Section 81ZA — Housing Act 1985: Grant of secure tenancies in cases of domestic abuse

Grant of secure tenancies in cases of domestic abuse 81ZA 1 This section applies where a local housing authority grants a secure tenancy of a dwelling-house in England before the day on which paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (grant of new secure tenancies in England) comes fully into force.

2 The local housing authority must grant a secure tenancy that is not a flexible tenancy if—

a the tenancy is offered to a person who is or was a tenant of some other dwelling-house under a qualifying tenancy (whether as the sole tenant or as a joint tenant),

and b the authority is satisfied that—

i the person or a member of the person's household is or has been a victim of domestic abuse carried out by another person, and ii the new tenancy is granted for reasons connected with that abuse.

3 The local housing authority must grant a secure tenancy that is not a flexible tenancy if—

a the tenancy is offered to a person who was a joint tenant of the dwelling-house under a qualifying tenancy, and b the authority is satisfied that—

i the person or a member of the person's household is or has been a victim of domestic abuse carried out by another person, and ii the new tenancy is granted for reasons connected with that abuse.

4 In this section— “ abuse ” means— physical or sexual abuse; violent or threatening behaviour; controlling or coercive behaviour; economic abuse (within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021); psychological, emotional or other abuse; “ domestic abuse ” means abuse carried out by a person who is personally connected to the victim of the abuse (within the meaning of section 2 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021); “ qualifying tenancy ” means a tenancy of a dwelling-house in England which is—

a secure tenancy other than a flexible tenancy, or an assured tenancy— which is not an assured shorthold tenancy, and which is granted by a private registered provider of social housing, by the Regulator of Social Housing or by a housing trust which is a charity.

5 For the purposes of this section, a person may be a victim of domestic abuse despite the fact that the abuse is directed at another person (for example, the person's child).