Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the exemption from local connection tests for social housing for domestic abuse survivors is enforced by local authorities.

The government has taken action to remove barriers for victims of domestic abuse to access social housing.

Regulations, which came into force on 10 July 2025, mean that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.

We will monitor the impact of these regulations at local authority level through the Local Authority Housing Statistics. The next return will capture implementation as of 31 March 2026 and will be published later this year.