Chapter 21: Domestic abuse

Guidance on providing homelessness services to people who have experienced or are at risk of domestic violence or abuse.

21.1 This chapter provides guidance on providing homelessness services to people who have experienced or are at risk of domestic abuse.

Priority need

21.2 A person who is homeless as a result of being a victim of domestic abuse has a priority need as set out in section 189 of the 1996 Act. Section 193(2) of the 1996 Act requires housing authorities to secure that accommodation is available for occupation for applicants who have a priority need for accommodation, and as set out in section 176 of the 1996 Act, the accommodation must be available for occupation by the applicant together with any other person who normally resides with them as a member of the family, or might reasonably be expected to reside with them.

Understanding domestic abuse

21.3 Domestic abuse is ‘domestic’ in nature if the perpetrator is a person who is personally connected with the victim. This does not require the individuals to be living together. In most cases domestic abuse is carried out by a partner or ex-partner, however it can also be carried out by other people who come under the definition of “personally connected” outlined at section 21.9. Domestic abuse is not limited to physical violence or confined to instances within the home and can consist of an incident or pattern of incidents.

21.4 Domestic abuse can affect anyone regardless of their age, gender identity or reassignment, race, religion, class, sexual orientation and marital status. Housing authorities should bear in mind that the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 for public authorities apply to policies, practice and procedures relating to homelessness and domestic abuse. Notwithstanding this, evidence shows women are more likely to experience repeat victimisation, be physically injured or killed as result of domestic abuse and experience non-physical abuse (including emotional and financial abuse), than men[footnote 1]. In 2018-19, 92% of defendants in domestic abuse cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service were male and 83% of the victims were female (where sex of the defendant or victim was recorded)[footnote 2]. Housing authorities should take this into account when designing and delivering services.

21.5 Housing authorities must follow the cross-government definition of domestic abuse set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 when designing and delivering services.

Definition

21.6 The 2021 Act definition is set out below. For the purpose of the legal definition “A” is referred to as the perpetrator and “B” is referred to as the victim.

  1. 21.7 Behaviour of a person “A” towards another person “B” is domestic abuse if “A” and “B” are each aged 16 years, or over, are “personally connected” to each other and the behaviour is abusive. A’s behaviour may be behaviour “towards” B despite the fact that it consists of conduct directed at another person (for example, B’s child). Behaviour is “abusive” if it consists of any of the following:

    1. (a) physical or sexual abuse

    2. (b) violent or threatening behaviour

    3. (c) controlling or coercive behaviour – controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour. Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.

    4. (d) economic abuse – economic abuse means any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on B’s ability to - (a) acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or (b) obtain goods or services.

    5. (e) psychological, emotional or other abuse

21.8 For examples of abusive behaviour outlined above please refer to the Domestic abuse guidance framework. Please note that the guidance framework does not seek to be exhaustive and that housing authorities must use their judgement as to whether a behaviour constitutes domestic abuse.

  1. 21.9 In the context of defining domestic abuse, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 states that two people are ‘personally connected’ to each other if any of the following applies:

    1. (a) they are, or have been, married to each other;
    2. (b) they are, or have been, civil partners of each other;
    3. (c) they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);
    4. (d) they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);
    5. (e) they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other;
    6. (f) they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child;
    7. (g) they are relatives.

For the purposes of subsection (f) a person has a parental relationship in relation to a child if (a) the person is a parent of the child, or (b) the person has parental responsibility for the child.

In this section “child” means a person under the age of 18 years; “civil partnership agreement” has the meaning given by section 73 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004; “parental responsibility” has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989; “relative” has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.

21.10 So-called ‘Honour-based’ abuse (HBA) is a crime or incident which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the perceived honour of the family and/or community, or when individuals try to break from constraining ’norms’ of behaviour that their community is trying to impose. HBA can cover a range of circumstances, not all of which represent domestic abuse, for example if the victim and perpetrator are not personally connected. However, HBA will typically be carried out by a member or members of the family and is likely to involve behaviours specified in the statutory definition of domestic abuse.

21.11 An important factor in ensuring that an authority develops a strong and appropriate response to domestic abuse is understanding what domestic abuse is, the context in which it takes place in and what the impacts are on victims; as well as how the impacts may be different on different groups of people. Specialist training for staff and managers will help them to provide a more sensitive response and to identify, with applicants, housing options which are safe and appropriate to their needs. Housing authorities may consider training delivered by specialist domestic abuse organisations and are strongly encouraged to provide risk assessment training to support staff and managers with responsibility for assessing applications from victims of domestic abuse.

Identifying abuse and preventing homelessness

21.12 Housing authorities should have policies in place to identify and respond to domestic abuse. Alongside their role in tackling homelessness authorities should take an active role in identifying victims and referring them for help and support. They are key partners in local domestic abuse partnerships and should be represented at their local multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC).

21.13 The MARAC leads multi-agency safety planning for high-risk victims of domestic abuse. It brings together the police, independent domestic abuse advisers, children’s social services, health, social landlords and other relevant agencies. They share information and write a safety plan for each victim and family, which may include actions by any agency present. The housing authority should be consistently represented at the MARAC and encourage relevant social landlords to also be represented.

21.14 Victims can experience many incidents of abuse before calling the police or reporting it to another agency. Housing providers may be able to identify abuse at earlier stages and should consider how they can best provide support to their residents. By understanding the indicators of domestic abuse through training and professional development, housing officers can increase their confidence to speak to people experiencing abuse, risk assess and safety plan alongside them.

21.15 Housing authorities should also be alert to the wider role they play in ensuring victim safety. Procedures should be in place to keep all information on victims safe and secure. In many cases, particularly where extended family members or multiple perpetrators may be involved, for example in female genital mutilation, forced marriage and so-called honour-based violence cases, perpetrators go to great lengths to seek information on victims.

21.16 The housing authority must be alert to the possibility of employees being, or having links to, perpetrators. Housing authorities should not disclose information about an applicant to anybody outside the organisation without consent, and should be particularly alert to the need to maintain confidentiality wherever domestic abuse is involved. In some circumstances, it may be necessary to restrict access in cases where abuse is disclosed to only named members of staff. Housing authorities should also consider how they flag case files so they can identify those victims who have been referred to the MARAC and may present as homeless.

21.17 Households at risk of domestic abuse often have to leave their homes and the area where they have lived. There is a clear need for victims of abuse and their children to be able to travel to different areas in order for them to be safe from the perpetrator, and housing authorities should extend the same level of support to those from other areas as they do to their own residents.

Duties to those homeless or threatened with homelessness

  1. 21.18 Section 177(1) of the 1996 Act provides that it is not reasonable for a person to continue to occupy accommodation if it is probable that this will lead to violence or domestic abuse against:

    1. (a) the applicant;
    2. (b) person who normally resides as a member of the applicant’s family; or,
    3. (c) any other person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicant.

21.19 Section 177(1A) provides that ‘violence’ means violence from another person or threats of violence from another person which are likely to be carried out. ‘Domestic abuse’ has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 outlined above in section 21.6. Domestic abuse is not confined to instances within the home.

Assessing homelessness

21.20 Housing Authorities will need to assess whether the applicant is a victim of domestic abuse or if they are at risk of domestic abuse. Section 177 makes clear that it is not reasonable for a person to continue to occupy accommodation if it is probable that this will lead to violence or domestic abuse against an individual, or against a person who would normally or reasonably be expected to live with them.

21.21 Housing authorities should seek to obtain an account of the applicant’s experience to assess whether the behaviour they have experienced is abusive or whether they would be at risk of domestic abuse if they continued to occupy their accommodation. The authority should support the victim to outline their experience and make an assessment based on the details of the case. Housing authorities should refer to the Domestic abuse statutory guidance framework DASH risk assessment to ensure they support the applicant appropriately. Where an applicant’s experience has been documented already by a domestic abuse service – where possible, housing authorities should utilise existing statements to avoid asking the victim to re-live their experience unnecessarily.

21.22 Several behaviours which may constitute domestic abuse could also occur as a result of a non-violent relationship breakdown, housing authorities will need to consider on a case-by-case basis whether the behaviour being reported is domestic abuse, taking account of the circumstances of each individual case, utilising the Domestic abuse statutory guidance framework.

21.23 The Power and Control Wheel outlined in the Domestic abuse statutory guidance framework gives examples of common behaviours and techniques perpetrators use to coerce or control victims of domestic abuse. Perpetrators may also seek to claim some of the abusive behaviours were carried out against them. Housing Authorities should again refer to the section on ‘perpetrator tactics’ in the domestic abuse guidance framework to better familiarise themselves with the ways in which perpetrators may seek to manipulate the situation and public bodies for their own gain.

21.24 Housing authorities may wish to seek further evidence where it is available and appropriate to do so, it is essential that inquiries do not provoke further violence and abuse. Housing authorities should not approach the alleged perpetrator, since this could generate further violence and abuse. With consent from the applicant, the housing authorities may, however, wish to seek information from friends and relatives of the applicant, social services, health professionals, MARACs, a domestic abuse support service or the police, as appropriate. This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other sources of evidence that would be appropriate. Housing authorities are not required to attempt to gather evidence from all of the above parties and should contact only those it judges are best able to provide supporting evidence in each case (with no risk to the safety of the applicant). Housing authorities should seek consent from the victim before approaching family or friends as the abuse may be experienced from multiple perpetrators, particularly for those experiencing abuse from family members. In some cases, corroborative evidence of abuse may not be available, for example, because there were no adult witnesses and/or the applicant was too frightened or ashamed to report incidents to family, friends or the police. The housing officer may be the first person that the victim has confided in. Housing authorities should not have a blanket approach toward domestic abuse which requires corroborative or police evidence to be provided.

21.25 Section 188(1) of the 1996 Act – the interim accommodation duty requires housing authorities to secure that accommodation is available for an applicant if they have reason to believe that the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. If there is evidence that would give the authority reason to believe the applicant may be homeless as a result of domestic abuse the authority should make interim accommodation available to the applicant immediately whilst they undertake their investigations.

21.26 An assessment of the likelihood of a threat of violence or abuse being carried out should not be based on whether there has been actual violence or abuse in the past. Assessments must be based on the facts of the case and should be devoid of any value judgements about what an applicant should or should not do, or should or should not have done, to mitigate the risk of any violence and abuse.

21.27 Housing authorities should seek to be flexible in their approach and maximise options available to victims of domestic abuse to make a homelessness application. For some victims it might not be safe for them to approach the housing authority themselves or they may find it too daunting to do so.

21.28 Where appropriate, housing authorities should accept referrals from concerned parties by allowing someone else to make the initial approach to the housing authority on behalf of a victim, provided the individual has the victim’s consent. Housing authorities must then safely verify with the victim that they wish to make a homelessness application, gaining the victim’s consent to start the application and ensuring any information provided by a third party on their behalf accurately reflects their choices and needs. For example, this might involve, with the support of the referring party, arranging for an officer to meet at an agreed safe space such as the local school/doctor’s surgery or involving domestic abuse support services. Housing authorities should be aware that the victim will be best placed to decide what is safe for them and should not be forced to do anything which they believe could jeopardise their safety.

21.29 Housing authorities should be particularly careful when making contact with a victim to ensure that they do not alert a perpetrator to the application, and so put the victim in danger. Where an authority is unable to safely verify that the victim wishes to make an application they will be unable to proceed, but may keep the referral on hold for a period of time to allow the victim to make contact to pursue the application.

21.30 Flexibility in how victims can make a homelessness application is key, housing authorities should facilitate phone/online homelessness applications where most appropriate to guarantee the safety of the victim. It should also be made clear in local communications that households making a homeless application are able to bring a friend or specialist domestic abuse support worker, such as an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA), to any appointments to support them in making their application.

21.31 There may be occasions where victims of abuse seek emergency assistance having left behind ID and other documentation that may be required to support their application. Housing authorities should work with police; domestic abuse agencies (as appropriate) and the applicant to ensure that essential documentation can be recovered or replaced without putting the applicant at further risk of abuse. The victim must not be asked to return to their property to collect documentation if there is any chance that it could put them in danger.

21.32 In many cases involving violence and abuse, the applicant may be in considerable distress and an officer trained in dealing with the particular circumstances should conduct the interview. Applicants should be given the option of being interviewed by an officer of the same sex if they so wish. Housing authorities should offer to arrange translation services for victims for whom English is not their first language particularly given the depth and sensitivity of enquiries around abuse, and should avoid asking family members to translate, except where the victim has indicated that this is their preference. Housing authorities should be aware that this may be the first time a victim has disclosed their abuse and that the period during which a victim is planning or making their exit, is often the most dangerous time for them and any children they have.

  1. 21.33 The following services are among those subject to the duty to refer, meaning they are required to refer service users in England they consider may be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days to a housing authority, with the service user’s consent:

    1. (a) emergency departments;
    2. (b) urgent treatment centres;
    3. (c) hospitals in their function of providing in patient care; and,
    4. (d) adults and children’s social care services.

For further guidance on the duty to refer see Chapter 4.

Prevention and relief duties

21.34 Following an application for assistance under Part 7 of the 1996 Act, whether an applicant is threatened with homelessness or is actually homeless will be a matter for the housing authority to assess taking into account all of the relevant circumstances. For example, a person at risk of abuse may be threatened with homelessness because a perpetrator is soon to be released from custody (and so the person is likely to become homeless within 56 days); but would be actually homeless if the perpetrator was in the community and presented a risk to them at their home (and so it is not reasonable for the person to continue to occupy the accommodation).

21.35 When developing a personalised housing plan the housing authority should be particularly sensitive to an applicant’s wishes and respectful of their judgement about the risk of abuse, unless there is evidence to the contrary. For further guidance on assessments and personalised housing plans see Chapter 11. Victims should be allowed sufficient time and space to absorb and understand the options available to them.

21.36 The reasonable steps that a housing authority might take to help an applicant to retain or secure safe accommodation might include provision of sanctuary scheme or other security measures, assistance to find alternative accommodation, or help to access legal remedies such as injunctions where these might be effective. Single people might also be assisted to access supported housing, or helped to gain more support from family and friends through the intervention of the housing authority.

21.37 Sanctuary schemes can prevent homelessness by enabling victims to remain safely in their home where it is their choice, and it is safe to do so. A sanctuary comprises enhanced security measures in the home which delay or prevent a perpetrator from gaining entry into and within a property, and allow time for the police to arrive. Use of sanctuary is not appropriate if the perpetrator lives at, or retains a legal right to enter the home, or if the victim continues to be at risk in the vicinity around the home.

21.38 Housing authorities may wish to inform applicants of the option of seeking an injunction against the perpetrator. Where applicants wish to pursue this option, authorities should inform them that they should seek legal advice and that they may be eligible for legal aid.

21.39 Housing authorities should recognise that injunctions ordering a person not to molest (non-molestation orders), or not to live in the home or enter the surrounding area (occupation orders) or not behave in a way in attempt to force an individual to marry (forced marriage protection order) may not always be effective in deterring some perpetrators from carrying out further violence, abuse or incursions, and applicants may not always have confidence in their effectiveness. Consequently, applicants should not be expected to return home on the strength of an injunction. To ensure applicants who have experienced actual or threatened violence get the support they need, authorities should inform them of appropriate specialist organisations in the area as well as agencies offering counselling and support.

21.40 When dealing with domestic abuse and violence within the home, where the authority is the landlord, housing authorities should consider the scope for evicting the perpetrator and allowing the victim to remain in their home. However, where there would be a probability of abuse if the applicant continued to occupy their present accommodation, the housing authority must treat the applicant as homeless and should not expect them to remain in, or return to, the accommodation. In all cases involving abuse the safety of the applicant and their household should be the primary consideration at all stages of decision making as to whether or not the applicant remains in their own home.

Providing suitable accommodation

21.41 There are a number of potential accommodation options for victims of domestic abuse, and housing authorities will need to consider which are most appropriate for each person on a case by case basis taking into account their circumstances and needs. This may include safe temporary accommodation and/or a managed transfer. Housing authorities may, for example, provide temporary accommodation whilst action is taken to exclude or to arrest and detain a perpetrator. Opportunities to plan for victims to remain or return to their homes are much improved by housing authorities working with partners in the MARAC to reduce risk.

21.42 For victims at risk from highly dangerous perpetrators, refuges will usually be the most appropriate choice. Refuges provide key short term, intensive support for those who flee from abuse. Given the intensity of the support and the vulnerability of the victims, attention should be paid to the length of time they spend in a refuge. Refuges are not simply a substitute for other forms of temporary accommodation. The housing authority should work with the refuge provider to consider how long a person needs to stay before the provision of other accommodation (which may be temporary in the absence of settled accommodation) may be more appropriate, potentially with floating support if needed.

21.43 Account will need to be taken of any social considerations relating to the applicant and their household that might affect the suitability of accommodation offered to them to prevent or relieve homelessness, or under the main housing duty. Any risk of violence or racial harassment in a particular locality should be taken into account. Where domestic abuse is involved and the applicant is not able to stay in the current home, housing authorities may need to consider the need for accommodation that would not be found by the perpetrator (which may involve an out of district placement) and which has security measures and appropriately trained staff to protect the occupants. Housing authorities may consider implementing a reciprocal agreement with other housing authorities and providers to facilitate out of area moves for victims of domestic abuse.

21.44 Housing authorities should consider whether mixed gender accommodation is appropriate and seek to provide single sex accommodation where this is required and available. Some victims may find it traumatic to share facilities with members of a particular gender and may be the case particularly for some women who feel safer sharing with other women.

21.45 Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces a new support in safe accommodation duty local authorities must comply with[footnote 3]. Homelessness legislation is independent of the support in safe accommodation duty and housing authorities must continue to meet the suitability requirements for accommodation under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. However, housing authorities may wish to consider the descriptions of relevant safe accommodation in the draft Regulations and statutory guidance for victims who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse.

Local connection referrals

21.46 A housing authority cannot refer an applicant to another housing authority where they have a local connection if that person or any person who might reasonably be expected to reside with them would be at risk of domestic abuse in that other district. The housing authority is under a positive duty to enquire whether the applicant would be at such a risk and, if they would, it should not be assumed that the applicant will take steps to deal with the threat of abuse. For further guidance on local connection see Chapter 10.

21.47 Housing authorities should also consider assisting one another in cases where victims of domestic abuse are at risk of violence in their area as outlined in 16.15.

21.48 Section 198(3) states that “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

Eligibility

  1. 21.49 People who have no recourse to public funds are not generally eligible for homelessness assistance. However, the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession supports those who have entered or stayed in the UK as a spouse, unmarried partner, same-sex or civil partner of a British Citizen, or settled citizen and this relationship has permanently broken down due to domestic violence and abuse. A victim may be eligible if:

    1. (a) they came to the UK or were granted leave to stay in the UK as the spouse or partner of a British Citizen or someone settled in the UK;
    2. (b) their relationship has permanently broken down due to domestic violence and abuse.

21.50 They can then apply to the Home Office for limited leave to remain (3 months) under the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession to enable them to access public funds and advice, whilst they prepare and submit an application for indefinite leave to remain (or to make alternative arrangements).

  1. ONS statistics, year ending March 2018. ↩

  2. CPS, Violence Against Women and Girls Crime Report 2018-19. ↩

  3. The support in safe accommodation duty has not yet commenced. The duty will come into effect in early autumn 2021. The consultation on the draft statutory guidance for the support in safe accommodation duty will close on 27 July 2021 and final regulations and statutory guidance are expected to come into effect in early autumn. ↩