Domestic abuse and ending a tenancy: the joint tenant who leaves, and the perpetrator who stays

Domestic abuse changes the safeguarding response, but it does not give a private landlord a special UK-wide power to remove the victim or the perpetrator. Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the tenancy answer depends first on the nation and tenancy type, then on whether the person to be removed is actually a tenant.

If one joint tenant leaves because of domestic abuse, what happens to the tenancy?

In England, one joint tenant’s valid notice to quit can end the whole periodic joint tenancy for everyone, including the tenant who remains in the property, but Wales now takes the opposite approach for occupation contracts by removing only the withdrawing joint contract-holder. The England position is the Monk rule: the Supreme Court described it as “the common law rule” that a periodic joint tenancy can be ended “by service on the landlord of a notice to quit by only one of the joint tenants,” and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 preserves the “validity of any notice to quit premises let under a joint assured tenancy that is given by only one or some of the tenants.” In Wales, the Renting Homes Act says “the joint contract-holder ceases to be a party to the contract on the withdrawal date,” so the remaining contract-holder is not automatically removed. Property damage is a separate damages/deposit issue, and a missed gas safety check is a separate compliance problem; neither makes domestic abuse notice ineffective.

What grounds can you use when the victim has fled and the perpetrator is still in the property?

No private landlord can use a domestic-abuse possession ground against the perpetrator who remains: Ground 14A in England, Ground 2A for secure tenancies, Scotland’s Ground 15A and Northern Ireland’s domestic-violence secure-tenancy ground are social, charitable or secure-tenancy tools, not private-landlord routes. Claims that the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 made Ground 14A mandatory and available to private landlords are false: Shelter’s professional guidance says “Only registered providers of social housing and charitable housing trusts can use ground 14A,” and also says “The court must be satisfied that it is reasonable to order possession on ground 14A.” The statutory wording of Ground 14A itself restricts it where “the landlord who is seeking possession is a non-profit registered provider of social housing, a registered social landlord or a charitable housing trust.” Social landlords may have a route where the victim is unlikely to return; private landlords are left with ordinary possession grounds, if any apply.

Can you end a tenancy faster because a violent ex-partner keeps coming to the property?

No UK nation gives a landlord a faster possession route against the tenant because a violent non-tenant ex-partner keeps coming to the property; the fast legal remedy targets the ex-partner through exclusion, occupation-order or interdict powers, not eviction of the victim. In England and Wales, an occupation order can “exclude the respondent from a defined area in which the dwelling-house is included,” which is why the practical safety route is aimed at the person causing the violence. Scotland has a separate matrimonial-homes exclusion route that can “grant an interdict prohibiting the non-applicant spouse from entering the matrimonial home,” and Northern Ireland’s occupation-order power can “exclude the respondent from a defined area in which the dwelling-house is included.” Other residents’ fear on a private gated estate may justify security steps, police contact and injunction advice, but it does not convert the victim’s tenancy into a shorter-notice eviction case.

Can you give notice to a lodger who has been through domestic abuse?

In England and Wales, a resident landlord can give reasonable notice to an excluded lodger despite a past domestic-abuse incident, provided the reason is the current lodging arrangement rather than punishment for being abused; Northern Ireland should not be treated the same because its private-tenancy statute has no resident-landlord exclusion category. The England and Wales exclusion applies where “the occupier shares any accommodation with the landlord or licensor,” and reasonable notice “usually means the length of the rental payment period.” Scotland has its own resident-landlord exclusion from the private residential tenancy regime where the let property is shared accommodation. Northern Ireland is the outlier: the Private Tenancies Order introduces its exclusion list with “Those tenancies are–” and does not include a general live-in-landlord lodger category. If the issue is a new boyfriend being left alone in the house without permission, say that plainly in the notice process; do not frame the decision around the earlier abuse.

What should you do if you suspect domestic abuse between your tenants?

If you suspect domestic abuse between tenants, call 999 where there is immediate danger, otherwise signpost support and speak to the suspected victim only when it is safe; the statutory domestic-abuse accommodation duty is an England-only local-authority duty, not a landlord duty and not UK-wide. GOV.UK says, “If you believe there is an immediate risk of harm to someone, or it is an emergency, you should always call 999,” and for non-emergencies says the National Domestic Abuse Helpline gives “free and confidential advice, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247.” The Domestic Abuse Act duty begins, “Each relevant local authority in England must—,” and its explanatory notes say the local-authority support provisions “apply to England only.” Sector guidance for private landlords is more practical than legal: “If you believe that your tenant may be experiencing domestic abuse, you should ask them about their situation.” Do not confront the suspected perpetrator or serve tactical notices without a separate tenancy ground.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.20 — “That does not affect the validity of any notice to quit premises let under a joint assured tenancy that is given by only one or some of the tenants.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.111 — “The joint contract-holder ceases to be a party to the contract on the withdrawal date.” Source
• Sims v Dacorum Borough Council, UK Supreme Court judgment — “In Hammersmith and Fulham LBC v. Monk [1992] AC 478 (“Monk”), the House of Lords unanimously held that, where such a tenancy is a periodic tenancy, which can be brought to an end by a notice to quit, the common law rule is that, in the absence of a contractual term to the contrary, the tenancy will be validly determined by service on the landlord of a notice to quit by only one of the joint tenants.” Source
• Housing Act 1985 Schedule 2 Ground 2A — “(c)the court is satisfied that the partner who has left is unlikely to return.” Source
• Shelter professional guidance on assured-tenancy discretionary grounds — “Only registered providers of social housing and charitable housing trusts can use ground 14A.” Source
• Shelter professional guidance on assured-tenancy discretionary grounds — “The court must be satisfied that it is reasonable to order possession on ground 14A.” Source
• Housing Act 1988 Schedule 2 Ground 14A — “(b)the landlord who is seeking possession is a non-profit registered provider of social housing, a registered social landlord or a charitable housing trust” Source
• Housing Act 1988 s.8 — “In any other case, the date specified in the notice as mentioned in subsection (3)(b) above shall not be earlier than the expiry of the period of two weeks from the date of the service of the notice.” Source
• Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 Part 2 — “15A(1)A person (“person T”) who is the tenant or one of the joint tenants has engaged in behaviour which is abusive of a person (“person P”) who is a partner or ex-partner of person T, and the conditions in sub-paragraph (2) are met.” Source
• Shelter Scotland guidance on tenancy transfer and abuse — “Only social landlords can use ground 15A.” Source
• Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 Part II Chapter III — “The dwelling-house was occupied (whether alone or with others) by a married couple or a couple living together as husband and wife and—” Source
• Family Law Act 1996 s.33 — “(g)exclude the respondent from a defined area in which the dwelling-house is included.” Source
• Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 s.4 — “(b)grant an interdict prohibiting the non-applicant spouse from entering the matrimonial home without the express permission of the applicant;” Source
• Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 art.11 — “(i)exclude the respondent from a defined area in which the dwelling-house is included, any other defined area and any premises; or” Source
• GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance — “This ground applies to social landlords only.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3A — “(a)under its terms the occupier shares any accommodation with the landlord or licensor; and” Source
• GOV.UK Rent a room in your home guidance — “Reasonable notice usually means the length of the rental payment period.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.3A — “(b)immediately before the tenancy or licence was granted and also at the time it comes to an end, the landlord or licensor occupied as his only or principal home premises of which the whole or part of the shared accommodation formed part.” Source
• Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 Schedule 1 — “(a)the let property would not be regarded as a separate dwelling were it not for the terms of the tenancy entitling the tenant to use property in common with another person (“shared accommodation”), and” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.3 — “(2) Those tenancies are–” Source
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021 s.57 — “(1)Each relevant local authority in England must—” Source
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes — “Sections 57 to 61 (local authority support), section 78 (homelessness: victims of domestic abuse), section 79 (secure tenancies granted to victims of domestic abuse) and section 83 (contact centres) extend to England and Wales and apply to England only.” Source
• GOV.UK domestic abuse help guidance — “If you believe there is an immediate risk of harm to someone, or it is an emergency, you should always call 999.” Source
• GOV.UK domestic abuse help guidance — “If you are worried that a friend, neighbour or loved one is a victim of domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free and confidential advice, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247.” Source
• Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance / Standing Together PRS landlord guidance — “If you believe that your tenant may be experiencing domestic abuse, you should ask them about their situation.” Source