Ministers broaden Social Housing Bill with homelessness powers

Commons stage used to expand the bill

The parliamentary record shows the Social Housing Bill [HL] began in the House of Lords and is now before the House of Commons. The current bill page describes it broadly as “a Bill to make provision about social housing” and lists the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as the sponsoring department, with Angela Rayner named on the Commons side.⁴

Before the new homelessness amendments, the bill’s main objectives were presented as protecting existing social housing stock, giving greater security to social tenants who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse, and reducing bureaucracy for providers.⁵ The House of Commons Library briefing said the bill, as brought from the Lords, included a minimum four-week notice requirement for private registered providers before selling a social home, intended to help keep homes in the social sector.⁵

The government now intends to extend that notification period to eight weeks, giving councils and other social landlords longer to bid for properties before they leave the sector.¹ Labour’s briefing, reported by the Guardian’s live politics coverage, framed the change as a doubling of the time available before sale and said the amendments would be legislated for through the Social Housing Bill, which is currently in the Commons.³

New duty reaches beyond housing departments

The planned Duty to Collaborate would require public services to work together to identify people at risk of homelessness and consider what action they can take within their existing responsibilities to prevent it.¹ The government says the duty is designed to strengthen partnership working, identify crisis points earlier and ensure vulnerable households are referred to the right support.¹

That provision takes the bill beyond the landlord-tenant and stock-retention questions that dominated earlier scrutiny. It would put homelessness prevention more explicitly into the operating responsibilities of councils, housing associations and other public services, including those outside housing.

The policy rationale is clear: homelessness is often linked to pressures in health, care, justice, domestic abuse support and welfare services, as well as housing allocation. But the wording highlighted by the department — action within existing responsibilities — is likely to attract Westminster scrutiny over whether the duty creates new expectations without new money.¹

Funding question remains central

MHCLG pointed to the government’s previous commitment of £39 billion over ten years through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to support new social and affordable housing.¹ The department said councils and housing associations would continue to play a key role in increasing housing supply and providing homes for local communities.¹

However, the announcement did not set out a new funding settlement specifically attached to the referral power, the extended disposals notice or the Duty to Collaborate. That leaves ministers exposed to questions over whether the amendments mainly redistribute operational responsibility to local authorities, registered providers and other services already facing acute demand.

Stakeholder reaction reported by the Guardian reflected that tension. Crisis welcomed the referral duty as a potentially significant homelessness measure, while Shelter warned that better use of existing homes would not substitute for building more social homes at scale.²

For policy readers, the key test will be whether the amendments change outcomes or mainly alter process. Councils may gain stronger leverage over providers and more time to stop social homes leaving the sector. But if available homes remain scarce, referrals may intensify competition for a limited stock of lettings unless accompanied by additional supply and local delivery capacity.

Stock protection becomes homelessness policy

The legislative strategy also signals a shift in how ministers are presenting social housing reform. Earlier stages focused on slowing the loss of homes through Right to Buy reform, introducing protections for tenants experiencing domestic abuse, and simplifying rules for providers.⁵ The new amendments connect those aims to the immediate pressure of homelessness and temporary accommodation.

That link is politically useful for ministers: retaining existing social homes can be presented not only as asset protection, but as a frontline homelessness intervention. The eight-week notification requirement is intended to create a practical window for councils or other social landlords to keep homes in the sector before sale.¹

But the Commons stage will now carry a broader set of questions than the Lords bill first invited. MPs will be asked to consider not only whether the state should have more control over social housing disposals and allocations, but whether councils and public services have the resources, staffing and available homes to make the new powers effective.