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

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.

“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.”

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.

Read more:

• If we want Britain to be healthier we must address structural racism
• Is UK’s housing system racist? Calls for inquiry as study reveals ethnic minorities pay more for less
• I’m a clinical psychologist. I know just how badly racism is damaging children’s mental health

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.

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.”

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