2A

A local housing authority that grants a secure tenancy of a dwelling-house in England must grant an old-style secure 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.

2B

A local housing authority that grants a secure tenancy of a dwelling-house in England must grant an old-style secure tenancy if—

a

the tenancy is offered to a person who was a joint tenant of that dwelling-house under an old-style secure 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.

2C

In subsections (2A) and (2B)—

• “abuse” means—

  1. a

     violence,

  2. b

     threatening, intimidating, coercive or controlling behaviour, or

  3. c

     any other form of abuse, including emotional, financial, physical, psychological or sexual abuse;

• “domestic abuse” is abuse where the victim is or has been—

  1. a

     in the same family or household as the abuser, or

  2. b

     in an intimate personal relationship with the abuser;

• “qualifying tenancy” means a tenancy of a dwelling-house in England which is—

  1. a

     an old-style secure tenancy, or

  2. b

     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.