UK's first women-only tower block to open in west London next summer providing 'lifeline' to domestic abuse survivors
17 June 2025, 15:49 | Updated: 17 June 2025, 16:00
A new housing block in west London will be the UK's first women-only tower block.
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Brook House in Acton, which is currently under construction, will provide a "lifeline" to women and survivors of domestic abuse struggling to find a home.
It will provide 102 "genuine affordable" social rented flats, which will replace a former 39-home estate.
The cost of renting a home in the tower block will be on average less than a quarter of an equivalently sized homed in the private sector.
Ealing Council has more than 600 single women on its waiting list and over 8,000 households in the borough waiting for a home.
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The tenants of the new women-only block will be a mix of those from the council's waiting list and residents put forward by Women's Pioneer Housing - which will manage the site.
Suffragists founded Women's Pioneer Housing in 1920.
It manages around 1,000 properties in west London - mainly studio or one-bedroom flats in large converted Victorian or Edwardian buildings.
It said its mission is to offer single women access to "safe, secure, and affordable homes and services".
Council leader Peter Mason said the homes would be reserved for women "disproportionately affected by crisis" with some provided to women who have faced domestic abuse and other dangers.
Mr Mason said: "There is a big need for this type of specialist, women-only accommodation. Almost 3,500 cases of domestic abuse were recorded in Ealing in the last 12 months.
"London's affordable housing crisis disproportionately impacts women, who still face a gender pay gap that sees them on average earn less than men, constraining their ability to afford rent."
