Private Rented Sector

Domestic Abuse Champions© For housing practitioners

Level – Intermediate

(DAHA can offer an additional half-day foundation course that can upskill or refresh Champions if requested)

This course is for:

New or established Champion networks based in housing provider settings
Practitioners who have already attended training on domestic abuse awareness training
Members and non-members

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Consider how a Champion can influence attitudes about domestic abuse
Identify the impact victim blaming has on victim/survivors and reframe victim-blaming statements
Give examples of a trauma-informed approach
Be confident to implement your organisation’s domestic abuse policy and procedures that relate to domestic abuse
Signpost and promote specialist DA support services and referral pathways available to survivors, children, and perpetrators
Offer a safe and effective response when a colleague or tenant discloses domestic abuse as part of a coordinated response

Course Duration:

This course contains 2 modules and is split over 2 mornings (7 hours total).

DAHA require Champions to schedule a meeting between the 2 Modules (organised and facilitated internally) to review the resource pack and familiarise themselves with their domestic abuse procedure ahead of Module 2

Before you book this training, please ensure you meet the following criteria

You have a Champion role description
Your Champion network has been identified (successful and effective Champion networks are volunteers rather than recruited)
All Champions have received appropriate domestic abuse awareness and are confident to explain the dynamics of coercive control and the impact the perpetrator’s abuse has on victims/survivors and their families.
You have identified someone internally to support and lead your Champion network/facilitate reflection and action planning sessions

Cost:

Group booking of 20 Delegates or less: £2,000

(This course cannot exceed 20 delegates)

This excludes the DAHA Membership discount (5% Affiliated Members, 10% Accredited/Accreditation Members)

(DAHA Training courses are exempt of VAT)

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Statement on the publication of the Renter’s Reform Bill

18 May 2023

Yesterday, the long-awaited Renter’s Reform Bill had its first reading in Parliament, fulfilling many of the ambitions set out within the Renter’s Reform White Paper, to ‘reset the balance of rights and responsibilities between tenants and landlords’. The most prominent and welcomed aspect of the bill is the end of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, which has caused housing insecurity and homelessness for many private renters, including victims of domestic abuse living in the private rented sector (PRS).

There are now more victims of domestic abuse living in the PRS than ever before, in part due to the growth of the PRS, but also due to a significant lack of social housing, with many victims of domestic abuse having no other choice but to take on PRS tenancies, which have often been insecure, unaffordable, and, unsafe. In the context of a cost-of-living crisis, including soaring rents, and local housing allowance rates that do not meet rental demands, many victims of domestic abuse (many of whom are single women with children) are placed in positions of great hardship and the risk of homelessness, in addition to the ever-present threat of harm and homicide.

By removing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, and the government’s commitment to take future action to address discrimination against tenants with children, we hope victims of domestic abuse will face fewer housing barriers to achieving safety. However, we continue to be concerned that this will be undermined by the changes proposed within the bill to make it easier for landlords to evict on grounds of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and rent arrears. This includes, broadening the discretionary ASB ground for eviction to ‘’any behaviour capable of causing nuisance or annoyance’’ as well as introducing a new mandatory ground for repeat serious arrears, as detailed within the White Paper.

Victims of domestic abuse are significantly more likely to have ASB complaints made against, often due to the misidentification of domestic abuse as ASB. Victims of domestic abuse are also more likely to be in rent arrears, both as a direct result of economic abuse, and due to the economic and practical burden of fleeing abuse and becoming homeless, often with their children (victims of domestic abuse in their own right). With no proposed safeguards in place to protect victims of domestic abuse from evictions related to domestic abuse, we fear this will lead to harm and homelessness. As a result, victims of domestic abuse may become more dependent on their abuser and make it even more difficult to leave.

We have worked closely alongside the DAHA-led National Housing and Domestic Abuse Policy and Practice Group to publish a detailed briefing on the impact of the proposed changes through the RRB on victims of domestic abuse in cases of ASB. We make clear recommendations for how the government can safeguard victims of domestic abuse and other vulnerable tenants, including those at risk of other forms of abuse or exploitation or in need of health or social care support. These recommendations included:

not expanding the ground’s definition to “any behaviour ‘capable’ of causing nuisance or annoyance”
introducing a pre-eviction ASB protocol for landlords and managing agents.
a commitment to the professionalisation of the PRS which ensures landlords and managing agents are equipped to fulfil their legal obligations to their tenants.
developing guidance for landlords and managing agents on responding to ASB and rent arrears, including links between ASB, rent arrears and domestic abuse (accessible within the new property portal) as well as guidance for judges.

We look forward to further scrutinising the bill, which will undoubtedly lead to further recommendations from our National Group, particularly in the areas of rent arrears. We want to work with sector partners, government, and parliamentarians to ensure the bill works to protect all renters, which must include victims of domestic abuse living in the PRS who already face far too many barriers to safety and housing insecurity.

For more information and any press enquiries, please contact the DAHA National Group Chair and Senior Housing Manager, Deidre Cartwright, by emailing: d.cartwright@standingtogether.org.uk

Time of cancellation	Refund
More than 14 days	Full, minus 10% administration fee
7 to 14 days	50% refund
Less than 7 days	No refund
Non-Attendance	No Refund

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Contents

Introduction

Project news & publications

Guidance & resources

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Private rented sector

Contents

Introduction

Project news & publications

Guidance & resources

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