The Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Victims of Domestic Abuse and Care Leavers) (England) Regulations 2025

Made: 17th June 2025

Laid before Parliament: 19th June 2025

Coming into force: 10th July 2025

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 160ZA(8)(b) of the Housing Act 1996[^f00001].

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Victims of Domestic Abuse and Care Leavers) (England) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 10th July 2025.

• (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and apply to local housing authorities[^f00002] in England only.

Qualifying persons criterion

2

• (1) In deciding what classes of persons are not qualifying persons under section 160ZA(7) of the Housing Act 1996, a local housing authority in England may not use the criterion set out in this regulation.

• (2) The criterion is that a relevant person must have a local connection[^f00003] to the district of a local housing authority.

• (3) A relevant person is a person who—

• (a) is or has been a victim of domestic abuse carried out by another person, who needs to move for reasons connected with that abuse, including from accommodation initially occupied on a temporary basis, or

• (b) is an eligible child, a relevant child or a former relevant child.

• (4) In this regulation—

• “domestic abuse” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021[^f00004];

• “eligible child” has the meaning given by paragraph 19B of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989[^f00005];

• “relevant child” has the meaning given by section 23A(2) of that Act[^f00006];

• “former relevant child” means a person aged under 25 who falls within the meaning given by section 23C(1) of that Act[^f00007].

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

Matthew Pennycook — Minister of State — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government — 17th June 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations prescribe a criterion which local housing authorities in England may not use in deciding what classes of persons do not qualify for an allocation of housing.

They provide that a local housing authority may not apply a local connection test to domestic abuse victims who are moving for reasons connected to that abuse, including from accommodation initially occupied as a result of that abuse on a temporary basis.

They also provide that a local housing authority may not apply a local connection test to eligible, relevant or former relevant children. Such children are care leavers aged 16 to 24 who have spent a period of, or periods amounting to, at least 13 weeks in care in England or Wales since their 14th birthday, of which at least one day was since attaining the age of 16.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1996 c. 52; section 160ZA was inserted by section 146(1) of the Localism Act 2011 (c. 20).

[^f00002]: “Local housing authority” is defined in section 230 of the Housing Act 1996.

[^f00003]: “Local connection” has the meaning given by section 199 of the Housing Act 1996.

[^f00004]: 2021 c. 17.

[^f00005]: 1989 c. 41; paragraph 19B of Schedule 2 was inserted by section 1 of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 (c. 35) (“the 2000 Act”).

[^f00006]: Section 23A was inserted by section 2(4) of the 2000 Act.

[^f00007]: Section 23C was inserted by section 2(4) of the 2000 Act.

Editorial notes

[^key-36a3acfdd7e5b733938f6ef4b52551cb]: Reg. 1 in force at 10.7.2025, see reg. 1(1)

[^key-79e7b082afa26e68fbf705b8986759a1]: Reg. 2 in force at 10.7.2025, see reg. 1(1)