indicate that the adverse impacts of the development would very substantially outweigh its benefits.
(4) In this section—
“previously developed land” has the meaning given by the National Planning Policy Framework;
“social housing” has the same meaning as in section 68 (basic principle) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;
“supported housing” means housing provided together with support, supervision or care for persons who require such assistance to live independently.”

This amendment seeks to require the National Planning Policy Framework to provide a strong presumption in favour of granting planning permission for development on brownfield land where proposals deliver significant levels of social housing or supported housing, or where they regenerate existing social housing estates with a net increase in social housing provision.

92

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Homes England: provision of land to local authorities for social housing
Homes England must provide any land that it owns free of charge to the local authority in which the land is located if the local authority requests the land for the purposes of building new social housing.”

This amendment is intended to accelerate and facilitate the building of social housing.

10

In subsection (1) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

11

In subsection (2)(a) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

12

In subsection (2)(c) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

18

Clause 12, page 13, line 23, at end insert—
“171CA Disposal of dwellings through auction
Where a private registered provider makes a relevant sale of a dwelling through auction, the disposal must be made available through the modern method of auction, not solely on a cash basis.”

This allows the acquisition of social housing via auction sale to be undertaken using a mortgage, not solely on a cash basis.

77

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of lifetime secure tenancies
(1) A local housing authority must review each lifetime secure tenancy at intervals of no more than five years.
(2) A review under subsection (1) must consider—
(a) whether the tenant continues to require the accommodation having regard to their housing needs,
(b) whether the accommodation remains suitable having regard to the size and composition of the tenant’s household,
(c) whether the tenant has developed a local connection with another local housing authority area,
(d) whether the tenant requires support to move to more suitable accommodation, and
(e) such other matters as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(3) Following a review under this section, the local housing authority may—
(a) confirm the continuation of the tenancy,
(b) offer alternative suitable accommodation, or
(c) take such other action as may be provided for by regulations.
(4) The Secretary of State must issue guidance to local housing authorities on the conduct of reviews under this section.
(5) Local housing authorities must have regard to guidance issued under subsection (4).
(6) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires local housing authorities to review lifetime secure tenancies every five years to ensure that social housing continues to meet tenants’ needs and that existing stock is being used effectively.

Clause 8, page 8, line 9, leave out from beginning to end of line 18 and insert— “(c) any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

Clause 12, page 13, line 25, leave out “171C” and insert “171CA”

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause— “Board composition of private registered providers with social housing stock (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations to be made by statutory instrument require that private registered providers which own social housing stock have a minimum of two elected local councillors on their board. (2) The regulations under subsection (1) must specify— (a) how the elected local councillors are to be appointed to the boards, (b) how many elected local councillors are to be appointed to the boards, and (c) which local authorities the councillors must represent where the private registered provider operates across more than one local authority. (3) Regulations under subsection (2)(b) must ensure that no private registered provider’s board is comprised of a majority of elected local councillors. (4) The Secretary of State must make regulations under this section within six months of the day on which this Act is passed. (5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause— “Provision of information and collaboration on housing for prison leavers (1) The Secretary of State has a duty to— (a) ensure local housing authorities receive the necessary information, and (b) facilitate effective collaboration between local housing authorities, HM Prison and Probation Service and other relevant organisations, to prevent prison leavers at risk of homelessness from being unable to access housing. (2) The Secretary of State must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, publish— (a) requirements for the nature of the information that must be shared with local housing authorities, (b) the timescales on which the information must be provided to local housing authorities, (c) the timescales within which local housing authorities must respond, including when they need to confirm whether or not housing will be available, (d) requirements for local housing authorities to respond to the person or body which made the social housing referral for a prison leaver, and (e) guidance for local housing authorities on their responsibility to provide further information as required. (3) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State must publish a report setting out the number of prison leavers provided with social housing by local housing authorities on release from prison. (4) The Secretary of State must lay the report under subsection (3) before Parliament. (5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

30

Schedule 1, page 18, line 26, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

31

Schedule 1, page 18, line 30, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

32

Schedule 1, page 18, line 33, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

33

Schedule 1, page 18, line 37, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

34

Schedule 1, page 18, line 38, leave out “before “partner” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” substitute “victim”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

35

Schedule 1, page 19, leave out lines 20 to 23 and insert—
“(c) the victim, or a victim, of the offence—
(i) is personally connected to the tenant, and
(ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

This expands the scope of the absolute ground for possession in new section 84B. The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

36

Schedule 1, page 19, leave out lines 32 to 35 and insert—
“(b) the victim, or a victim, of the breach—
(i) is personally connected to the tenant, and
(ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

This expands the scope of the ground for possession in new section 84B. The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

37

Schedule 1, page 21, leave out lines 13 to 28 and insert—
““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who—
(a) occupies the dwelling-house, or
(b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to—
(i) the offence or breach in question, or
(ii) other abusive behaviour of the tenant;
“personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

This defines terms used in other amendments of new section 84B in my name.

38

Schedule 1, page 22, line 6, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 7 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in the relevant ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the protections for victims against notices to quit served by the abusive tenant. It also expands the protections for victims against orders for possession, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

39

Schedule 1, page 22, line 17, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 18 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in the relevant ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against notices to quit served by the abusive tenant, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

40

Schedule 1, page 22, line 39, leave out from first “the” to “about” in line 40 and insert “victim mentioned in that ground”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

41

Schedule 1, page 23, line 10, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 11 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against orders for possession, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

42

Schedule 1, page 23, line 18, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 19 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in that section, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against orders for possession, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

43

Schedule 1, page 23, line 24, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 85B in my name.

44

Schedule 1, page 23, line 31, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or any of the recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 85B in my name.

45

Schedule 1, page 23, line 35, leave out “resident partner in question” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 85B in my name.

46

Schedule 1, page 24, line 3, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 85B in my name.

47

Schedule 1, page 25, leave out lines 19 to 22 and insert—
“The following conditions are met in relation to a dwelling-house.
Condition 1 is that there has been abusive behaviour by a person who is a tenant of the dwelling-house (“A”) towards a person (the “victim”) who—.
(a) is personally connected to A, and
(b) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.
Condition 2 is that—”

This expands the scope of this new ground for possession (Ground 2A). The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

48

Schedule 1, page 25, line 25, leave out “the resident partner” and insert “—
(i) the victim, or
(ii) a member of the victim’s family,”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new Ground 2A in my name.

49

Schedule 1, page 25, line 27, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new Ground 2A in my name.

50

Schedule 1, page 25, line 29, leave out “the resident partner is not” and insert “neither the victim, nor any member of the victim’s family, is”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new Ground 2A in my name.

51

Schedule 1, page 25, leave out lines 33 to 43 and insert—
““abusive” has the meaning given in section 1(3) of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021;
“current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who—
(a) occupies the dwelling-house, or
(b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to—
(i) the offence or breach in question, or
(ii) other abusive behaviour of the tenant;
“personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act).”

This defines terms used in other amendments of new Ground 2A in my name.

52

Schedule 1, page 26, line 40, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

53

Schedule 1, page 26, line 42, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

54

Schedule 1, page 27, line 3, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

55

Schedule 1, page 27, line 5, leave out ““the partner” substitute “the resident partner”” and insert ““partner” in both places substitute “victim””

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

56

Schedule 1, page 27, line 19, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 20 and insert “—
(i) the victim who is referred to in the relevant ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against notices to quit served by the abusive tenant, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

57

Schedule 1, page 27, line 29, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 30 and insert “—
(i) the victim who is referred to in the relevant ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against notices to quit served by the abusive tenant, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

58

Schedule 1, page 28, line 7, leave out from first “the” to “about” in line 8 and insert “victim mentioned in that ground”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse.

59

Schedule 1, page 28, line 22, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 23 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against orders for possession, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

60

Schedule 1, page 28, line 30, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 31 and insert “—
(i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or
(ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

This is consequential on other amendments in my name which expand the grounds for possession of social housing where there is domestic abuse. It also expands the protections for victims against orders for possession, so that they are also available where a member of the family of a victim of abuse is a joint tenant with the abusive tenant.

61

Schedule 1, page 28, line 36, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 10B in my name.

62

Schedule 1, page 28, line 43, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or any of the recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 10B in my name.

63

Schedule 1, page 29, line 4, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 10B in my name.

64

Schedule 1, page 29, line 17, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

This is consequential on the other amendments of new section 10B in my name.

65

Schedule 1, page 30, leave out lines 22 to 25 and insert—
“(d) the victim, or a victim, of the offence—
(i) is personally connected to the tenant, and
(ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

This expands the scope of this new ground for possession (Ground 7AA). The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

66

Schedule 1, page 30, leave out lines 36 to 39 and insert—
“(c) the victim, or a victim, of the breach—
(i) is personally connected to the tenant, and
(ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

This expands the scope of this new ground for possession (Ground 7AA). The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

67

Schedule 1, page 32, line 14, at end insert—
““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who—
(a) occupies the dwelling-house, or
(b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to—
(i) the offence or breach in question, or
(ii) other abusive behaviour towards them by the tenant;
“personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

This defines terms used in other amendments of new Ground 7AA in my name.

68

Schedule 1, page 32, leave out lines 17 to 31

This is consequential on other amendments of Ground 7AA in my name.

69

Schedule 1, page 33, line 8, leave out from “towards” to end of line 10 and insert “a person (the “victim”) who—
(a) is personally connected to the tenant, and
(b) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

This expands the scope of this new ground for possession (Ground 14A). The ground will be available where anyone who is in occupation and “personally connected to” the abusive tenant is a victim of the abuse. At present, it is available only if the victim is a resident partner of the abusive tenant or a family member of the resident partner.

70

Schedule 1, page 33, line 14, leave out “the resident partner” and insert “—
(i) the victim, or
(ii) a member of the victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

This is consequential on another amendment of new Ground 14A in my name.

71

Schedule 1, page 33, line 16, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

This is consequential on another amendment of new Ground 14A in my name.

72

Schedule 1, page 33, line 18, leave out “the resident partner is not” and insert “neither the victim, nor any member of the victim’s family, is”

This is consequential on another amendment of new Ground 14A in my name.

73

Schedule 1, page 33, line 22, at end insert—
““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who—
(a) occupies the dwelling-house, or
(b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to the domestic abuse;”

This defines a term used in another amendment of new Ground 14A in my name.

74

Schedule 1, page 33, line 24, at end insert—
““personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

This defines a term used in another amendment of new Ground 14A in my name.

75

Schedule 1, page 33, leave out lines 27 to 37

This is consequential on other amendments of Ground 14A in my name.

As an amendment to the amendment in the name of Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to after Clause 10 In subsection (1) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

As an amendment to the amendment in the name of Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to after Clause 10 In subsection (2)(a) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

As an amendment to the amendment in the name of Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to after Clause 10 In subsection (2)(c) after “Buy” insert “and Right to Acquire”

Clause 12, page 13, line 23, at end insert— “171CA Disposal of dwellings through auction Where a private registered provider makes a relevant sale of a dwelling through auction, the disposal must be made available through the modern method of auction, not solely on a cash basis.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Review of lifetime secure tenancies (1) A local housing authority must review each lifetime secure tenancy at intervals of no more than five years. (2) A review under subsection (1) must consider— (a) whether the tenant continues to require the accommodation having regard to their housing needs, (b) whether the accommodation remains suitable having regard to the size and composition of the tenant’s household, (c) whether the tenant has developed a local connection with another local housing authority area, (d) whether the tenant requires support to move to more suitable accommodation, and (e) such other matters as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State. (3) Following a review under this section, the local housing authority may— (a) confirm the continuation of the tenancy, (b) offer alternative suitable accommodation, or (c) take such other action as may be provided for by regulations. (4) The Secretary of State must issue guidance to local housing authorities on the conduct of reviews under this section. (5) Local housing authorities must have regard to guidance issued under subsection (4). (6) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

9

After Clause 10, insert the following new Clause—
“Annual report on the operation of Right to Buy
(1) The Secretary of State must, for each financial year after this section comes into force, prepare and lay before Parliament an annual report on the operation and impact of Right to Buy.
(2) The report must include—
(a) the number of homes sold under the Right to Buy in each local authority;
(b) the total receipts received by local authorities from such sales and how those receipts have been used;
(c) an assessment of the impact of the changes made by this Act to the Right to Buy on the availability of social housing in each local authority.
(3) This report must be laid before Parliament within three months of the end of the financial year.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to report annually to Parliament on the impact of the Right to Buy and the changes made by this Act on the availability of social housing.

14

Clause 12, page 11, line 36, leave out “four weeks” and insert “eight weeks, or 12 weeks if the property is in an area designated as a rural area under paragraph 17(1)(c) of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985 (inserted by section 8 of this Act),”

This amendment seeks to extend the timescale for notice to be given of a sale.

16

Clause 12, page 13, line 11, at end insert—
“(h) whether the dwelling has been adapted to make it accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility problems.”

This amendment seeks to make information regarding the accessibility of the dwelling to wheelchair users and people with mobility problems relevant when a sale notice is made.

28

After Clause 13, insert the following new Clause—
“Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety
After section 86 of the Housing Act 1985 (periodic tenancy arising on termination of fixed term), insert—
“86ZA Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a registered provider of social housing has granted a secure and assured tenancy of a dwelling-house in England to a person (whether as the sole tenant or a joint tenant), and
(b) the registered provider is satisfied that there is a threat to the personal safety of that person or of a member of that person’s household which means there is a risk to their personal safety unless they move.
(2) When subsection (1) applies, the registered provider must grant the tenant a new secure tenancy which is—
(a) on terms at least equivalent to the existing tenancy, and
(b) in a dwelling where the threat to the tenant’s personal safety does not apply.
(3) In this section, a “threat to personal safety” means any threat of violence, including in circumstances of—
(a) domestic abuse where the perpetrator does not live at the same address as the victim;
(b) an escalating neighbour dispute;
(c) a threat of targeted youth or gang violence.
(4) In assessing the threat under subsection (1)(b), the registered provider must act in accordance with any relevant police advice provided to—
(a) the registered provider,
(b) the tenant, or
(c) any member of the tenant’s household.
(5) In the event that a registered provider is unable to ensure the provision of an appropriate new secure tenancy pursuant to subsection (2), the registered provider concerned must co-operate with other registered providers to ensure an appropriate new secure tenancy is provided in a timely manner.””

The amendment would ensure social housing providers offer a return to a secure tenancy to a tenant forced out of their social housing by threats of violence, in accordance with police advice.

29

After Clause 13, insert the following new Clause—
“Access to dwellings for registered providers of social housing to comply with relevant statutory safety duties
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a registered provider of social housing makes a request of an occupier to enter relevant premises;
(b) the purpose of the request is to comply with a relevant statutory safety duty.
(2) In this section “relevant statutory safety duty” means a duty imposed on a landlord by or under any of the following—
(a) regulations 36(2) and (3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/2451),
(b) regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/312), and
(c) regulation 4(1)(c) of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1693) as amended by regulation 5 of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/707).
(3) Upon an application by a registered provider of social housing under this section, the court may make an order as it considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling the registered provider of social housing to comply with the relevant statutory safety duty, including—
(a) authorising entry to the relevant premises,
(b) authorising the use of reasonable force to gain entry, if necessary, and
(c) authorising the carrying out of specified inspections, testing or works.
(4) The court shall not make any order unless the registered provider of social housing has, in the three month period prior to the date of the application, served on the occupier the relevant requests for access complying with subsections (5) to (7), which must comprise an initial request, final request, and breach notice.
(5) The “initial request” must—
(a) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with,
(b) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out,
(c) provide the date and time, or period, during which the registered provider of social housing requests entry to the relevant premises for the purpose of complying with the relevant statutory safety duty,
(d) provide a period of at least 14 days prior to the date and time, or period, provided in accordance with paragraph (c) above during which the occupier may contact the registered provider of social housing in order to make an appointment for access to the relevant premises, and
(e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing so that such an appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises.
(6) The “final request” must—
(a) be served at least seven days after the ending of the period specified in subsection (5)(d),
(b) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with,
(c) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out,
(d) provide a date, time and duration when entry to the relevant premises is required, which must be at least seven days after service, and
(e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an alternative appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises.
(7) The “breach notice” must—
(a) be served not less than three days after the date provided under subsection (6)(d),
(b) provide the details of the occupier’s failure to comply with the initial request and final request,
(c) specify a date, which must be at least seven days from service, after which the application for an order under subsection (3) will be made, and
(d) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an appointment for access can be made.
(8) An order under this section must—
(a) specify the purpose for which entry is authorised,
(b) limit entry to what is reasonably required to achieve that purpose, and
(c) specify the period during which entry may take place, which may not be longer than three months.
(9) Subsection (4) does not apply where the registered provider of social housing reasonably considers that there is an imminent risk to the health or safety of any person arising from—
(a) a gas installation or appliance,
(b) an electrical installation, or
(c) the absence or failure of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm,
and in such a case the court may make such order as it considers just.
(10) In this section—
“registered provider of social housing” has the meaning given by section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;
“occupier” means a person in possession or with a right to possession of the relevant premises, including a tenant or licensee;
“relevant premises” means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling.
(11) Nothing in this section limits any right of entry which a registered provider of social housing may have apart from this section.”

Schedule 1, page 18, line 26, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

Schedule 1, page 18, line 30, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

Schedule 1, page 18, line 33, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

Schedule 1, page 18, line 37, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

Schedule 1, page 18, line 38, leave out “before “partner” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” substitute “victim”

Schedule 1, page 19, leave out lines 20 to 23 and insert— “(c) the victim, or a victim, of the offence— (i) is personally connected to the tenant, and (ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

Schedule 1, page 19, leave out lines 32 to 35 and insert— “(b) the victim, or a victim, of the breach— (i) is personally connected to the tenant, and (ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

Schedule 1, page 21, leave out lines 13 to 28 and insert— ““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who— (a) occupies the dwelling-house, or (b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to— (i) the offence or breach in question, or (ii) other abusive behaviour of the tenant; “personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

Schedule 1, page 22, line 6, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 7 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in the relevant ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 22, line 17, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 18 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in the relevant ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 22, line 39, leave out from first “the” to “about” in line 40 and insert “victim mentioned in that ground”

Schedule 1, page 23, line 10, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 11 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 23, line 18, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 19 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in that section, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 23, line 24, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 23, line 31, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or any of the recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 23, line 35, leave out “resident partner in question” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 24, line 3, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 25, leave out lines 19 to 22 and insert— “The following conditions are met in relation to a dwelling-house. Condition 1 is that there has been abusive behaviour by a person who is a tenant of the dwelling-house (“A”) towards a person (the “victim”) who—. (a) is personally connected to A, and (b) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house. Condition 2 is that—”

Schedule 1, page 25, line 25, leave out “the resident partner” and insert “— (i) the victim, or (ii) a member of the victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 25, line 27, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 25, line 29, leave out “the resident partner is not” and insert “neither the victim, nor any member of the victim’s family, is”

Schedule 1, page 25, leave out lines 33 to 43 and insert— ““abusive” has the meaning given in section 1(3) of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021; “current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who— (a) occupies the dwelling-house, or (b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to— (i) the offence or breach in question, or (ii) other abusive behaviour of the tenant; “personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act).”

Schedule 1, page 26, line 40, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

Schedule 1, page 26, line 42, leave out “before “partner who” insert “resident”” and insert “for “partner” in both places substitute “victim””

Schedule 1, page 27, line 3, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim”

Schedule 1, page 27, line 5, leave out ““the partner” substitute “the resident partner”” and insert ““partner” in both places substitute “victim””

Schedule 1, page 27, line 19, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 20 and insert “— (i) the victim who is referred to in the relevant ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

Schedule 1, page 27, line 29, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 30 and insert “— (i) the victim who is referred to in the relevant ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

Schedule 1, page 28, line 7, leave out from first “the” to “about” in line 8 and insert “victim mentioned in that ground”

Schedule 1, page 28, line 22, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 23 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

Schedule 1, page 28, line 30, leave out from “and” to “are” in line 31 and insert “— (i) the victim mentioned in that ground, or (ii) a member of that victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

Schedule 1, page 28, line 36, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 28, line 43, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or any of the recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 29, line 4, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 29, line 17, leave out “resident partner” and insert “recipient tenant or recipient tenants”

Schedule 1, page 30, leave out lines 22 to 25 and insert— “(d) the victim, or a victim, of the offence— (i) is personally connected to the tenant, and (ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

Schedule 1, page 30, leave out lines 36 to 39 and insert— “(c) the victim, or a victim, of the breach— (i) is personally connected to the tenant, and (ii) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

Schedule 1, page 32, line 14, at end insert— ““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who— (a) occupies the dwelling-house, or (b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to— (i) the offence or breach in question, or (ii) other abusive behaviour towards them by the tenant; “personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

Schedule 1, page 32, leave out lines 17 to 31

Schedule 1, page 33, line 8, leave out from “towards” to end of line 10 and insert “a person (the “victim”) who— (a) is personally connected to the tenant, and (b) is a current or former occupant of the dwelling-house.”

Schedule 1, page 33, line 14, leave out “the resident partner” and insert “— (i) the victim, or (ii) a member of the victim’s family (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1996),”

Schedule 1, page 33, line 16, leave out “resident partner” and insert “victim, or member of the victim’s family,”

Schedule 1, page 33, line 18, leave out “the resident partner is not” and insert “neither the victim, nor any member of the victim’s family, is”

Schedule 1, page 33, line 22, at end insert— ““current or former occupant of the dwelling-house” means a person who— (a) occupies the dwelling-house, or (b) was occupying the dwelling-house but left for reasons relating to the domestic abuse;”

Schedule 1, page 33, line 24, at end insert— ““personally connected” has the same meaning as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see section 2 of that Act);”

Schedule 1, page 33, leave out lines 27 to 37

76

Schedule 1, page 34, line 13, at end insert—
“(2) In section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible and qualifying persons: England), after subsection (11) insert—
“(12) In deciding what classes of persons are not qualifying persons under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to housing-related debt or other priority debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”
(3) In section 166A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: England), after subsection (14) insert—
“(15) A local housing authority in England must not, in preparing or modifying their allocation scheme, have regard to housing-related debt or other priority debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(16) For the purposes of subsection (15), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.””

This amendment is intended to ensure that people in England who have incurred housing-related or other priority debt, for example rent arrears, as the result of domestic financial abuse are not prevented from bidding for social housing.

After Clause 10, insert the following new Clause— “Annual report on the operation of Right to Buy (1) The Secretary of State must, for each financial year after this section comes into force, prepare and lay before Parliament an annual report on the operation and impact of Right to Buy. (2) The report must include— (a) the number of homes sold under the Right to Buy in each local authority; (b) the total receipts received by local authorities from such sales and how those receipts have been used; (c) an assessment of the impact of the changes made by this Act to the Right to Buy on the availability of social housing in each local authority. (3) This report must be laid before Parliament within three months of the end of the financial year.”

Clause 12, page 11, line 36, leave out “four weeks” and insert “eight weeks, or 12 weeks if the property is in an area designated as a rural area under paragraph 17(1)(c) of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985 (inserted by section 8 of this Act),”

Clause 12, page 13, line 11, at end insert— “(h) whether the dwelling has been adapted to make it accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility problems.”

After Clause 13, insert the following new Clause— “Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety After section 86 of the Housing Act 1985 (periodic tenancy arising on termination of fixed term), insert— “86ZA Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety (1) This section applies where— (a) a registered provider of social housing has granted a secure and assured tenancy of a dwelling-house in England to a person (whether as the sole tenant or a joint tenant), and (b) the registered provider is satisfied that there is a threat to the personal safety of that person or of a member of that person’s household which means there is a risk to their personal safety unless they move. (2) When subsection (1) applies, the registered provider must grant the tenant a new secure tenancy which is— (a) on terms at least equivalent to the existing tenancy, and (b) in a dwelling where the threat to the tenant’s personal safety does not apply. (3) In this section, a “threat to personal safety” means any threat of violence, including in circumstances of— (a) domestic abuse where the perpetrator does not live at the same address as the victim; (b) an escalating neighbour dispute; (c) a threat of targeted youth or gang violence. (4) In assessing the threat under subsection (1)(b), the registered provider must act in accordance with any relevant police advice provided to— (a) the registered provider, (b) the tenant, or (c) any member of the tenant’s household. (5) In the event that a registered provider is unable to ensure the provision of an appropriate new secure tenancy pursuant to subsection (2), the registered provider concerned must co-operate with other registered providers to ensure an appropriate new secure tenancy is provided in a timely manner.””

After Clause 13, insert the following new Clause— “Access to dwellings for registered providers of social housing to comply with relevant statutory safety duties (1) This section applies where— (a) a registered provider of social housing makes a request of an occupier to enter relevant premises; (b) the purpose of the request is to comply with a relevant statutory safety duty. (2) In this section “relevant statutory safety duty” means a duty imposed on a landlord by or under any of the following— (a) regulations 36(2) and (3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/2451), (b) regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/312), and (c) regulation 4(1)(c) of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1693) as amended by regulation 5 of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/707). (3) Upon an application by a registered provider of social housing under this section, the court may make an order as it considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling the registered provider of social housing to comply with the relevant statutory safety duty, including— (a) authorising entry to the relevant premises, (b) authorising the use of reasonable force to gain entry, if necessary, and (c) authorising the carrying out of specified inspections, testing or works. (4) The court shall not make any order unless the registered provider of social housing has, in the three month period prior to the date of the application, served on the occupier the relevant requests for access complying with subsections (5) to (7), which must comprise an initial request, final request, and breach notice. (5) The “initial request” must— (a) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with, (b) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out, (c) provide the date and time, or period, during which the registered provider of social housing requests entry to the relevant premises for the purpose of complying with the relevant statutory safety duty, (d) provide a period of at least 14 days prior to the date and time, or period, provided in accordance with paragraph (c) above during which the occupier may contact the registered provider of social housing in order to make an appointment for access to the relevant premises, and (e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing so that such an appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises. (6) The “final request” must— (a) be served at least seven days after the ending of the period specified in subsection (5)(d), (b) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with, (c) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out, (d) provide a date, time and duration when entry to the relevant premises is required, which must be at least seven days after service, and (e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an alternative appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises. (7) The “breach notice” must— (a) be served not less than three days after the date provided under subsection (6)(d), (b) provide the details of the occupier’s failure to comply with the initial request and final request, (c) specify a date, which must be at least seven days from service, after which the application for an order under subsection (3) will be made, and (d) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an appointment for access can be made. (8) An order under this section must— (a) specify the purpose for which entry is authorised, (b) limit entry to what is reasonably required to achieve that purpose, and (c) specify the period during which entry may take place, which may not be longer than three months. (9) Subsection (4) does not apply where the registered provider of social housing reasonably considers that there is an imminent risk to the health or safety of any person arising from— (a) a gas installation or appliance, (b) an electrical installation, or (c) the absence or failure of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm, and in such a case the court may make such order as it considers just. (10) In this section— “registered provider of social housing” has the meaning given by section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008; “occupier” means a person in possession or with a right to possession of the relevant premises, including a tenant or licensee; “relevant premises” means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling. (11) Nothing in this section limits any right of entry which a registered provider of social housing may have apart from this section.”

80

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of access to social housing for former service personnel
(1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review of the level of access to social housing for former members of the armed forces.
(2) The review must in particular assess—
(a) whether current allocation schemes give sufficient priority to former members of the armed forces,
(b) the adequacy of provision for former members of the armed forces with disabilities or other needs arising from their service, and
(c) the effectiveness of existing support in assisting former members of the armed forces to access and sustain social housing tenancies.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay a report of the review before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to review and report to Parliament on the extent to which former members of the armed forces are able to access social housing.

Schedule 1, page 34, line 13, at end insert— “(2) In section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible and qualifying persons: England), after subsection (11) insert— “(12) In deciding what classes of persons are not qualifying persons under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to housing-related debt or other priority debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.” (3) In section 166A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: England), after subsection (14) insert— “(15) A local housing authority in England must not, in preparing or modifying their allocation scheme, have regard to housing-related debt or other priority debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (16) For the purposes of subsection (15), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.””

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause— “Shared ownership homes: buybacks, affordability and stock retention (1) The Secretary of State must ensure that arrangements are in place under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, or any successor programme, to support the acquisition or buyback of shared ownership homes which are unsellable or unmortgageable, to prevent the loss of affordable housing stock through open market sale. (2) The Secretary of State must publish guidance on the operation of those arrangements within six months of the passing of this Act. (3) The Secretary of State must collect and publish annual data on shared ownership homes which leave the affordable housing sector through open market sale. (4) The data published under subsection (3) must be disaggregated by the primary reason for sale, where known, including— (a) financial hardship or affordability pressures experienced by the shared owner; (b) repossession; (c) mortgageability issues as a result of building safety defects, remediation liabilities or associated costs; (d) lease length, lease terms or other lease-related restrictions; (e) simultaneous staircasing to 100% and resale; (f) such other categories as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. (5) The Secretary of State must publish annually a summary analysis of the data collected under subsections (3) and (4), including an assessment of the extent to which sales are attributable to affordability pressures, mortgageability issues, or other structural features of the shared ownership model. (6) The Secretary of State must collect and publish annual data on— (a) the number of shared ownership homes identified as unsellable or unmortgageable; (b) the number of such homes acquired or bought back by registered providers of social housing or local housing authorities; (c) the number of such acquisitions supported through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme or any successor programme, Recycled Capital Grant Funding, or registered providers’ own funds; (d) the number of such homes converted to social rent or other affordable housing tenures; (e) the proportion of shared ownership households whose housing costs exceed 40% of net household income. (7) The Secretary of State must publish annually— (a) the number of registered providers of social housing operating a shared ownership buyback policy, (b) the number of buybacks completed under such policies, (c) whether such policies are publicly available, and (d) the total number of shared ownership homes retained as social housing stock as a result of buybacks under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme or any successor programme, Recycled Capital Grant Funding, or registered providers’ own funds. (8) In this section— “housing costs” includes mortgage payments, rent, service charges, ground rent, and any other mandatory charges payable under a shared ownership lease; “unsellable or unmortgageable” means a shared ownership home in respect of which there is no reasonable prospect of sale, staircasing or mortgage lending on normal market terms due to affordability pressures, building safety issues, lease-related restrictions, valuation issues, or other material barriers.”

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause— “Review of shared ownership and staircasing (1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, conduct and publish a review of the operation and effectiveness of the shared ownership scheme in England. (2) The review must consider in particular— (a) the affordability of shared ownership for leaseholders; (b) the extent to which shared ownership provides a viable route to full home ownership; (c) the operation of staircasing arrangements, including the costs, fees and valuation requirements associated with the purchase of additional shares; (d) barriers faced by shared ownership leaseholders in staircasing to higher levels of ownership or to full ownership; (e) the impact of service charges, repairs obligations and other housing costs on shared ownership leaseholders; (f) whether legislative or regulatory changes are required to improve transparency, affordability and access to full ownership. (3) The Secretary of State must lay the review before Parliament together with a statement setting out any proposed actions in response to its findings.”

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause— “Review of access to social housing for former service personnel (1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review of the level of access to social housing for former members of the armed forces. (2) The review must in particular assess— (a) whether current allocation schemes give sufficient priority to former members of the armed forces, (b) the adequacy of provision for former members of the armed forces with disabilities or other needs arising from their service, and (c) the effectiveness of existing support in assisting former members of the armed forces to access and sustain social housing tenancies. (3) The Secretary of State must lay a report of the review before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

24

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Local recycling of right to buy receipts
(1) Where a local authority is unable to apply capital receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under the right to buy within the period prescribed by regulations, those receipts must first be offered for use by another local housing authority within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere.
(2) Where a registered provider of social housing is unable to apply such receipts within the prescribed period, those receipts must first be applied towards the provision of social housing within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for the operation of this section.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This probing amendment would ensure that, where right to buy receipts cannot be spent by the original recipient, they are first recycled within the same housing market area before being redistributed elsewhere.

79

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause—
“Protections for adapted social housing
(1) This section applies where a dwelling owned by the local housing authority or a registered provider of social housing—
(a) has been substantially adapted for occupation by a person with a disability or support need, or
(b) has been substantially adapted with the use of a Disabled Facilities Grant.
(2) Before such a dwelling is allocated through the general housing allocation process, the landlord must take reasonable steps to offer the dwelling to a person whose needs would substantially benefit from those adaptations.
(3) In this section, “substantially adapted” has such meaning as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations made by statutory instrument.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment would require social landlords to protect the pool of adapted housing by giving preference to applicants who could benefit from existing adaptations before allocating adapted homes through the general housing allocation process.

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause— ‘‘Review of shared ownership and staircasing (1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, conduct and publish a review of the operation and effectiveness of the shared ownership scheme in England. (2) The review must consider in particular— (a) the affordability of shared ownership for leaseholders; (b) the extent to which shared ownership provides a viable route to full home ownership; (c) the operation of staircasing arrangements, including the costs, fees and valuation requirements associated with the purchase of additional shares; (d) barriers faced by shared ownership leaseholders in staircasing to higher levels of ownership or to full ownership; (e) the impact of service charges, repairs obligations and other housing costs on shared ownership leaseholders; (f) whether legislative or regulatory changes are required to improve transparency, affordability and access to full ownership. (3) The Secretary of State must lay the review before Parliament together with a statement setting out any proposed actions in response to its findings.’’

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause— “Local recycling of right to buy receipts (1) Where a local authority is unable to apply capital receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under the right to buy within the period prescribed by regulations, those receipts must first be offered for use by another local housing authority within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere. (2) Where a registered provider of social housing is unable to apply such receipts within the prescribed period, those receipts must first be applied towards the provision of social housing within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere. (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for the operation of this section. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

After Clause 18, insert the following new Clause— “Protections for adapted social housing (1) This section applies where a dwelling owned by the local housing authority or a registered provider of social housing— (a) has been substantially adapted for occupation by a person with a disability or support need, or (b) has been substantially adapted with the use of a Disabled Facilities Grant. (2) Before such a dwelling is allocated through the general housing allocation process, the landlord must take reasonable steps to offer the dwelling to a person whose needs would substantially benefit from those adaptations. (3) In this section, “substantially adapted” has such meaning as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations made by statutory instrument. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

23

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Shared ownership homes: buybacks, affordability and stock retention
(1) The Secretary of State must ensure that arrangements are in place under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, or any successor programme, to support the acquisition or buyback of shared ownership homes which are unsellable or unmortgageable, to prevent the loss of affordable housing stock through open market sale.
(2) The Secretary of State must publish guidance on the operation of those arrangements within six months of the passing of this Act.
(3) The Secretary of State must collect and publish annual data on shared ownership homes which leave the affordable housing sector through open market sale.
(4) The data published under subsection (3) must be disaggregated by the primary reason for sale, where known, including—
(a) financial hardship or affordability pressures experienced by the shared owner;
(b) repossession;
(c) mortgageability issues as a result of building safety defects, remediation liabilities or associated costs;
(d) lease length, lease terms or other lease-related restrictions;
(e) simultaneous staircasing to 100% and resale;
(f) such other categories as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(5) The Secretary of State must publish annually a summary analysis of the data collected under subsections (3) and (4), including an assessment of the extent to which sales are attributable to affordability pressures, mortgageability issues, or other structural features of the shared ownership model.
(6) The Secretary of State must collect and publish annual data on—
(a) the number of shared ownership homes identified as unsellable or unmortgageable;
(b) the number of such homes acquired or bought back by registered providers of social housing or local housing authorities;
(c) the number of such acquisitions supported through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme or any successor programme, Recycled Capital Grant Funding, or registered providers’ own funds;
(d) the number of such homes converted to social rent or other affordable housing tenures;
(e) the proportion of shared ownership households whose housing costs exceed 40% of net household income.
(7) The Secretary of State must publish annually—
(a) the number of registered providers of social housing operating a shared ownership buyback policy,
(b) the number of buybacks completed under such policies,
(c) whether such policies are publicly available, and
(d) the total number of shared ownership homes retained as social housing stock as a result of buybacks under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme or any successor programme, Recycled Capital Grant Funding, or registered providers’ own funds.
(8) In this section—
“housing costs” includes mortgage payments, rent, service charges, ground rent, and any other mandatory charges payable under a shared ownership lease;
“unsellable or unmortgageable” means a shared ownership home in respect of which there is no reasonable prospect of sale, staircasing or mortgage lending on normal market terms due to affordability pressures, building safety issues, lease-related restrictions, valuation issues, or other material barriers.”

58B

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause— “Report on the impact of changes to right to buy discounts Within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which section 5 comes into force, the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report assessing the impact of the changes made by that section on— (a) rates of home ownership, (b) the number of social housing tenants exercising the right to buy, (c) housing supply, and (d) the provision of replacement social housing.”

48A

Clause 11, page 11, line 36, at end insert— “171E Notification of disposal outcome (1) A private registered provider which has given a sale notice under section 171C must, within 28 days of completion of the disposal, notify— (a) the local housing authority referred to in section 171A(2)(a), and (b) the Regulator of Social Housing. (2) A notification under subsection (1) must state whether the dwelling was— (a) sold to a private purchaser, or (b) disposed of to a registered provider. (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe additional information to be included in a notification under this section.”

48B

Clause 11, page 11, line 36, at end insert— “Disposal of dwellings on cash-only basis: prohibition 171E Disposal of dwellings on cash-only basis: prohibition Private registered providers must not make a relevant sale of a dwelling on a cash-only basis.”

58A

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause— “Right to buy sales figures (1) Before the end of each calendar year beginning with the year in which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must lay a report before Parliament providing comparative figures for the previous calendar year. (2) The comparative figures must relate to— (a) the number of sales of right to buy properties and the proportionate increase or decrease on the previous year(s), and on the year before this Act came into force, (b) the overhead savings on, or costs for maintenance, administration, upkeep and running, as a consequence of this increase or decrease, (c) the increase or decrease of income from right to buy sales, and (d) the number of properties owned, managed and run by local authorities.”

117A

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Equalities impact assessment (1) The Secretary of State must commission and publish an equalities impact assessment of the Act (“the EIA”) in accordance with this section. (2) The EIA must assess the likely impact of each provision of the Act on persons who share a protected characteristic within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, including in respect of— (a) access to and allocation of social housing; (b) the exercise of the right to buy; (c) the operation of protections for victims of domestic abuse under Schedule 1. (3) The EIA must be conducted by a person independent of the Secretary of State and must be laid before both Houses of Parliament.”

117B

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Report on the use of AI in social housing provision (1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish a report on the use of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity governance to improve standards in the provision of social housing. (2) The report must present draft guidance for local housing authorities and registered providers on— (a) the responsible procurement, deployment, and oversight of artificial intelligence systems in connection with social housing provision; (b) minimum cybersecurity standards applicable to systems holding data generated by or in connection with social housing provision. (3) The report must be laid before both Houses of Parliament.”

117C

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Accessibility standards (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument specify digital accessibility standards applicable to all tenant-facing digital services provided in connection with social housing provision. (2) The accessibility standards must require that— (a) all tenant-facing digital services comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 or any successor standard at level AA; (b) analogue alternatives equivalent in substance are maintained for every digital service, including telephone, in-person and paper-based routes; (c) all written communications use plain language meeting a reading age of no greater than 11 years; (d) services are available through web, telephone, SMS, and in-person channels as a minimum. (3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

119A

Clause 19, page 13, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (4) and insert— “(1) This section and section (Equalities impact assessment) come into force on the day on which this Act is passed. (2) All other sections may only come into force after the publication of the impact assessment under section (Equalities impact assessment), on such a day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint.”

119B

Clause 19, page 13, line 26, leave out subsections (1) to (4) and insert— “(1) This section and section (Accessibility standards) come into force on the day on which this Act is passed. (2) All other sections may only come into force after regulations have been made under section (Accessibility standards), on such a day or days as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint.”

77

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Fixed term tenancies for social housing
Nothing in this Act prevents a local housing authority or registered provider from granting a fixed-term tenancy for social housing.”

This amendment would preserve the ability to landlords to grant fixed-term tenancies.

20

Clause 7, page 5, line 36, leave out from beginning to end of line 7 on page 6 and insert—
“(c) any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

37

Clause 11, page 9, line 26, at end insert—
“(d) the Regulator of Social Housing.”

This amendment seeks to extend the notification of proposed sale to cover the Regulator of Social Housing.

38

Clause 11, page 9, line 27, leave out “four weeks” and insert “eight weeks, or twelve weeks if the property is in an area designated as a rural area under paragraph 17(1)(c) of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985,”

This amendment seeks to extending the timescale for notice to be given of a sale.

44

Clause 11, page 10, line 43, at end insert—
“(h) whether the dwelling has been adapted to make it accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility problems.”

This amendment seeks to make information regarding the accessibility of the dwelling to wheelchair users and people with mobility problems relevant when a sale notice is made.

46

Clause 11, page 11, line 12, at end insert—
“171CA Requirement to consult with a relevant local authority before a planned disposal in a designated rural area
(1) A private registered provider must provide the relevant local authority in a designated rural area with a report on social housing stock condition information on an annual basis.
(2) A private registered provider must consult with the relevant local authority on options to regenerate social housing in the designated rural area before any decision to dispose of a property in the area has taken place.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a designated rural area is defined as any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

This amendment seeks to ensure that the private registered provider and relevant local authority discuss appropriate solutions to the possible disposal of affordable housing in sensitive rural communities well before a disposal has taken place.

94

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Provision of information to local housing authorities about prison leavers
(1) The Secretary of State has a duty to ensure that local housing authorities receive information necessary to provide housing to prison leavers at risk of homelessness.
(2) The Secretary of State must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, publish requirements for the nature of the information that must be shared with local housing authorities, and the timescales on which it must be provided to local housing authorities.
(3) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State must publish a report setting out the number of prison leavers provided with social housing by local housing authorities on release from prison.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay the report under subsection (3) before Parliament.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

This amendment seeks to place a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that local housing authorities receive information necessary to provide housing to prison leavers at risk of homelessness, and to require the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on social housing provision to prison leavers.

1

Before Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—
“Abolition of Right to Buy
(1) The Right to Buy scheme is abolished.
(2) The Housing Act 1985 is amended as follows—
(a) omit Part 5 (the right to buy);
(b) omit schedule 4;
(c) omit schedule 5;
(d) omit schedule 6;
(e) omit schedule 6A;
(f) omit schedule 9A.”

This amendment seeks to abolish the Right to Buy scheme.

3

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, at end insert—
“(b) after subsection (2) insert—
“(3) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for a right to buy Digital Lifecycle Service.
(4) The Digital Lifecycle Service must—
(a) track, in respect of each qualifying tenant, the period of time which has elapsed towards satisfaction of the qualifying period under subsection (A1);
(b) notify the tenant at prescribed milestones during that period, including at the halfway point and at intervals of not less than one year in the final three years, in plain and accessible language;
(c) provide step-by-step guidance to tenants on the process for exercising the right to buy, including on the application process, timescales, and available financial assistance.
(5) The Digital Lifecycle Service must be accessible to tenants through web, telephone, and SMS channels and must comply with accessibility requirements specified in regulations by statutory instrument made within 12 months of the day on which the Social Housing Act 2026 was passed.
(6) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.””

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to establish a right to buy Digital Lifecycle Service that proactively manages the 10-year eligibility countdown on behalf of tenants, and provides milestone notifications and plain-language guidance. The Service must be accessible across multiple channels.

7

Clause 2, page 1, leave out lines 15 to 18

This amendment probes whether Right to Buy should be restricted on the basis that a spouse or civil partner has exercised it in the past.

8

Clause 2, page 1, leave out lines 19 to 21

This amendment probes whether Right to Buy should be restricted on the basis that a deceased spouse or deceased civil partner has exercised it in the past.

9

Clause 2, page 2, leave out lines 37 to 39

This amendment probes how a landlord can be satisfied that persons were not married or in a civil partnership, but were living together in that way.

10

Clause 4, page 4, line 10, at end insert—
“(1A) The Digital Lifecycle Service established under section 119 must flag automatically to the landlord any application which presents indicators of suspected fraud for the purposes of this section.”

11

Clause 4, page 4, line 23, leave out “as soon as reasonably practicable” and insert “within 14 days”

This amendment probes what is considered to be reasonably practicable.

12

Clause 4, page 4, line 25, leave out “as soon as reasonably practicable” and insert “within 14 days”

This amendment probes what is considered to be reasonably practicable.

13

Clause 4, page 4, line 40, at end insert—
“124B Blockchain audit trail for right to buy applications
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument require each landlord to maintain an immutable distributed ledger record (“the RTB audit trail”) in respect of every claim to exercise the right to buy made under section 122.
(2) The RTB audit trail must record—
(a) the date on which each section 122 notice was served;
(b) any previous exercise of the right to buy by any person within the scope of section 121ZC;
(c) the date, grounds, and outcome of any fraud suspension under section 124A;
(d) the date and outcome of any investigation conducted under section 124A(3).
(3) Records in the RTB audit trail must be—
(a) cryptographically secured against retrospective alteration;
(b) accessible to the Regulator of Social Housing on request;
(c) retained for a period of not less than 12 years from the date of each entry.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires landlords to maintain a blockchain-based audit trail for all right to buy applications, recording previous exercises of the right, fraud suspension records, and investigation outcomes in a cryptographically secured ledger that cannot be retrospectively altered. This directly supports the fraud suspension provisions in section 124A.

17

Clause 7, page 5, line 25, leave out subsection (2)

This amendment probes the necessity of replacing the specific and widely understood term “warden” with the general and less specific term “manager”.

18

Clause 7, page 5, line 29, leave out from beginning to end of line 7 on page 6

This amendment probes why those living in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and areas designated as rural should be exempt from Right to Buy.

19

Clause 7, page 5, line 32, at end insert—
“(aa) a National Landscape,”

This amendment seeks to ensure that the protections intended for National Parks are extended to the National Landscapes, which is the new term for areas of natural beauty.

22

Clause 7, page 6, line 14, leave out “35” and insert “15”

This is a probing amendment that seeks to understand the rationale behind setting a 35-year limit.

26

Clause 9, page 8, line 7, leave out “a determination” and insert “regulations”

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

27

Clause 9, page 8, line 14, leave out “determination” and insert “regulations”

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

28

Clause 9, page 8, line 17, leave out “determination” and insert “regulations”

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

29

Clause 9, page 8, line 18, leave out “A determination” and insert “Regulations”

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

30

Clause 9, page 8, leave out lines 21 to 27

This amendment would remove the Secretary of State’s ability to make different provisions in respect of different local authorities and to make retroactive provisions through a determination.

31

Clause 9, page 8, line 27, leave out “determination is” and insert “regulations are”

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

32

Clause 9, page 8, leave out lines 29 to 35

This amendment removes the power of the Secretary of State to make a determination, but that changes to the use of capital receipts must be made by regulations instead.

35

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—
“Guidance relating to Right to Buy and financial literacy
(1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed the Secretary of State must publish guidance promoting awareness of the Right to Buy scheme and financial literacy in relation to Right to Buy among young people.
(2) Guidance under subsection (1) may include provision relating to Right to Buy and its interaction with—
(a) mortgages,
(b) savings,
(c) shared ownership, and
(d) household budgeting.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to issue guidance promoting the Right to Buy scheme and financial literacy among young people.

36

Clause 11, page 9, line 15, at end insert “, or the dwelling is in a rural area”

39

Clause 11, page 9, line 27, leave out “four” and insert “eight”

40

Clause 11, page 9, line 30, at end insert—
“(4A) A sale notice given under subsection (2) must be given to the Regulator of Social Housing at the same time as it is given to the persons specified in that subsection.”

This amendment requires the Regulator of Social Housing to receive a copy of every sale notice at the same time as local housing authorities and registered providers are notified.

41

Clause 11, page 9, line 33, at end insert—
“171AA Right of first refusal: local housing authorities
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a sale notice has been given under section 171A in relation to a dwelling, and
(b) the dwelling—
(i) is let at social rent, or
(ii) was previously transferred from a local housing authority.
(2) During the period specified in section 171A(3), the local housing authority for the area in which the dwelling is situated may make an offer to acquire the dwelling.
(3) Where an offer is made under subsection (2), the private registered provider must dispose of the dwelling to the local housing authority at existing use value for social housing.
(4) A dwelling acquired under this section must be retained as social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of this Act.
(5) Any dispute as to the existing use value for social housing shall be determined by an independent valuer appointed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
(6) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the operation of this section.”

This amendment gives local housing authorities a right of first refusal to acquire social rent dwellings and dwellings previously transferred from local authorities at existing use value for social housing.

42

Clause 11, page 9, line 33, at end insert—
“171AA Right of first refusal: registered providers
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a sale notice has been given under section 171A in relation to a dwelling, and
(b) the dwelling—
(i) is let at social rent, or
(ii) was previously transferred from a local housing authority.
(2) During the period specified in section 171A(3), any registered provider which received a sale notice under section 171A(2) may make an offer to acquire the dwelling.
(3) Where an offer is made under subsection (2), the private registered provider must dispose of the dwelling to the registered provider at existing use value for social housing.
(4) A dwelling acquired under this section must be retained as social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of this Act.
(5) Any dispute as to the existing use value for social housing shall be determined by an independent valuer appointed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
(6) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the operation of this section.”

This amendment gives registered providers a right of first refusal to acquire social rent dwellings and dwellings previously transferred from local authorities at existing use value for social housing.

45

Clause 11, page 10, line 43, at end insert—
“(h) whether the dwelling is let at social rent,
(i) the dwelling’s energy performance certificate rating,
(j) whether the dwelling meets the Decent Homes Standard,
(k) whether the interest to be disposed of is freehold or leasehold,
(l) details of any accessibility adaptations made to the dwelling,
(m) details of any public grant received in relation to the dwelling, including any disabled facilities grant, and
(n) whether the dwelling was previously transferred from a local housing authority and, if so, the consideration paid on that transfer.”

47

In inserted subsection (3), leave out “3,000” and insert “1,000”

48

Clause 11, page 11, line 36, at end insert—
“171E Blockchain audit trail for disposal notifications
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations require each private registered provider to maintain an immutable distributed ledger record (“the disposal audit trail”) in respect of every sale notice given under section 171A.
(2) The disposal audit trail must record—
(a) the date on which each sale notice was given and to whom;
(b) any response received from a local housing authority or other notified person within the period specified in section 171A(3);
(c) the outcome of the proposed sale, including whether the dwelling was acquired by a notified person and retained within the social housing sector.
(3) The Secretary of State must publish annually an analysis of disposal audit trail data, cross-referenced with local housing need data, identifying areas of net social housing stock loss.
(4) Records in the disposal audit trail must be cryptographically secured against retrospective alteration and retained for not less than 12 years.”

This amendment requires private registered providers to maintain a tamper-proof blockchain audit trail of all section 171A disposal notifications, recording responses and outcomes. It also requires annual publication of disposal data cross-referenced with housing need, identifying areas of net stock loss.

49

Clause 11, page 11, line 38, leave out "or 171B" and insert ", 171B or 171E"

54

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Statutory replacement obligation for right to buy disposals
(1) Where a dwelling is disposed of under the right to buy conferred by Part 5 of the Housing Act 1985, the landlord must, except as permitted by regulations made under subsection (4), secure the provision of a replacement dwelling that—
(a) is social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;
(b) is situated, wherever reasonably practicable, in the same local authority area as the disposed dwelling.
(2) A replacement dwelling must be provided within three years of the disposal.
(3) Each local housing authority must publish annually—
(a) the number of dwellings disposed of under the right to buy in the preceding year;
(b) the number of replacement dwellings provided under subsection (1);
(c) the number of replacement dwellings outstanding.
(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make further provision about the application of subsection (1), including provision about cases in which provision of a replacement in the same local authority area is not reasonably practicable.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment introduces a statutory obligation to replace every dwelling sold under right to buy on a like-for-like basis, situated in the same local authority area wherever reasonably practicable, within three years of disposal. It requires annual publication of disposal and replacement data.

55

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Report: replacement of social housing stock
(1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must undertake a replacement of social housing stock review.
(2) The review under subsection (1) must consider the appropriateness of establishing a statutory requirement on local authorities to deliver one additional social rented dwelling for every social rented dwelling disposed of within the period of three years beginning with the date of disposal.
(3) Within one month of the review under subsection (1) being completed, the Secretary of State must lay a report before both Houses of Parliament stating whether the Secretary of State considers the proposed statutory requirement in subsection (2) would be appropriate.
(4) Social rented dwelling in subsection (1) has the meaning given to “low-cost rental” by section 69 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (low cost rental).”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to consider the appropriateness of a one-for-one replacement policy for homes sold under the Right to Buy.

56

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Replacement of social housing stock data
(1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish the number of new dwellings for social rent that have been delivered within the preceding 12 months and make the same publication annually thereafter.
(2) When the Secretary of State publishes the data required by subsection (1) the Secretary of State must publish the number of dwellings for social rent that have been disposed of by local authorities within the preceding 12 months.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to publish annual data on the amount of social housing which is replaced once sold.

57

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Social housing estates: regeneration
(1) The Secretary of State must, within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, lay before Parliament a document setting out proposals to support the regeneration of existing social housing estates.
(2) The document under subsection (1) must include proposals relating to—
(a) funding to deliver alternative housing for existing tenants during the redevelopment of social housing estates,
(b) support for increasing density as part of social housing redevelopment where appropriate,
(c) the use of public land and housing assets to facilitate regeneration, and
(d) grant funding for energy efficiency improvements as part of redevelopment schemes.
(3) In preparing the document under this section, the Secretary of State must have regard to the need to increase overall housing supply within existing urban areas.”

This amendment would require the Government to bring forward proposals within 12 months to support regeneration of social housing estates, including decant funding and densification opportunities.

58

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Housing and stock management strategy
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a strategy for the provision of supported housing within the social housing system.
(2) The strategy must consider—
(a) the relative cost-effectiveness of supported housing compared to institutional care,
(b) barriers to delivery of supported housing,
(c) integration of supported housing within social housing stock management, and
(d) long-term demand projections.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the strategy under subsection (1) before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment would require a strategy on supported housing as part of effective social housing stock management.

59

Clause 12, page 12, line 5, at end insert—
“(2) A landlord who holds personal data in connection with any function conferred by Schedule 1 must—
(a) ensure that all such data is stored in encrypted form with access restricted to persons who require it for the purposes of those functions;
(b) maintain a complete audit log of all access to and processing of such data;
(c) report any breach of security in respect of such data to the Information Commissioner within 24 hours of becoming aware of the breach, and to the affected individual as soon as reasonably practicable;
(d) comply with minimum security standards specified by the Secretary of State in regulations made by statutory instrument under this subsection.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (2) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment imposes minimum cybersecurity requirements on landlords handling personal data generated by the domestic abuse protections in Schedule 1, including encrypted storage, access controls, audit logging, and a 24-hour mandatory breach notification to the Information Commissioner.

60

Clause 12, page 12, line 5, at end insert—
“(2) The Secretary of State must establish and fund a pilot programme to test the use of zero-knowledge proof cryptographic techniques (“ZKP techniques”) for the verification of entitlement to social housing protections for tenants who are victims of domestic abuse without disclosure of identifying information about the person claiming those protections.
(3) The pilot programme must—
(a) test the use of ZKP techniques for that purpose in at least three local authority areas;
(b) be completed within three years of the commencement of this section;
(c) be evaluated by an independent body appointed by the Secretary of State.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay a report of the evaluation before Parliament and, if the evaluation concludes that ZKP techniques are effective, must within 12 months, by regulations made by statutory instrument, mandate their use in verification of entitlement to social housing protections for tenants who are victims of domestic abuse.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to establish a pilot programme testing zero-knowledge proof techniques to verify domestic abuse victims’ eligibility for housing protections without exposing their identity, location, or case details to landlords or other parties. If the pilot is successful, the Secretary of State must bring forward regulations mandating their use.

62

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Access to dwellings for registered providers of social housing to comply with relevant statutory safety duties
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a registered provider of social housing makes a request of an occupier to enter relevant premises;
(b) the purpose of the request is to comply with a relevant statutory safety duty.
(2) In this section “relevant statutory safety duty” means a duty imposed on a landlord by or under any of the following—
(a) regulations 36(2) and (3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/2451),
(b) regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/312), and
(c) regulation 4(1)(c) of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1693) as amended by regulation 5 of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendments) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/707).
(3) Upon an application by a registered provider of social housing under this section, the court may make an order as it considers appropriate for the purpose of enabling the registered provider of social housing to comply with the relevant statutory safety duty, including—
(a) authorising entry to the relevant premises,
(b) authorising the use of reasonable force to gain entry, if necessary, and
(c) authorising the carrying out of specified inspections, testing or works.
(4) The court must not make any order unless the registered provider of social housing has, in the three month period prior to the date of the application, served on the occupier the relevant requests for access complying with subsections (5) to (8), which must comprise an initial request, final request, and breach notice.
(5) The “initial request” must—
(a) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with,
(b) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out,
(c) provide the date and time, or period, during which the registered provider of social housing requests entry to the relevant premises for the purpose of complying with the relevant statutory safety duty,
(d) provide a period of at least 14 days prior to the date and time, or period, provided in accordance with paragraph (c) during which the occupier may contact the registered provider of social housing in order to make an appointment for access to the relevant premises, and
(e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing so that such an appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises.
(6) The “final request” must—
(a) be served at least seven days after the ending of the period in subsection (5)(d),
(b) outline the relevant statutory safety duty or duties to be complied with,
(c) outline the inspection, testing or works to be carried out,
(d) provide a date, time and duration when entry to the relevant premises is required, which must be at least seven days after service, and
(e) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an alternative appointment for access can be made by the occupier of the relevant premises.
(7) The “breach notice” must—
(a) be served not less than three days after the date in subsection (6)(d),
(b) provide the details of the occupier’s failure to comply with the initial request and final request,
(c) specify a date, which must be at least seven days from service, after which the application for an order under subsection (3) will be made, and
(d) provide the contact details of the registered provider of social housing where an appointment for access can be made.
(8) An order under this section must—
(a) specify the purpose for which entry is authorised,
(b) limit entry to what is reasonably required to achieve that purpose, and
(c) specify the period during which entry may take place, which may not be longer than three months.
(9) Subsection (4) does not apply where the registered provider of social housing reasonably considers that there is an imminent risk to the health or safety of any person arising from—
(a) a gas installation or appliance,
(b) an electrical installation, or
(c) the absence or failure of a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm,
and in such a case the court may make such order as it considers just.
(10) In this section—
“occupier” means a person in possession or with a right to possession of the relevant premises, including a tenant or licensee;
“registered provider of social housing” has the meaning given by section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;
“relevant premises” means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling.
(11) Nothing in this section limits any right of entry which a registered provider of social housing may have apart from this section.”

63

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Protection for vulnerable groups
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument specify the provision that local housing authorities must make in respect of allocation of social housing and provision for support in relation to social housing for vulnerable people, including in respect of—
(a) priority in allocation decisions;
(b) co-ordination with relevant support services.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), vulnerable people include—
(a) disabled persons within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010;
(b) persons with mental health conditions;
(c) older persons;
(d) former members of the armed forces;
(e) persons leaving care settings, including hospital discharge and custodial settings;
(f) families with dependent children in temporary accommodation.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This amendment extends the principle of specific statutory provision — which the Bill applies to domestic abuse victims — to a broader range of vulnerable groups in the social housing population: disabled people, those with mental health conditions, older tenants, veterans, care leavers, and families with children in temporary accommodation.

64

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Report: domestic abuse and social housing allocation
(1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review and publish a report on the effectiveness of the courts in determining—
(a) whether domestic abuse has occurred within a household which holds a social housing tenancy, and
(b) the identity of victims and perpetrators for social housing allocation purposes.
(2) The report under subsection (1) must include an assessment of delays in court proceedings affecting housing decisions in such cases.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the report under subsection (1) before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment would require an assessment of court delays and decision-making in domestic abuse cases affecting housing allocations and tenancy decisions.

Baroness O'Neill of Bexley gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that Clause 14 stand part of the Bill.

This is to probe the rationale behind repealing these powers.

The above named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 16 stand part of the Bill.

This is to oppose provisions in the Bill which amend existing legislation regarding rents for high income social tenants

95

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Assessment of planning policy impact on young families with children in need of social housing
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring social housing providers to publish data on and an evaluation of the impact of changes in planning policy, funding and standards on the availability and affordability of three-bedroom homes for social rent for young families with children.
(2) The Secretary of State must arrange for such information to be collected, collated, analysed and published at least annually.
(3) The Secretary of State must ensure that this published information is laid before Parliament in a timely manner but not less than annually.
(4) The regulations in this section are to be made by statutory instrument.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

96

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Adequate provision of trees for new social housing developments
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision requiring that new social housing developments mandate a minimum level of urban tree canopy cover to sufficiently address environmental, health and climate inequalities.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must make provision about—
(a) minimum levels of tree planting, with regards to pre-existing local canopy cover;
(b) climate resilience;
(c) access to green infrastructure within reasonable walking distance;
(d) long-term maintenance including replacement of trees.
(3) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to ensure that all new social housing developments provide residents with adequate access to urban tree canopy cover, reducing health and environmental inequalities by improving access to the benefits of trees, while helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change.

97

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Data relevant to social housing decisions
(1) The Secretary of State must establish a cross-government data interoperability framework (“the framework”) to facilitate the sharing of data relevant to social housing decisions between—
(a) local housing authorities and registered providers of social housing;
(b) the Department for Work and Pensions;
(c) NHS England;
(d) His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
(2) The framework must specify—
(a) the categories of data which may be shared between the bodies listed in subsection (1);
(b) the access controls and governance arrangements applicable to each category, proportionate to the sensitivity of the data concerned;
(c) the oversight arrangements for data sharing, including human authorisation requirements for sharing of data classified as sensitive personal data.
(3) The framework must be reviewed at intervals of not more than three years.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay the framework and each reviewed version before both Houses of Parliament.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to establish a cross-government data interoperability framework enabling appropriate sharing of data relevant to social housing decisions between housing, DWP, NHS, and HMRC systems, with human-governed access controls proportionate to the sensitivity of the data.

98

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Algorithmic accountability in social housing decisions
(1) This section applies where a local housing authority or registered provider uses an artificial intelligence system to inform or support a relevant decision.
(2) A “relevant decision” means a decision relating to—
(a) the allocation of social housing;
(b) eligibility for the right to buy;
(c) handling of domestic abuse cases under powers granted by Schedule 1.
(3) A local housing authority or registered provider using an artificial intelligence system to inform a relevant decision must—
(a) ensure that every relevant decision is reviewed and authorised by a qualified human decision-maker before it takes effect;
(b) conduct bias audits of the system at intervals of not more than 12 months and publish the results;
(c) provide a written explanation of any relevant decision to the person affected on request;
(d) operate an accessible appeals mechanism through which persons affected by a relevant decision may challenge the use of the system.
(4) The Secretary of State must publish guidance on the application of this section within 12 months of its commencement.”

This amendment requires human oversight at every decision point where AI is used in housing allocation, right to buy eligibility, or domestic abuse cases. It mandates annual bias audits with published results, written explanations of AI-informed decisions on request, and an accessible appeals mechanism for affected persons.

99

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Unified social housing data standard
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument establish a unified social housing data standard applicable to all local housing authorities and registered providers of social housing in England.
(2) The data standard must specify—
(a) the data that local housing authorities and registered providers must record in respect of waiting list applications, Right to Buy applications, disposal notifications under section 171A, and domestic abuse cases under schedule 1;
(b) the format and architecture in which that data must be held;
(c) the minimum interoperability requirements for systems used to hold that data, including compatibility with relevant systems operated by the Department for Work and Pensions, NHS England, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
(3) No local housing authority or registered provider may procure or deploy an artificial intelligence system in connection with functions under this Act unless that system is compatible with the data standard.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to establish a unified social housing data standard across all local authorities and registered providers, specifying data architecture, recording requirements, and interoperability with DWP, NHS, and HMRC systems. Compliance with the standard is a precondition for any AI deployment in connection with functions under the Act.

100

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Inclusion by design
(1) In exercising any power granted by this Act, a local housing authority, registered provider of social housing, or the Secretary of State must have regard to the principle that social housing services, allocation systems, digital tools, and governance structures should be designed from the outset to be accessible and equitable for all persons in the social housing population (“the inclusion by design principle”).
(2) The inclusion by design principle requires in particular that powers granted by this Act are exercised in a manner which—
(a) does not result in less favourable outcomes for persons sharing a protected characteristic within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010;
(b) actively addresses barriers faced by disabled persons, older persons, persons with mental health conditions, and persons with low digital literacy.
(3) The Secretary of State must publish guidance on the application of the inclusion by design principle within 12 months of this section coming into force, and must review that guidance at intervals of not more than three years.”

This amendment enshrines inclusion by design as a named statutory principle running through the whole Act, requiring all functions, allocation systems, digital services, and governance structures to be designed from the outset to be accessible and equitable. The principle applies to all bodies exercising powers granted by the Act.

101

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Equalities monitoring of social housing outcomes
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument require each local housing authority and registered provider of social housing to collect and publish data on the outcomes of—
(a) waiting list applications and allocation decisions;
(b) right to buy applications and exercises of the right;
(c) the operation of protections granted under Schedule 1 (domestic abuse);
(d) notifications and outcomes under section 171A of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (disposal notifications).
(2) Data published under subsection (1) must be broken down by each protected characteristic as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
(3) Data must be published annually and in a format specified in regulations that enables comparison across local authority areas.
(4) Where published data indicates a statistically significant disparity in outcomes for persons sharing a protected characteristic, the local housing authority or registered provider must conduct and publish an equalities impact assessment within six months of the publication of that data.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires annual publication of social housing outcomes broken down by protected characteristic, covering waiting lists, right to buy, domestic abuse protections, and disposal notifications. Where data reveals significant disparities, a mandatory equalities impact assessment is triggered.

102

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Accessible and adaptive housing design standard
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument establish a mandatory accessible and adaptive housing design standard (“the design standard”) applicable to all new and refurbished social housing in England.
(2) The design standard must specify minimum requirements for—
(a) step-free access and wheelchair accessibility;
(b) adaptability for persons with sensory impairments;
(c) provision for adaptation for persons with progressive conditions.
(3) The Secretary of State must establish and maintain a national register of accessible social housing properties (“the Accessible Properties Register”) recording, for each property on the register—
(a) the accessibility features it provides;
(b) whether it is currently occupied.
(4) Local housing authorities must use the Accessible Properties Register in allocation decisions affecting persons with disabilities or access needs.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment introduces a mandatory accessible and adaptive housing design standard for all new and refurbished social housing and a national register of accessible properties to enable needs-based allocation.

103

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Tenant governance and board representation
(1) A registered provider of social housing must ensure that not less than one fifth of the membership of its governing board comprises persons who are, or have within the preceding five years been, tenants of social housing.
(2) In exercising functions in respect of the allocation of social housing, a local housing authority or registered provider must establish and maintain a tenant advisory panel for the purpose of co-designing allocation policies.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make further provision about the composition and functions of tenant advisory panels under subsection (2).
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment introduces statutory tenant board representation of at least one fifth, mandatory tenant advisory panels for the co-design of allocation policies, and a requirement to publish complaints data by protected characteristic.

104

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“ESG framework for social housing providers
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument establish an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework for registered providers of social housing above a size threshold specified in those regulations.
(2) The ESG framework must require that registered providers—
(a) meet a minimum energy efficiency standard in respect of social housing stock protected from disposal under this Act, with priority given to the worst-performing properties and those whose tenants are most exposed to fuel poverty;
(b) publish annually a report on outcomes for tenants sharing protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to establish an ESG framework for social housing providers, setting minimum energy efficiency standards for stock protected under the Act and requiring annual reporting on board diversity and equalities outcomes.

105

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of shared ownership arrangements
(1) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must conduct a review of the operation of shared ownership arrangements in England.
(2) The review must consider—
(a) the method by which rent is calculated on the unowned equity share;
(b) the appropriateness of linking increases in such rent to the Consumer Price Index of inflation;
(c) the apportionment of costs arising on the sale of a shared ownership property;
(d) the timeliness of responses by registered providers to requests for legal documentation;
(e) fees charged by registered providers in connection with staircasing, sales and other administrative matters;
(f) the apportionment of service charges, leasehold charges and management costs;
(g) the treatment of capital improvements funded by shared owners;
(h) barriers to staircasing to 100% ownership.
(3) Following completion of the review, the Secretary of State must lay a report before Parliament setting out findings and recommendations.”

This probing amendment would require a review of the operation of shared ownership schemes and barriers faced by shared owners.

106

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Model shared ownership agreement
(1) The Secretary of State must prepare and publish a model shared ownership agreement.
(2) The model agreement must include standard provisions relating to—
(a) rent reviews,
(b) staircasing,
(c) service charges,
(d) administrative fees,
(e) sales and resales, and
(f) capital improvements undertaken by shared owners.
(3) Registered providers must have regard to the model agreement when granting shared ownership leases.”

This probing amendment would require the publication of a standardised model shared ownership agreement.

107

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Effective management of social housing stock
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a strategy for the effective management of social housing stock.
(2) The strategy must include proposals relating to—
(a) unlawful subletting,
(b) long-term vacant dwellings,
(c) under-occupation,
(d) adapted dwellings,
(e) abandoned properties, and
(f) reletting times.”

This probing amendment would require the Government to publish a strategy for improving the management of existing social housing stock.

108

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Safeguarding duty in relation to out-of-area placements
(1) Where a local housing authority secures accommodation for a household outside its area, that local authority retains responsibility for safeguarding oversight.
(2) The Secretary of State must issue guidance concerning the discharge of duties under this section.”

This amendment would ensure that local authorities retain safeguarding responsibilities where households are placed outside their area.

109

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Social responsibilities of registered providers
(1) The Secretary of State must publish guidance concerning the social responsibilities of registered providers of social housing.
(2) Guidance under this section must include consideration of—
(a) tenant wellbeing,
(b) estate management,
(c) antisocial behaviour,
(d) community engagement,
(e) neighbourhood quality, and
(f) support for vulnerable tenants.”

This probing amendment would require the Government to define the wider social responsibilities of registered providers.

110

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of registered providers of social housing: governance
(1) The Secretary of State must conduct a review of the governance arrangements of registered providers of social housing.
(2) The review must consider—
(a) board composition;
(b) accountability to local communities;
(c) the role of elected representatives;
(d) tenant representation;
(e) transparency and scrutiny arrangements;
(f) the publication of performance information.
(3) A report of the review must be laid before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This probing amendment would require a review of governance arrangements within registered providers of social housing.

111

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Attendance before local authority scrutiny committees
(1) A senior officer of a registered provider of social housing must attend a meeting of a local authority overview and scrutiny committee if requested to do so by that authority.
(2) Subsection (1) applies where the registered provider owns or manages more than 10% of the social housing stock within the authority’s area.”

This amendment would enable local authorities to require senior housing association representatives to attend scrutiny committee meetings.

112

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Quarterly performance information
(1) Registered providers of social housing must publish quarterly performance information.
(2) The information published must include—
(a) repairs performance,
(b) complaints performance,
(c) antisocial behaviour performance,
(d) tenant satisfaction measures, and
(e) void property performance.”

This amendment would require housing associations to publish quarterly performance information.

113

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Periodic review of applications for social housing
(1) Local housing authorities must review applications held on a housing register at least once every three years.
(2) The purpose of a review under subsection (1) is to determine whether the applicant—
(a) remains eligible for social housing,
(b) wishes to remain on the register, and
(c) continues to require the level of housing priority previously awarded.”

This amendment would require housing register applications to be reviewed at least every three years to ensure that waiting lists remain accurate and up to date.

114

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to private registered providers
(1) A private registered provider of social housing is a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
(2) In Part 6 (other public bodies and offices: general) of Schedule 1 (public authorities) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, after “The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales.” insert
“A private registered provider of social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.””

115

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Regulatory inspection at tenants’ request
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision enabling tenants of a registered provider of social housing to request an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must specify—
(a) the number of tenants required to support a request,
(b) the grounds on which a request may be made, and
(c) the circumstances in which an inspection may be refused.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment pursuant to a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

This probing amendment would enable tenants of a registered provider to request an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing.

116

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Assessment of use of empty homes by local authorities
(1) Each local authority must create and publish a five-year plan for the use of long-term empty homes for social housing within a year of the day on which this Act is passed.
(2) The plan must include an assessment of—
(a) the local authority’s current social housing stock,
(b) the number of unoccupied social homes in the area,
(c) the number of suitable empty homes in the area and their suitability for social housing, and
(d) the number of people who are seeking social housing.
(3) The plan must set out—
(a) how the local authority will acquire empty homes assessed to be suitable for social housing,
(b) renovation plans for newly acquired homes,
(c) how much the newly acquired social homes will cost, and
(d) how the local authority will allocate the new social housing.”

117

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Report: complaints data
A local housing authority or registered provider must publish annually data on complaints received in respect of functions under this Act, broken down by protected characteristic within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, so far as that information is held.”

118

Clause 17, page 13, line 11, leave out subsection (2)

This amendment removes the consequential power to amend or repeal provision made by an Act of Parliament passed before, or in the same session as, this Act by regulations.

4

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—
“Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners
Before section 121A of the Housing Act 1985 insert—
“121ZC Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners
Prohibition on exercise of right to buy
(1) The right to buy may not be exercised if any of the following persons owns other residential property—
(a) the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs;
(b) the spouse or civil partner of the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs (if they are living together at the relevant time in relation to the right to buy);
(c) the co-habitee of the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs;
and, for that purpose, one person is the co-habitee of another person if they live together as if they were a married couple or civil partners.
(2) But that prohibition does not apply if—
(a) the landlord is satisfied that—
(i) the person or any of the persons to whom the right to buy belongs (“A”) has at any time within the relevant period been a victim of domestic abuse within the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and
(ii) within that period A has for reasons connected to the abuse moved from the accommodation that they were occupying (whether or not more than once), and
(b) the right to buy is being exercised by A (whether alone or with other persons).
Residential property
(3) In this section—
(a) “other residential property” means residential property other than the dwelling-house to which the right to buy relates;
(b) “residential property” means a building or a part of a building (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) that consists of, or includes, property that—
(i) is being used wholly or partly as a dwelling, or
(ii) is constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling, but is not being used wholly or partly as a dwelling.
Ownership: England, Wales and Northern Ireland
(4) Subsections (5) to (7) apply for the purpose of determining whether a person owns other residential property that is in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
(5) The person owns the other residential property if the person is the beneficial owner, or one of the beneficial owners, of a qualifying interest in the other residential property.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), any of the following is a “qualifying interest”—
(a) the freehold;
(b) a lease that was originally granted for a term of 21 years or longer.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (5), a person (P) is a beneficial owner of a qualifying interest if—
(a) the qualifying interest is not held on trust and P holds, or is one of the persons who hold, the qualifying interest, or
(b) the qualifying interest is held on trust and P has, or is one of the persons who have, a beneficial interest under the trust;
(and accordingly if P holds, or is one of the persons who hold, the qualifying interest on trust, P is not a beneficial owner unless P also has a beneficial interest under the trust).
Ownership: Scotland
(8) Subsections (9) and (10) apply for the purpose of determining whether a person owns other residential property that is in Scotland.
(9) The person owns the other residential property if the person is the owner, or one of the owners, of the other residential property.
(10) But where a person (“T”) holds other residential property in trust under the law of Scotland on terms such that, if the trust had effect under the law of England and Wales, one or more persons would be regarded as having an equitable interest in the trust property (the “notional beneficiary or beneficiaries”)—
(a) the notional beneficiary or beneficiaries are to be treated as being the owner or owners of the residential property despite no such interest being recognised under the law of Scotland, and
(b) T is the owner only if T is a notional beneficiary.
Ownership: outside the United Kingdom
(11) In determining whether a person owns other residential property outside the United Kingdom, regard must be had to the desirability of producing an effect that is as consistent with the effect produced by subsections (5) to (7) as is practicable (taking into account, in particular, any ways in which the law relating to the other residential property differs from the laws of the United Kingdom).
Trusts and trustees: other provision
(12) For the purposes of this section—
(a) a qualifying interest (in relation to England, Wales or Northern Ireland), or ownership (in relation to Scotland), is not to be regarded as held on a trust created by a will unless and until the qualifying interest or ownership has been vested in the trustees;
(b) a person is not to be regarded as holding a qualifying interest (in relation to England, Wales or Northern Ireland), or ownership (in relation to Scotland), if they hold it as a trustee in bankruptcy or otherwise in accordance with any legislation of any part of the United Kingdom relating to insolvency.””

This would prevent the right to buy from being exercised if any person to whom the right belongs, or their spouse, civil partner or co-habitee, already owns other residential property.

6

Clause 2, page 1, line 8, leave out from beginning to “Exercise” in line 9 and insert—
“(1) After section 121ZC of the Housing Act 1985 (inserted by section (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners)) insert—

This would be consequential on the new Clause (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners) in my name.

52

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—
“Local recycling of right to buy receipts
(1) Where a local authority is unable to apply capital receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under the right to buy within the period prescribed by regulations, those receipts must first be offered for use by another local housing authority within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere.
(2) Where a registered provider of social housing is unable to apply such receipts within the prescribed period, those receipts must first be applied towards the provision of social housing within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for the operation of this section.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This probing amendment would ensure that, where right to buy receipts cannot be spent by the original recipient, they are first recycled within the same housing market area before being redistributed elsewhere.

50

Clause 11, page 11, line 39, leave out paragraph (b)

This would be consequential on new Clause (Health and safety lead: Parliamentary procedure). That would insert a generally-worded exclusion into section 320(7)(d) HRA 2008, and therefore remove the need for the specific exclusion inserted by clause 11(3)(b).

67

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Health and safety lead: Parliamentary procedure
In section 320 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (orders and regulations), in subsection (7)(d), for “sections 70 and 72” substitute “those sections referred to in subsection (3)(d)”.”

Section 320(3)(d) HRA 2008 applies affirmative procedure to regulations under section 126A of that Act. Section 126A is not expressly excepted from section 320(7)(d) (which applies negative procedure), and so there could be uncertainty about which resolution procedure applies. This amendment would prevent any such doubt.

89

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Protections for adapted social housing
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a dwelling owned by the local housing authority or a registered provider of social housing has been substantially adapted for occupation by a person with a disability or support need, or
(b) a Disabled Facilities Grant has been used to fund substantial adaptations to that dwelling.
(2) Before such a dwelling is allocated through the general housing allocation process, the landlord must take reasonable steps to offer the dwelling to a person whose needs would substantially benefit from those adaptations.
(3) In this section, “substantially adapted” has such meaning as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations made by statutory instruments.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

This amendment would require social landlords to protect the pool of adapted housing by giving preference to applicants who could benefit from existing adaptations before allocating adapted homes through the general housing allocation process.

90

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Social purpose of registered providers of social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must issue guidance on the social purpose of registered providers of social housing.
(2) The guidance must include—
(a) promoting tenant wellbeing;
(b) effective state management;
(c) the prevention and reduction of antisocial behaviour;
(d) community engagement;
(e) the provision and maintenance of safe and sustainable neighbourhoods;
(f) the balance between development activity and social responsibilities of registered providers.
(3) Registered providers must have regard to guidance issued under this section.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of the guidance before Parliament.”

This probing amendment would require the Secretary of State to issue guidance on the social purpose of registered providers of social housing and the wider responsibilities expected of them beyond housing development.

122

Clause 19, page 14, line 6, at end insert—
“(za) section (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners) (right to buy: residential property owners);”

This would provide for the new Clause (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners) in my name to commence two months after Royal Assent.

16

After Clause 6, insert the following new Clause—
“Buyback of right to buy properties: resources and monitoring
(1) The Secretary of State must ensure that local housing authorities in England have access to sufficient resources to exercise the right of first refusal under section 156A of the Housing Act 1985 (right of first refusal for landlord etc.).
(2) The Secretary of State must, within 18 months of the passing of this Act and annually thereafter, publish a report on the exercise of that right, which must include—
(a) the number of properties offered to local housing authorities under section 156A,
(b) the number of those properties purchased by local housing authorities, and
(c) the Secretary of State’s assessment of whether resource constraints prevented authorities from purchasing properties they wished to acquire.
(3) Where the report identifies resource constraints under subsection (2)(c), the Secretary of State must set out the steps proposed to address them.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to ensure local housing authorities have sufficient resources to exercise the right of first refusal over former right to buy properties, and to report annually on how effectively that right is being used in practice.

53

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—
“Local authority registers of social housing stock change
(1) Each local housing authority must maintain a register recording—
(a) the number of dwellings sold by the authority under the right to buy in each financial year,
(b) the number of new social housing dwellings provided by or on behalf of the authority in each financial year, and
(c) the net change in the authority's social housing stock resulting from the figures in paragraphs (a) and (b).
(2) A local housing authority must publish its register under this section annually and make it available to the public in such manner as the authority considers appropriate.
(3) The Secretary of State must publish a summary of the information contained in registers under this section across all local housing authorities in England.
(4) The summary under subsection (3) must identify authorities where the number of dwellings sold under the right to buy exceeds the number of new social housing dwellings provided in the same period.”

This amendment requires local housing authorities to maintain and publish annual registers recording dwellings sold under the right to buy against new social housing provided, enabling public scrutiny of whether authorities are failing to replenish lost stock.

91

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of access to social housing for former service personnel
(1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review of the level of access to social housing for former members of the armed forces.
(2) The review must in particular assess—
(a) whether current allocation schemes give sufficient priority to former members of the armed forces,
(b) the adequacy of provision for former members of the armed forces with disabilities or other needs arising from their service, and
(c) the effectiveness of existing support in assisting former members of the armed forces to access and sustain social housing tenancies.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay a report of the review before Parliament within twelve months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to review and report to Parliament on the extent to which former members of the armed forces are able to access social housing.

92

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Guidance on affordable and social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must publish guidance on the distinction between “affordable housing” and “social housing” for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Before publishing guidance under this section, the Secretary of State must consult such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(3) The Secretary of State may revise and republish the guidance.”

This new Clause requires the Secretary of State to publish guidance clarifying the distinction between “affordable housing” and “social housing”.

93

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of access to social housing for former offenders
(1) The Secretary of State must undertake a review of the level of access to social housing for former offenders.
(2) The review must in particular assess—
(a) whether current allocation schemes give sufficient priority to former offenders seeking to resettle in the community,
(b) the adequacy of provision for former offenders with vulnerabilities or other needs arising from their offending history or period of custody, and
(c) the effectiveness of existing support in assisting former offenders to access and sustain social housing tenancies.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay a report of the review before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment requires the Secretary of State to review and report to Parliament on the extent to which former offenders are able to access social housing.

Clause 7, page 5, line 36, leave out from beginning to end of line 7 on page 6 and insert— “(c) any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

Clause 11, page 9, line 26, at end insert— “(d) the Regulator of Social Housing.”

Clause 11, page 9, line 27, leave out “four weeks” and insert “eight weeks, or twelve weeks if the property is in an area designated as a rural area under paragraph 17(1)(c) of Schedule 5 to the Housing Act 1985,”

Clause 11, page 10, line 43, at end insert— “(h) whether the dwelling has been adapted to make it accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility problems.”

Clause 11, page 11, line 12, at end insert— “171CA Requirement to consult with a relevant local authority before a planned disposal in a designated rural area (1) A private registered provider must provide the relevant local authority in a designated rural area with a report on social housing stock condition information on an annual basis. (2) A private registered provider must consult with the relevant local authority on options to regenerate social housing in the designated rural area before any decision to dispose of a property in the area has taken place. (3) For the purposes of this section, a designated rural area is defined as any area with a population density of no more than two persons per hectare and a population of 3,000 or fewer.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Provision of information to local housing authorities about prison leavers (1) The Secretary of State has a duty to ensure that local housing authorities receive information necessary to provide housing to prison leavers at risk of homelessness. (2) The Secretary of State must, by regulations made by statutory instrument, publish requirements for the nature of the information that must be shared with local housing authorities, and the timescales on which it must be provided to local housing authorities. (3) Within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State must publish a report setting out the number of prison leavers provided with social housing by local housing authorities on release from prison. (4) The Secretary of State must lay the report under subsection (3) before Parliament. (5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

83

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“National audit of social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a national audit of social housing stock within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.
(2) The audit must include information relating to—
(a) stock condition,
(b) occupancy levels,
(c) rates of under-occupation,
(d) regional demand, and
(e) void properties.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the audit before Parliament.”

This amendment would require a publication of a national audit of social housing stock.

84

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Assessment of temporary asylum accommodation and social housing demand
(1) The Secretary of State must publish an assessment of the impact of temporary asylum accommodation on local social housing demand.
(2) The assessment must include—
(a) geographic concentration,
(b) local authority housing pressures, and
(c) impacts on temporary accommodation provision.
(3) The assessment must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require assessment of the impact of temporary asylum accommodation on local social housing demand.

51

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause—
“Large-scale housing stock transfers
After section 92K of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (fundamental objectives) insert—
“92KA Code of Guidance on large-scale housing stock transfers
In pursuance of the objective in section 92K(2)(b), the regulator may issue a Code of Guidance on large-scale housing stock transfers, to which registered providers must have regard.””

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners Before section 121A of the Housing Act 1985 insert— “121ZC Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners Prohibition on exercise of right to buy (1) The right to buy may not be exercised if any of the following persons owns other residential property— (a) the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs; (b) the spouse or civil partner of the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs (if they are living together at the relevant time in relation to the right to buy); (c) the co-habitee of the person, or any of the persons, to whom the right to buy belongs; and, for that purpose, one person is the co-habitee of another person if they live together as if they were a married couple or civil partners. (2) But that prohibition does not apply if— (a) the landlord is satisfied that— (i) the person or any of the persons to whom the right to buy belongs (“A”) has at any time within the relevant period been a victim of domestic abuse within the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and (ii) within that period A has for reasons connected to the abuse moved from the accommodation that they were occupying (whether or not more than once), and (b) the right to buy is being exercised by A (whether alone or with other persons). Residential property (3) In this section— (a) “other residential property” means residential property other than the dwelling-house to which the right to buy relates; (b) “residential property” means a building or a part of a building (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) that consists of, or includes, property that— (i) is being used wholly or partly as a dwelling, or (ii) is constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling, but is not being used wholly or partly as a dwelling. Ownership: England, Wales and Northern Ireland (4) Subsections (5) to (7) apply for the purpose of determining whether a person owns other residential property that is in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. (5) The person owns the other residential property if the person is the beneficial owner, or one of the beneficial owners, of a qualifying interest in the other residential property. (6) For the purposes of subsection (5), any of the following is a “qualifying interest”— (a) the freehold; (b) a lease that was originally granted for a term of 21 years or longer. (7) For the purposes of subsection (5), a person (P) is a beneficial owner of a qualifying interest if— (a) the qualifying interest is not held on trust and P holds, or is one of the persons who hold, the qualifying interest, or (b) the qualifying interest is held on trust and P has, or is one of the persons who have, a beneficial interest under the trust; (and accordingly if P holds, or is one of the persons who hold, the qualifying interest on trust, P is not a beneficial owner unless P also has a beneficial interest under the trust). Ownership: Scotland (8) Subsections (9) and (10) apply for the purpose of determining whether a person owns other residential property that is in Scotland. (9) The person owns the other residential property if the person is the owner, or one of the owners, of the other residential property. (10) But where a person (“T”) holds other residential property in trust under the law of Scotland on terms such that, if the trust had effect under the law of England and Wales, one or more persons would be regarded as having an equitable interest in the trust property (the “notional beneficiary or beneficiaries”)— (a) the notional beneficiary or beneficiaries are to be treated as being the owner or owners of the residential property despite no such interest being recognised under the law of Scotland, and (b) T is the owner only if T is a notional beneficiary. Ownership: outside the United Kingdom (11) In determining whether a person owns other residential property outside the United Kingdom, regard must be had to the desirability of producing an effect that is as consistent with the effect produced by subsections (5) to (7) as is practicable (taking into account, in particular, any ways in which the law relating to the other residential property differs from the laws of the United Kingdom). Trusts and trustees: other provision (12) For the purposes of this section— (a) a qualifying interest (in relation to England, Wales or Northern Ireland), or ownership (in relation to Scotland), is not to be regarded as held on a trust created by a will unless and until the qualifying interest or ownership has been vested in the trustees; (b) a person is not to be regarded as holding a qualifying interest (in relation to England, Wales or Northern Ireland), or ownership (in relation to Scotland), if they hold it as a trustee in bankruptcy or otherwise in accordance with any legislation of any part of the United Kingdom relating to insolvency.””

Clause 2, page 1, line 8, leave out from beginning to “Exercise” in line 9 and insert— “(1) After section 121ZC of the Housing Act 1985 (inserted by section (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners)) insert— “121ZD””

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause— “Local recycling of right to buy receipts (1) Where a local authority is unable to apply capital receipts arising from the disposal of dwellings under the right to buy within the period prescribed by regulations, those receipts must first be offered for use by another local housing authority within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere. (2) Where a registered provider of social housing is unable to apply such receipts within the prescribed period, those receipts must first be applied towards the provision of social housing within the same strategic housing market area before being applied elsewhere. (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for the operation of this section. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

Clause 11, page 11, line 39, leave out paragraph (b)

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Health and safety lead: Parliamentary procedure In section 320 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (orders and regulations), in subsection (7)(d), for “sections 70 and 72” substitute “those sections referred to in subsection (3)(d)”.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Protections for adapted social housing (1) This section applies where— (a) a dwelling owned by the local housing authority or a registered provider of social housing has been substantially adapted for occupation by a person with a disability or support need, or (b) a Disabled Facilities Grant has been used to fund substantial adaptations to that dwelling. (2) Before such a dwelling is allocated through the general housing allocation process, the landlord must take reasonable steps to offer the dwelling to a person whose needs would substantially benefit from those adaptations. (3) In this section, “substantially adapted” has such meaning as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations made by statutory instruments. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this Act may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Social purpose of registered providers of social housing (1) The Secretary of State must issue guidance on the social purpose of registered providers of social housing. (2) The guidance must include— (a) promoting tenant wellbeing; (b) effective state management; (c) the prevention and reduction of antisocial behaviour; (d) community engagement; (e) the provision and maintenance of safe and sustainable neighbourhoods; (f) the balance between development activity and social responsibilities of registered providers. (3) Registered providers must have regard to guidance issued under this section. (4) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of the guidance before Parliament.”

Clause 19, page 14, line 6, at end insert— “(za) section (Exercise of the right to buy by residential property owners) (right to buy: residential property owners);”

15

Clause 5, page 5, line 6, leave out “15” and insert “30”

This replaces the proposed reduction of the maximum right to buy discount to 15 per cent with a maximum of 30 per cent, from the current maximum of 60 per cent for houses and 70 per cent for flats.

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause – "Large-scale housing stock transfers After section 92K of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (fundamental objectives) insert- “92KA Code of Guidance on large-scale housing stock transfers In pursuance of the objective in section 92K(2)(b), the regulator may issue a Code of Guidance on large-scale housing stock transfers, to which registered providers must have regard.”

5

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—
“Transitional arrangements relating to qualifying period for right to buy
(1) Section 119 of the Housing Act 1985 (qualifying period for right to buy) is amended as follows.
(2) After subsection (A1) insert—
“(A2) Subsection (A1) does not apply in relation to a secure tenancy entered into before the coming into force of section 1 of the Social Housing Act 2026.
(A3) In relation to a tenancy within subsection (A2), the right to buy does not arise unless the period which, in accordance with Schedule 4, is to be taken into account for the purposes of this section is at least three years.””

This amendment seeks to extend the transition period for the commencement of provisions in clause 1 in relation to secure tenancies.

The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 1 stand part of the Bill.

This amendment seeks to probe the Government’s rationale behind extending the qualifying period for Right to Buy.

14

Clause 5, page 5, line 4, leave out “five” and insert “20”

This replaces the proposed reduction to the right to buy discount to five per cent with a reduction to 20 per cent, from the current rate of 35 per cent for houses and 50 per cent for flats.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that Clause 6 stand part of the Bill.

This italic notice seeks to remove the extension of the Right of First Refusal in perpetuity.

21

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 6 and 7

This is a probing amendment to understand the interaction with section 8(2) of the Bill.

23

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 15 to 18

This allows shared cost accommodation to be eligible for right to buy.

24

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 19 to 21

This is a probing amendment to test if there will be delays in what is deemed practical completion to avoid giving a right to buy.

25

Clause 7, page 7, leave out lines 29 and 30 and insert—
“(c) may not be made unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution by both Houses of Parliament.”

This amendment would require an affirmative parliamentary approval for regulations defining rural areas exempt from the Right to Buy.

33

Clause 9, page 8, line 35, at end insert—
“(5F) Before making a determination relating to the use of capital receipts under this section, the Secretary of State must consult local housing authorities.”

This amendment would require consultation before determinations are made on the use of capital receipts.

34

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of the impact of this Act on home ownership
(1) Within the period of two years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish a review of the impact of this Act on rates of home ownership among former social tenants.
(2) The review under subsection (1) must include an assessment of this Act on—
(a) the number of Right to Buy applications,
(b) the number of completed Right to Buy purchases, and
(c) the ages of former social tenants who successfully purchased their homes through Right to Buy,
in the calendar year prior to the review.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of this review before both Houses of Parliament.”

This amendment would require a review of the impact of this Act on rates of home ownership.

43

Clause 11, page 10, line 23, at end insert—
“(7) In exercising functions under this section, the Secretary of State must have regard to the operational and financial independence of private registered providers.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to have regard to the independence of housing associations when exercising powers under new section 171B.

68

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Local connection requirements
(1) The Secretary of State must, using powers under section 166A(7) and 167(3) of the Housing Act 1996, require that local housing authorities ensure that reasonable preference in allocations policies takes account of local connection.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), local connection includes—
(a) residence,
(b) employment,
(c) family association, or
(d) service in His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations issue guidance on the implementation of subsections (1) and (2).
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

This amendment would strengthen local connection considerations in social housing allocations.

69

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Access to social housing: British citizenship
(1) Where a dwelling is social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, the landlord must be satisfied that the lead tenant is a British citizen.
(2) Where the landlord is not a local authority, the relevant local authority should take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with subsection (1).”

This amendment seeks to ensure that those who are not British citizens cannot access social housing.

70

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Tenancy review for persistent anti-social behaviour
(1) A social landlord must conduct a tenancy review where a tenant has engaged in persistent anti-social behaviour.
(2) Persistent anti-social behaviour refers to repeated conduct capable of causing harassment, alarm or distress to neighbouring residents.
(3) The Secretary of State may by regulations issue guidance under this section.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

This amendment would strengthen powers available to social landlords in cases of persistent anti-social behaviour.

71

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Brownfield land social housing development strategy
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a strategy for prioritising the development of brownfield land for social housing.
(2) The strategy must include—
(a) measures to accelerate planning approvals on brownfield sites for social housing, and
(b) incentives for regeneration of derelict urban land for the purpose of social housing.”

This amendment seeks to require the Government to publish a brownfield-first social housing development strategy.

72

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of regulatory burdens
(1) The Secretary of State must conduct a review of regulatory burdens affecting local authorities and registered providers of new social housing relating to social housing provision.
(2) The review under subsection (1) must consider—
(a) administrative costs,
(b) duplication of regulatory requirements,
(c) barriers to social housing development, and
(d) opportunities for simplification.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the review before both Houses of Parliament within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment would require a review of cumulative regulatory burdens affecting social housing delivery.

73

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Fiscal impact assessment
(1) Within the period of six months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish an assessment of the fiscal impact of this Act.
(2) The assessment under subsection (1) must consider—
(a) the impact on local authority finances,
(b) to what extent social housing represents value for money for the taxpayer, and
(c) the financial ability of social housing tenants to access Right to Buy.
(3) The Secretary of State must lay the assessment before Parliament.”

This amendment would require the Secretary of State to carry out a fiscal impact assessment of the Act.

74

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Eligibility for social housing: foreign public office holders and associated persons
(1) The Secretary of State may issue guidance concerning foreign public office holders and associated persons.
(2) A local housing authority must have regard to guidance issues by the Secretary of State concerning applications for social housing made by foreign public office holders and associated persons including—
(a) persons holding senior public office in a foreign state;
(b) spouses or civil partners of such persons;
(c) persons subject to sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom.
(3) Guidance under subsection (1) may include provision relating to disclosure requirements and verification of overseas assets.
(4) The Secretary of State must lay any guidance issues under this section before Parliament.”

This amendment would require guidance relating to social housing eligibility for certain foreign public office holders and associated persons.

75

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Illegal subletting of social housing: enforcement review
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of the effectiveness of enforcement activity relating to illegal subletting of social housing.
(2) The review must include—
(a) rates of prosecution,
(b) recovery of properties, and
(c) barriers to enforcement.
(3) The review must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require review of enforcement activity relating to illegal subletting of social housing.

76

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Standards relating to maintenance of social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must publish guidance relating to standards for maintenance of social housing, in line with the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements)(England) Regulations 2025.
(2) Guidance under subsection (1) must include provision relating to—
(a) damp and mould,
(b) electrical safety,
(c) response times for repairs, and
(d) tenant complaints procedures.
(3) Registered providers must have regard to guidance issued under this section.”

This amendment would require guidance relating to maintenance standards in social housing.

78

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of fixed-term tenancy reforms
(1) The Secretary of State must review the operation of fixed-term social housing tenancies introduced under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
(2) The review must assess—
(a) tenancy sustainability,
(b) housing mobility,
(c) efficient use of social housing stock, and
(d) impact on waiting lists.
(3) The review must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require review of fixed-term social housing tenancy reforms.

79

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Shared ownership strategy
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a strategy for increasing opportunities for shared ownership within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.
(2) The strategy must include proposals relating to—
(a) first-time buyers,
(b) key workers,
(c) housing association provision, and
(d) staircasing arrangements.
(3) The strategy must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require publication of a strategy for expanding shared ownership.

80

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Higher-income social tenants
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring registered providers and local housing authorities to charge higher rents to households whose income exceeds a prescribed threshold.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) must provide for—
(a) regional variation,
(b) household composition, and
(c) affordability considerations.
(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This amendment would enable higher rents to be charged to higher-income social housing tenants.

81

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of income eligibility for social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must review income eligibility thresholds for social housing every five years.
(2) A review under subsection (1) must consider—
(a) earnings growth,
(b) regional housing costs,
(c) housing affordability, and
(d) demand for social housing.
(3) The Secretary of State must publish the findings of each review and lay them before Parliament.”

This amendment would require regular reviews of income eligibility thresholds for social housing.

82

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Assessment of social housing demand arising from net migration
(1) The Secretary of State must publish annual estimates of additional social housing demand arising from net migration.
(2) Estimates under subsection (1) must include regional assessments.
(3) The estimates must be laid before Parliament.”

This amendment would require publication of estimates of social housing demand arising from net migration.

85

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Overheating in new social housing
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision requiring that new social housing in England is designed and constructed so as to reduce the risk of overheating during periods of high external temperature.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may in particular make provision about—
(a) ventilation,
(b) shading and solar control,
(c) thermal performance of the building fabric, and
(d) any other measures the Secretary of State considers appropriate for reducing overheating risk.
(3) Regulations under this section must secure at least equivalent protection against overheating to that required for new residential buildings under the Building Regulations 2010.
(4) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.
(5) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This amendment creates a power to regulate that new social housing in England be constructed to reduce overheating risk.

119

Clause 17, page 13, line 16, leave out subsections (4) and (5) and insert—
“(4) Regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution by both Houses of Parliament.”

This amendment would require an affirmative parliamentary procedure for regulations made under Clause 17.

120

Clause 19, page 13, line 28, leave out paragraph (a)

This amendment, and another in the name of Baroness Scott of Bybrook, would prevent section 1 of this Bill coming into effect on the day on which the Act is passed, instead making the commencement of section 1 to be three years following the day on which the Act is passed.

121

Clause 19, page 14, line 3, leave out first “or” and insert “to”

This amendment, and another in the name of Baroness Scott of Bybrook, would prevent section 1 of this Bill coming into effect on the day on which the Act is passed, delaying commencement until three years following that day.

123

Clause 19, page 14, line 16, at end insert—
“(3A) Section 1 (right to buy: qualifying period) comes into force at the end of the period of three years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed.”

This amendment, and another in the name of Baroness Scott of Bybrook, would prevent section 1 of this Bill coming into effect on the day on which the Act is passed, delaying commencement until three years following that day.

2

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out “ten” and insert “five”

This probing amendment seeks to enable a debate on the Government’s decision to extend the right to buy eligibility period from 3 years to 10 years.

61

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause—
“Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety
In the Housing Act 1985, after section 86 (periodic tenancy arising on termination of fixed term), insert—
“86ZA Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a registered provider of social housing has granted a secure and assured tenancy of a dwelling-house in England to a person (whether as the sole tenant or a joint tenant), and
(b) the registered provider is satisfied that there is a threat to the personal safety of that person or of a member of that person’s household which means there is a risk to their personal safety unless they move.
(2) When subsection (1) applies, the regulator must ensure that the registered provider grants the tenant a new secure tenancy which is—
(a) on terms at least equivalent to the existing tenancy, and
(b) in a dwelling where the threat to the tenant’s personal safety does not apply.
(3) In this section, a “threat to personal safety” means any threat of violence, including in circumstances of—
(a) domestic abuse where the perpetrator does not live at the same address as the victim;
(b) an escalating neighbour dispute;
(c) a threat of targeted youth or gang violence.
(4) In assessing the threat under subsection (1)(b), the registered provider must act in accordance with any relevant police advice provided to—
(a) the registered provider,
(b) the tenant, or
(c) any member of the tenant’s household.
(5) In the event that a registered provider is unable to ensure the provision of an appropriate new secure tenancy pursuant to subsection (2), the regulator must ensure that the registered provider concerned co-operates with other registered providers to ensure an appropriate new secure tenancy is provided in a timely manner.””

86

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of mayoral accountability for social housing delivery
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of mechanisms for strengthening accountability in relation to housing delivery by elected mayors.
(2) The review must consider—
(a) social housing delivery performance,
(b) accountability to local electors, and
(c) options to recall or other democratic accountability mechanisms.
(3) The review must be laid before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

This probing amendment would require a review of mechanisms for strengthening accountability for elected mayors in relation to social housing delivery.

87

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Review of incentives for social housing delivery by elected mayors
(1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of incentives designed to improve social housing delivery by elected mayors.
(2) The review must consider—
(a) performance measures relating to social housing delivery,
(b) financial incentives linked to delivery outcomes, and
(c) the impact of such incentives on social housing supply.
(3) The review must be laid before Parliament.”

This probing amendment would require a review of incentives linked to social housing delivery by elected mayors.

88

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Mayoral remuneration and social housing delivery performance
(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations establish a framework linking a proportion of remuneration payable to elected mayors of combined authorities to social housing delivery performance.
(2) The framework must include—
(a) measurable social housing delivery targets,
(b) assessment of social housing delivery, and
(c) criteria for adjustment of remuneration based on performance.
(3) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.
(4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.”

This probing amendment would require a statutory framework linking mayoral remuneration to social housing delivery performance.

65

Schedule 1, page 31, line 13, at end insert—
“(2) In section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible and qualifying persons: England), after subsection (11), insert—
“(12) In deciding what classes of persons are not qualifying persons under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”
(3) In section 160A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible persons: Wales), after subsection (11), insert—
“(12) In deciding if an applicant is to be treated as ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”
(4) In section 166A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: England), after subsection (14), insert—
“(15) A local housing authority in England must not, in preparing or modifying their allocation scheme, have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(16) For the purposes of subsection (15), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.”
(5) In section 167 of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: Wales), after subsection (8), insert—
“(9) A local housing authority in Wales must not, when adopting or altering their allocation scheme, have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse.
(10) For the purposes of subsection (9), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.””

This amendment is intended to ensure that people in England and Wales who have incurred debt, for example rent arrears, as the result of domestic financial abuse are not prevented from bidding for social housing.

66

Schedule 3, page 35, line 26, leave out paragraph 1

This is a probing amendment to consider the alternatives to secure tenancies for life.

Clause 5, page 5, line 6, leave out “15” and insert “30”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause- "National audit of social housing (1) The Secretary of State must publish a national audit of social housing stock within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. (2) The audit must include information relating to - (a) stock condition, (b) occupancy levels, (c) rates of under-occupation, (d) regional demand, and (e) void properties. (3) The Secretary of State must lay the audit before Parliament."

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause – “Assessment of temporary asylum accommodation and social housing demand (1) The Secretary of State must publish an assessment of the impact of temporary asylum accommodation on local social housing demand. (2) The assessment must include - (a) geographic concentration, (b) local authority housing pressures, and (c) impacts on temporary accommodation provision. (3) The assessment must be laid before Parliament."

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause—
“Fixed term tenancies: existing enactments
Nothing in this Act prevents a local housing authority from granting fixed-term tenancies for social housing in accordance with existing enactments.”

This amendment would preserve local authority discretion to use fixed-term tenancies for social housing.

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out “ten” and insert “five”

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause – "Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety In the Housing Act 1985, after section 86 (periodic tenancy arising on termination of fixed term), insert - "86ZA Duty to ensure continuity of secure tenancy in cases of threat to safety (1) This section applies where- (a) a registered provider of social housing has granted a secure and assured tenancy of a dwelling-house in England to a person (whether as the sole tenant or a joint tenant), and (b) the registered provider is satisfied that there is a threat to the personal safety of that person or of a member of that person's household which means there is a risk to their personal safety unless they move. (2) When subsection (1) applies, the regulator must ensure that the registered provider grants the tenant a new secure tenancy which is – (a) on terms at least equivalent to the existing tenancy, and (b) in a dwelling where the threat to the tenant's personal safety does not apply. (3) In this section, a “threat to personal safety” means any threat of violence, including in circumstances of – (a) domestic abuse where the perpetrator does not live at the same address as the victim; (b) an escalating neighbour dispute; (c) a threat of targeted youth or gang violence. (4) In assessing the threat under subsection (1)(b), the registered provider must act in accordance with any relevant police advice provided to - (a) the registered provider, (b) the tenant, or (c) any member of the tenant's household. (5) In the event that a registered provider is unable to ensure the provision of an appropriate new secure tenancy pursuant to subsection (2), the regulator must ensure that the registered provider concerned co-operates with other registered providers to ensure an appropriate new secure tenancy is provided in a timely manner."

Schedule 1, page 31, line 13, at end insert - "(2) In section 160ZA of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible and qualifying persons: England), after subsection (11), insert- "(12) In deciding what classes of persons are not qualifying persons under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.” (3) In section 160A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation only to eligible persons: Wales), after subsection (11), insert - "(12) In deciding if an applicant is to be treated as ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation under subsection (7), a local housing authority must not have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (13) For the purposes of subsection (12), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.” (4) In section 166A of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: England), after subsection (14), insert – "(15) A local housing authority in England must not, in preparing or modifying their allocation scheme, have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (16) For the purposes of subsection (15), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.” (5) In section 167 of the Housing Act 1996 (allocation in accordance with allocation scheme: Wales), after subsection (8), insert – “(9) A local housing authority in Wales must not, when adopting or altering their allocation scheme, have regard to any debt that was accrued by an applicant for housing accommodation, or by a member of their household, where that debt was accrued in connection with domestic abuse. (10) For the purposes of subsection (9), “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.””

Schedule 3, page 35, line 26, leave out paragraph 1

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Review of mayoral accountability for social housing delivery (1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of mechanisms for strengthening accountability in relation to housing delivery by elected mayors. (2) The review must consider— (a) social housing delivery performance, (b) accountability to local electors, and (c) options to recall or other democratic accountability mechanisms. (3) The review must be laid before Parliament within 12 months of the day on which this Act is passed.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause— “Review of incentives for social housing delivery by elected mayors (1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of incentives designed to improve social housing delivery by elected mayors. (2) The review must consider— (a) performance measures relating to social housing delivery, (b) financial incentives linked to delivery outcomes, and (c) the impact of such incentives on social housing supply. (3) The review must be laid before Parliament."

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause – "Mayoral remuneration and social housing delivery performance (1) The Secretary of State must by regulations establish a framework linking a proportion of remuneration payable to elected mayors of combined authorities to social housing delivery performance. (2) The framework must include (a) measurable social housing delivery targets, (b) assessment of social housing delivery, and (c) criteria for adjustment of remuneration based on performance. (3) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament."

The above-named Lords give notice of their intention to oppose the Question that Clause 1 stand part of the Bill.

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Transitional arrangements relating to qualifying period for right to buy (1) Section 119 of the Housing Act 1985 (qualifying period for right to buy) is amended as follows. (2) After subsection (A1) insert— “(A2) Subsection (A1) does not apply in relation to a secure tenancy entered into before the coming into force of section 1 of the Social Housing Act 2026. (A3) In relation to a tenancy within subsection (A2), the right to buy does not arise unless the period which, in accordance with Schedule 4, is to be taken into account for the purposes of this section is at least three years.”

Clause 5, page 5, line 4, leave out “five” and insert “20”

Baroness Scott of Bybrook gives notice of her intention to oppose the Question that Clause 6 stand part of the Bill.

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 6 and 7

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 15 to 18

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 19 to 21

Clause 7, page 7, leave out lines 29 and 30 and insert - "(c) may not be made unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution by both Houses of Parliament."

Clause 9, page 8, line 35, at end insert — "(5F) Before making a determination relating to the use of capital receipts under this section, the Secretary of State must consult local housing authorities."

After Clause 9, insert the following new Clause- "Review of the impact of this Act on home ownership (1) Within the period of two years beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish a review of the impact of this Act on rates of home ownership among former social tenants. (2) The review under subsection (1) must include an assessment of this Act on – (a) the number of Right to Buy applications, (b) the number of completed Right to Buy purchases, and (c) the ages of former social tenants who successfully purchased their homes through Right to Buy, in the calendar year prior to the review. (3) The Secretary of State must lay a copy of this review before both Houses of Parliament."

Clause 11, page 10, line 23, at end insert- "(7) In exercising functions under this section, the Secretary of State must have regard to the operational and financial independence of private registered providers."

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause – "National audit of social housing (1) The Secretary of State must publish a national audit of social housing stock within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed. (2) The audit must include information relating to - (a) stock condition, (b) occupancy levels, (c) rates of under-occupation, (d) regional demand, and (e) void properties. (3) The Secretary of State must lay the audit before Parliament.”

After Clause 11, insert the following new Clause- “Assessment of temporary asylum accommodation and social housing demand (1) The Secretary of State must publish an assessment of the impact of temporary asylum accommodation on local social housing demand. (2) The assessment must include - (a) geographic concentration, (b) local authority housing pressures, and (c) impacts on temporary accommodation provision. (3) The assessment must be laid before Parliament.”

After Clause 12, insert the following new Clause- "Local connection requirements (1) The Secretary of State must, using powers under section 166A(7) and 167(3) of the Housing Act 1996, require that local housing authorities ensure that reasonable preference in allocations policies takes account of local connection. (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), local connection includes - (a) residence, (b) employment, (c) family association, or (d) service in His Majesty's Armed Forces. (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations issue guidance on the implementation of subsections (1) and (2). (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause – “Access to social housing: British citizenship (1) Where a dwelling is social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, the landlord must be satisfied that the lead tenant is a British citizen. (2) Where the landlord is not a local authority, the relevant local authority should take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with subsection (1).”

After Clause 16, insert the following new Clause – "Tenancy review for persistent anti-social behaviour (1) A social landlord must conduct a tenancy review where a tenant has engaged in persistent anti-social behaviour. (2) Persistent anti-social behaviour refers to repeated conduct capable of causing harassment, alarm or distress to neighbouring residents. (3) The Secretary of State may by regulations issue guidance under this section. (4) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament."