A victim of protracted domestic violence that included financial abuse,  was living in local authority accommodation under a joint tenancy agreement with her abusive partner. The tenancy agreement was terminated and eviction notices served because of non-payment of rent and arrears. The victim had altready made the decision to leave the abusive relationship and had approached the local authority (homelessness) with a view to securing alternative accommodation. In the event the victim was deemed to have made herself intentionally homeless in failing to pay rent or rent arrears and by consequence was unable to access local authority accommodation. Although this situation is usually resolved locally through consultation and negotiation the perception remains that a victim in this situation will be deemed to be responsible for default in rent payments, even though the activities of the perpetrator  include withholding funds from the victim. Comment and observation on this issue would be appreciated.