Renfrewshire Council has agreed a new housing policy aimed at improving support for tenants affected by domestic abuse and helping prevent victims from becoming homeless.
The policy was approved by the Communities and Housing Policy Board on Tuesday 18th August.
It follows changes in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 which require social landlords to have a policy setting out how they will support tenants at risk of homelessness because of domestic abuse.
New powers which became available to social landlords on 1st August 2026 also allow them to apply to the court to end an abuser’s interest in a tenancy.
If granted by a sheriff, this could allow a tenancy to be transferred from a perpetrator of domestic abuse to the victim or survivor.
The council’s policy includes helping victims and survivors remain safely in their current home where that is their preference, transferring a tenancy where appropriate, helping them move to another home, providing temporary or supported accommodation and referrals to specialist housing providers.
Housing staff will also receive training to recognise risk and respond appropriately. The council will work with organisations including Women’s Aid, Police Scotland and Social Work.
The report said domestic abuse remains significantly underreported. Police recorded 111 domestic abuse incidents per 10,000 people in Renfrewshire during 2024/25, compared with 117 per 10,000 across Scotland.
Councillor Jacqueline Cameron welcomed the policy at the meeting.
She said: “I welcome the policy document, which is really positive in many ways, but particularly the changes in national legislation, which give powers and duties to social landlords. It is crucial that a social landlord can transfer a tenancy from a perpetrator to a survivor of abuse, because we all know that that is the point where most women are unsafe, when they want to flee from a situation, and that is when things get very dangerous for them.
“I welcome everything that is in the report. On a local level, I have been a councillor over the years, and I think that Renfrewshire Council does well on its policies and approach to domestic abuse. We work well with the voluntary sector organisations that are mentioned in the report.
“It would be remiss of me not to point out recent events in Houston, which were really tragic. On that level, we need to look at our criminal justice system at a national level, because we are letting women and victims down. On a national level, we need to take a long, hard look at it.”
Councillor Cameron added: “Although we might not have a lot of influence on a local level, as councillors, there is a duty on us to have a good look at that and to think about what we can do to lobby and influence as much as we can.”
The policy will be reviewed every three years. Housing Services will also introduce an annual performance indicator recording the number of requests for domestic abuse advice and support.