The Social Housing Bill [HL] is a government bill intended to support growth in the social housing sector in England and improve the efficiency of the current right to buy system. It also includes provisions intended to protect the victims of domestic abuse.
Social Housing Bill [HL] (369KB PDF)
Approximate read time: 24 minutes
Part 1 of Social Housing Bill [HL] includes several changes to the right to buy system, including:
Part 2 of the bill would also establish a framework by which landlords are able to take possession action against perpetrators of domestic abuse without risking the loss of the tenancy of their victims who may be joint tenants.
Finally, part 3 would repeal several provisions concerning the right to buy introduced by the previous Conservative government that were never implemented. This includes powers given to the secretary of state intended to encourage local authorities to sell high value housing, the phasing out of lifetime secure tenancies and the power to set the levels of rent local housing authorities must charge high income social tenants.
The bill has been welcomed by bodies representing the social housing sector including the National Housing Federation. However, organisations including the charity Shelter have said the government needs to take further action to improve social housing provision in England.
The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 14 May 2026 and second reading is scheduled to take place on 1 June 2026. The government has published explanatory notes and a series of other supporting documents to accompany the bill, including a delegated powers memorandum, a human rights memorandum and a guide to the bill. The government has not published an impact assessment.
Cover image by Louis Reed on Unsplash.
Social Housing Bill [HL] (369KB PDF)
The Commercial Payments Bill [HL] seeks to tackle late payments to small businesses. It would impose minimum payment periods for invoices, prohibit the use of retentions in construction contracts and provide the small business commissioner with greater powers. The bill received an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords on 9 June 2026. 30 government amendments were made to the bill at committee stage.
![Commercial Payments Bill [HL]: Progress in the Lords](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/Business-VIGs-568x426.jpg)
The Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill that would prevent developers and building owners from recovering remediation costs for systemic defects from protected leaseholders in residential buildings containing any leasehold properties, with no minimum height or storey threshold. Systemic defects would include unsafe cladding and structural deficiencies. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading on 11 September 2026.
![Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 18 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Housing-568x426.png)
The Rights of Boat Dwellers Bill [HL] would establish a right to access public services for boat dwellers and prevent relevant authorities from taking certain actions—such as eviction proceedings—that might infringe on the right to a secure home or the right to access public services.