- Conference
- 2025 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 17 October 2024
- Decision
- Carried
The majority of survivors of Domestic Abuse are forced to leave the house they share with the perpetrator to access safety, but securing new or even temporary accommodation can be complicated, expensive or, in some cases, impossible. Especially if the survivor is named on a mortgage.
One in eight UK women who held a joint mortgage in the last two years experienced joint mortgage economic abuse from a current or former partner – equivalent to over 750,000 people, according to a new report by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse.
• Over three quarters (78%) felt unable to leave their partner or an unsafe living arrangement due to abuse through the joint mortgage.
• Nearly half (49%) had to cut back on utilities or go without essentials, such as food, clothing, or toiletries, to cover monthly mortgage repayments.
• Almost nine in 10 (89%) experienced negative mental health impacts because of the abuse, such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks, or suicidal thoughts.
A recent Women’s Aid Hidden Housing Crisis report sheds light on survivors’ complex housing journeys and the barriers they face this includes a shortage of housing stock and high Cost of Private Rent.
Victim-survivors owning their own home meant they can’t access the housing benefit required to cover the rent while remaining contractually responsible for mortgage payments on the unsafe home they had to flee. While some victim-survivors have been forced into immediate and long-term homelessness to escape the abuser, others shared that their only option was to return to the abuser,
Conference we call upon the National Women’s committee to work with Labour Link, Regions and Branches to lobby MP’s and Local Councils to make refuges and housing more accessible for women with joint mortgages or joint tenancy agreements.