Social Housing Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Holmes of Richmond and Lord Best

Committee stage
Wednesday 17th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Best (CB)]

My Lords, Amendments 61 and 62 are in my name. Amendment 61 would ensure that social housing providers—councils and housing associations—offer a new secure tenancy to a tenant forced out of their social housing by threats of violence, including domestic abuse and gang violence, in accordance with police advice.

The amendment has its origins in the debates on the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It was proposed by Helen Hayes MP, supported by the National Housing Federation and Shelter. Helen Hayes’s constituent, known as Georgia, was forced out of her housing association home of nine years when her eldest son was threatened by gang members. The police told Georgia that her son’s life was at risk and that she should move immediately for his safety. If anyone thinks that the risks in such a case may be exaggerated, they should note that later the younger brother in this case was brutally murdered in a separate unrelated incident. Having moved swiftly to temporary accommodation, as advised by the police, when the moment came to return to a secure tenancy, Georgia found herself at the bottom of the housing waiting list once again, despite paying rent on both her original home and the temporary placement.

Georgia spent a year in dreadful temporary accommodation but then found she had no right of return to a secure home until the housing association finally relented. Amendment 61 seeks to rectify this deficiency in the protection afforded to social housing tenants, giving them a right of return where their move resulted from police advice. The Regulator of Social Housing would ensure that the social landlord granted the displaced tenant a secure tenancy. In the event of the registered provider being unable to do so, the regulator would have to ensure that the social landlord concerned co-operated with other social landlords to ensure an appropriate new, secure tenancy. Although an enlightened housing provider might ignore the administrative niceties and allow a return to a secure home, the amendment makes this obligatory, not a matter of discretion, for the social housing landlord. This would seem to be a matter of righting an injustice in the current system and would seem only fair.

I turn to Amendment 62, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick of Undercliffe. I am grateful for the important work done on this amendment by the Chartered Institute of Housing. Amendment 62 clarifies the legal position for social landlords who need to gain access to their property to carry out safety checks and works. Social landlords must fulfil a widening range of health and statutory duties following the increased regulation of the sector over recent years. However, they are finding increased difficulty in gaining access to some tenants’ homes for checks, particularly the annual servicing of gas boilers, periodic electrical safety checks and fire safety checks, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks. If these checks are not done, the occupiers and their neighbours face potential dangers and the landlords themselves can be accused of regulatory failure and may face criminal prosecution.

Amendment 62 aims to clarify the law and provide an acceptable route for forced access where, in a minority of cases, this is necessary. The aim must be to prevent cases being taken to court, as well as to be clear on what happens when this is the only option in no-access cases. In 2025, bodies representing social housing providers, led by the Chartered Institute of Housing, commissioned a consultancy, HQN, to consider these issues. The resulting report, Opening the Door, provides sound advice on good practice for gaining access to tenants’ homes by consent. However, there remains the need for landlords to go to court to obtain permission to enter a tenant’s home in persistent no-access cases.

For forced entry, the social landlord currently relies on the tenancy terms and can seek a county court access injunction. Section 12 of the Housing Act 1988 applies, along with Section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenancy Act 1985. The problem is that two conflicting county court judgments have created confusion over whether landlords really can force access to a property despite the dangers of not doing so; for example, from faulty gas or electrical installations. The social landlords have no desire to start possession proceedings for eviction, which would represent a disproportionate and unhelpful way of resolving the safety issue. Tenants might be failing to give access because of mental health difficulties, including hoarding behaviours, while others might simply struggle to make appointments. These tenants need help and support, not eviction. Amendment 62 would clarify the law, providing for compulsory access after the issuing of clear notice requirements, prior reasonable engagement and strict safeguards. It is a necessary response to a growing problem. I commend the amendment and I beg to move Amendment 61.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 63 in my name. I apologise to the noble Lord: I was just coming through the doors as he rose to his feet. It took me longer to get down the stairs than I was intending. It would have been easier if I had been swimming.

Amendment 63 simply extends the statutory provision to include a wider group of potential beneficiaries. In no sense does it seek to dilute the critical importance of the primary purpose of the intention around those suffering domestic abuse, but it seeks to include other groups who would benefit and whom it seems appropriate to fit within this statutory provision, not least disabled people, those coming out of care situations and those coming out of custodial situations. It seems a logical extension of the statutory provision that does not in any sense dilute the primary purpose but is very much in the spirit, intention and purpose of the Bill.