Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
HEATWAVE HITS - help vendors work safely with a summer support kit
Buy a kit
Housing

Black and minority households 'forced to cut their hair and hide their accents' to get social housing

Black families that are accepted by local authorities as being homeless are less than half as likely to get social housing than white counterparts, finds Heriot Watt University study into systemic racism and failures

A black woman sitting on a sofa speaking to a psychologist

The three-year study uncovered systemic racism in England's housing system. Image: iStock/Heriot-Watt University

Black and other minority households feel forced to change their names, alter their accents and even cut their hair in an attempt to beat systemic racism in England’s housing system and get a social home.

That’s the findings of a three-year study carried out by academics at Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University.

They analysed 750,000 records of households accepted as statutorily homeless by local authorities and found Black households are less than half as likely to gain social housing as white counterparts.

Only 10% of Black families gained social housing through the statutory homelessness system compared to 24% of white families.

Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, director of I-SPHERE at Heriot-Watt University and the report’s lead author, said: “The evidence is stark: Black people are almost four times more likely to become homeless, and when they do access the statutory system, they face dramatically worse outcomes.

“We have quantitative evidence that their outcomes are worryingly poor, and qualitative evidence that they face racial discrimination. This is a system that’s supposed to help people in crisis, yet we’re hearing accounts of callous, uncaring and unresponsive services.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

This evidence, the most comprehensive study of its type, reveals ethnic disparities in the risks, experiences and outcomes associated with homelessness in contemporary England. This demands an urgent and wide-ranging response. We’re talking not only about poor housing outcomes here, but also in some cases about people feeling forced to deny their own identity to access basic services.”

Researchers uncovered other disparities in the study. They found 41% of Black families leave the statutory homelessness system to unknown destinations compared to 28% of white families.

Black families are six times more likely to live in overcrowded households than white households. Pakistani and Bangladeshi households face the highest overcrowding rates at over seven times the average for white households.

The study also uncovered the lengths that people go to in order to try and secure social housing.

Focus groups revealed that masking identities was a common tactic.

One participant said: “I always hide my identity… I’ve got 21 names that I just go by… because I’ve experienced a lot of discrimination, I don’t like to just tell people anything, about my nationality, about my status.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Another participant added: “My sister had to change her name to our father’s first name… She had to start watching YouTube channels to speak from a proper English accent… she said it’s working for her. She said, somebody at work said, ‘You’re not a typical Black woman,’ and she didn’t react, but she said that she understood immediately. My son has an all ethnic name and she was telling me recently, you better change it.”

Others told of cutting their hair, or “hiding Nigerian accents”.

One person added: “They [landlord] didn’t want to let me view the house because I was Black… they said that we are very loud… when I got there, they’d be like, ‘No, we can’t give it to you because you’re Black.’”

Another claimed council officials told them: “You should be grateful for what you have. You don’t have this back in your country.”

The findings reveal a homelessness system that, rather than compensating for existing inequalities, can actually reinforce them through poor outcomes and discriminatory treatment.

The study also found evidence of racist stereotypes affecting treatment across health, education, criminal justice and housing services. Harmful assumptions about ‘angry Black women’ and ‘dangerous Black men’ also influenced how people are treated, academics found.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Read more:

Matthew Johnson, CEO at Race on the Agenda, said: “The disparities experienced by black and global majority communities in the UK are deeply concerning.

“Systemic racism is a driving force behind housing inequality, and it must be explicitly acknowledged and addressed. We strongly support the implementation of the report’s recommendations and call for race to be placed on the housing agenda.”

Researchers recommended that the government addressed the disproportionate impact of homelessness on minoritised communities in the upcoming cross-government homelessness strategy.

They also said investment in professionalising and training for housing and homelessness officers as well as devolving asylum accommodation provision to local authorities could make a difference to tackling racism.

The report also recommended regulating racism among private landlords more tightly and challenging it through the private rented sector ombudsman that forms part of the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Public and voluntary sector service should also reject ‘ethnicity-blind’ approaches and promote robust ethnic monitoring to address discrimination, academics added.

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis said: “This groundbreaking new report provides fresh evidence of racism in our housing and support systems. The findings are deeply concerning and must act as a wake-up call. No one should be denied a safe and stable home, and we all have a part to play in ending homelessness for everyone.

“Through their upcoming homelessness strategy, the UK government must take the chance to root out racial discrimination and prejudice in our housing and homelessness systems by adopting the recommendations in this report. For social housing, we would like to see the government go further by ensuring providers allocate homes to people experiencing homelessness from all backgrounds.

“Removing these structural barriers would allow people to rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind for good, regardless of their background, race or identity.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more

Real stories. Real impact. Real change. No clickbait. Just trustworthy journalism that gets to the heart of big issues in the UK and beyond. Words drive real change. If this article gave you something to think about, help us keep doing this work. Support Big Issue's journalism from £5 a month.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Feeling the heat?

It's even tougher on the street. Could you buy a summer support kit for £35 to help vendors work safely in the sun?

Recommended for you

View all
Sky-high rents mean ageing tenants 'won't be able to retire' – adding billions to the benefits bill
an old woman sat on a bed looking stressed
RENTING

Sky-high rents mean ageing tenants 'won't be able to retire' – adding billions to the benefits bill

This rule change is helping care leavers and domestic abuse survivors to get social homes
care leavers hand in petition at Downing Street
Social housing

This rule change is helping care leavers and domestic abuse survivors to get social homes

How can I help homeless people during a UK heatwave?
uk heatwave
Homelessness

How can I help homeless people during a UK heatwave?

Homeless young people slapped with £1,800 carpet bill after finally being housed
A furnished bedroom
Homelessness

Homeless young people slapped with £1,800 carpet bill after finally being housed

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.