In February I introduced a new bill in Parliament to protect the rights of social housing tenants forced to move homes due to a threat of violence to either them or a member of their family that lives with them.
Known as Georgia’s Law after one of my constituents who had to move urgently after her son was threatened by a gang, the formal name of the bill is the Social Housing (Emergency Protection of Tenancy Rights) Bill.
Currently, social housing providers have no legal duty to give priority to rehousing tenants who are forced to make an emergency move due to a threat of violence to the tenant or a member of their household. This, alongside the severe shortage of social homes, can leave families – already traumatised by the circumstances of their move – trapped in overcrowded and unsuitable temporary accommodation, waiting for months or even years to be re-housed.
For a family with children, becoming homeless in this way adds further instability, affecting every child in the family and making it harder to recover from the trauma.
My bill is named after my constituent, Georgia, who was placed in temporary accommodation after her teenage son was threatened by gang members who visited the family home. The police advised Georgia that she needed to move immediately for her family’s safety.
Georgia’s housing association did not have any suitable homes available and referred her to the local authority who provided temporary accommodation. The housing association then began proceedings to end her tenancy, effectively making her homeless and facing a very long wait to be rehoused.
Following my intervention, the housing association accepted responsibility for Georgia’s housing needs and have since found her a new home. However, there is no legal duty on social landlords to prioritise cases like this.
No-one should face homelessness because they or a member of their household is threatened with serious violence, yet that is exactly what happens to far too many families who are forced to make an emergency move because a member of their household is at risk.
This Bill will protect the secure tenancy of social housing tenants who are forced to move into temporary accommodation due to a threat of violence to them or a member of their household, and ensure social landlords work together to identify a safe permanent home as soon as possible.
The Bill is supported by Shelter, the National Housing Federation, and a cross party group of MPs.
My bill will make two important changes to current housing law: Firstly, that secure social housing tenants (whether Council or housing associations) should have their tenancy rights protected in a situation in which they have to move because they, or a member of their household face a threat to safety with a right to be moved as quickly as possible to an alternative home on the same tenancy terms.
Secondly that social landlords have a new duty to cooperate in situations where a tenant needs to move to another area outside of the area.
Having to make an emergency move because someone in your family is at risk of serious violence is a terrifying and destabilising experience, affecting the whole family.
My Bill seeks to minimise the trauma and instability tenants face in these circumstances. By acknowledging in law that no-one should face homelessness as a result of being threatened with violence, protecting existing tenancy rights in law, and ensuring that social landlords cooperate with each other to find a new permanent home as quickly as possible.’
Tackling serious violence requires multiple solutions. Ensuring that social landlords have a duty to act to limit the harm caused by a risk of violence is an important reform in keeping our communities safe, and I hope the government will support Georgia’s Law.