Guest blog: For Richer or Poorer – The Effects of Financial Abuse on Homelessness

“I can’t go back until I’ve made £20. Not after last time”

It’s a cold night in December, with Christmas shoppers rushing past on the busy high street of the capital city as we speak to a woman I'll call Anna.

Due to problems with neighbours, Anna had to leave her tenancy and wasn’t eligible for help with accommodation due to being found ‘intentionally homeless’. I’d been on an outreach shift with my Street Team colleagues, and we’d stopped to chat with Anna who was bundled up in blankets and begging.

Anna, like one in six women in the UK, is experiencing financial abuse.

Financial abuse is a form of domestic abuse in which one partner controls the household's finances to the disadvantage of the other. This can take many forms, from taking out loans in their partner's name, scrutinising or monitoring outgoings to removing their access to money altogether. Financial abuse typically occurs in conjunction with other forms of domestic abuse, and gained attention with the move to Universal Credit in 2013. This was widely criticised as putting victims of domestic abuse at higher risk of financial dependency due to the issue of a single payment for the household into one account. Even once individuals leave financially abusive relations, the impacts can be lengthy and enduring, often resulting in being left in poor financial health such as low credit scores.

Lower credit scores can cause a number of ongoing issues, affecting both finance and housing options, causing further instability. One consequence is limited borrowing options, leaving no choice but to rely on pay-day loans which charge an extortionate amount of interest compared to more traditional lending methods. Additionally, a lower credit score can affect housing options, often leading to difficulties securing rental agreements or requiring higher deposits.

An example of the lasting disadvantages of financial abuse was a young woman who had left a financially abusive relationship and began rebuilding her future by starting a college course. Once she began, she noticed her student loan had been taken by the bank in order to repay a loan that had been taken out the previous year by her partner. As a result of this, she was left to rely on foodbanks in order to keep up with rent payments and avoid homelessness.

For those already experiencing homelessness, financial abuse can look slightly different. Having no accommodation can mean doing whatever it takes to get a roof over your head, even if that means having to endure abuse or having a partner who insists on financial support. With limited employment options, it’s not uncommon for women experiencing homelessness to engage in begging or sex work in order to generate income. In doing so, they often spend hours in the cold streets in order to feel like they’ve made enough money to safely return home. Anna had experienced abuse at the hands of her partner as a result of not having money for him, but stayed with him in order to have somewhere warm to sleep in winter.

In November 2025, the UK Government announced the launch of the Financial Inclusion Strategy to “remove barriers to financial participation and build financial resilience”. One outcome of the strategy is to have financial institutions review how coerced debt is reflected in credit files, in collaboration with third sector organisations. In doing so, survivors' circumstances will be fairly reflected in credit scores and future financial health. The strategy also promised that summer 2026 will see the launch of a ‘good practice guide’ for those working in the financial sector to better understand the needs and experiences of survivors of financial abuse. Additionally, TSB’s Flee Fund supports survivors of domestic abuse with a non-repayable grant of up to £500 to cover the cost of essentials when leaving an abusive relationship, including travel, clothing and accommodation.

Although challenges remain, it is promising to see steps being taken at all levels in order to address the lasting impacts of financial abuse, allowing survivors - like Anna - to build a bright, stable future.