Domestic abuse is a leading cause of homelessness in the UK. Women living with abuse are regularly faced with either having to stay in an abusive and often escalating situation or lose their home. Over 70% of Solace’s survivors have a housing need and we are still seeing those who have experienced domestic abuse are still not able to access safe and affordable housing.  

The Domestic Abuse Act amended housing legislation to give automatic priority need to all survivors of domestic abuse making homelessness applications, so they would no longer need to prove they were more vulnerable than an ordinary person in order to be eligible for temporary accommodation.  

Where will I go? Access to housing for domestic abuse survivors

Safe housing is a lifeline for women escaping domestic abuse. Yet four years after the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 strengthened protections by granting automatic priority need to survivors, too many women are still being failed.

Our 2025 ‘Where will I go? Access to housing for domestic abuse survivors’ report reveals that while the legislation improved the ability of survivors to make homelessness applications, systemic barriers, gatekeeping, and a lack of suitable accommodation continue to leave women unsafe, unsupported, and retraumatised at the point they seek help.

Survivors and frontline staff describe a system that is difficult to navigate, inconsistent in its understanding of domestic abuse, and often inaccessible. Women are still being asked to prove their homelessness, denied interpreters, or required to stay in a refuge before being granted a housing duty. These practices contradict statutory guidance and leave survivors facing unnecessary trauma at a moment of extreme vulnerability.

Key findings

Barriers to accessing housing support
Our report found that:

• Survivors continue to face significant obstacles when approaching local authorities. Many struggle to prove homelessness or are refused interpretation support. 
• 40% of survivors reported difficulty getting hold of housing officers, and half said the information they received was unhelpful. 
• 40% were incorrectly told they must stay in a refuge before being granted a housing duty. 
• 45% of frontline staff said domestic abuse was misunderstood in the majority of applications, highlighting the urgent need for regular trauma-informed training. 

A lack of safe and suitable accommodation

• Survivors are frequently offered unsafe, poor-quality or inappropriate temporary accommodation. Half said they felt unsafe, and 30% were placed in properties with no heating or electricity. 
• More than half of frontline staff confirmed survivors had been placed in mixed-sex hostels in the last three months. 

Ongoing gatekeeping practices

• Gatekeeping remains widespread. Over 80% of frontline workers saw some form of gatekeeping by housing departments in the last three months. 
• More than 80% reported that survivors were wrongly told they needed a “local connection”, contrary to MHCLG guidance. 
• Nearly a quarter said proof of physical abuse was required in most applications, and 10% reported cases where perpetrators were contacted to confirm evidence.

Impact on survivors and children

• 60% of survivors said the housing application process was stressful, and over a third experienced physical symptoms like exhaustion, weight loss and insomnia. 
• 85% of survivors with children reported a negative impact on their child, including worsening mental health, disrupted schooling and behavioural changes. 
• Despite these barriers, 20% of survivors described gaining independence once they secured safe housing, and 10% reported feelings of safety and hope.

Our recommendations for safe housing

To ensure that every survivor of domestic abuse can access safe, appropriate and timely housing, we are calling for urgent action from local authorities and central government. Our recommendations include:

Local authorities should:

• Ensure all housing officers receive mandatory, up-to-date training on domestic abuse, with a designated domestic abuse lead in every team.
• Co-locate specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) within housing departments to provide direct support and training.
• Guarantee a physical presence in housing departments during normal business hours and ensure survivors can apply for housing in person, by phone and digitally.
• Ringfence 5% of all new social housing for survivors of domestic abuse.

The Government should:

• Update MHCLG statutory guidance and strengthen oversight to ensure consistent implementation, including expectations around training, accessibility, and transparency.
• Allocate at least 20% of the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant to Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation.
• Expand priority need for housing to include survivors of sexual violence and rape, embedding this in legislation through updates to the Domestic Abuse Act, Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Allocations Regulations 2025.

Our previous work on housing