Racism is hardwired into our housing system – trust me, I know

As Liverpool’s first Black MP, and someone who understands the transformative impact of my city’s pioneering social housing projects, I know just how vital a safe, secure and genuinely affordable home is. A home isn’t just bricks and mortar – it’s the foundation for our everyday lives. It’s where we raise our families, build communities, recover from hardship, and plan our futures.

But for far too many Black and Black Mixed Heritage (B/BMH) people across this country, that foundation remains out of reach. Not because of poor decision-making or lack of need, but because of deeply entrenched institutional racism embedded in our housing system.

In Liverpool, this is a picture we know all too well. When I was growing up in the 1980s in Liverpool 8, a predominantly Black area, many houses were in a state of total disrepair, with lots of overcrowding, no street-lighting maintenance, minimal refuse services and no new properties.

Read more:

• Glasgow council knew this building was dangerous for years. Its collapse left people homeless
• Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigns over rent hike row: ‘This is the right decision’
• Architecture trailblazer Muyiwa Oki on building for tomorrow, AI and the race for net zero

Structural racism was exposed in a 1984 investigation by the Commission for Racial Equality, which found that the council was twice as likely to give white people in Liverpool a house rather than a flat. They were also four times more likely to give white people a newly-built house, and almost twice as likely to give them a home with central heating.

Shelter’s latest research report, My Colour Speaks Before Me, shows that not much has changed. It exposes the harsh truth that many of us have long known but governments have failed to act on: racism is hardwired into the policies and practices that govern access to social housing in England. It’s not just about a few bad apples – it’s systemic. It’s embedded in policies, processes, and attitudes that discriminate – whether intentionally or not – against people simply because of the colour of their skin.

From the moment B/BMH applicants engage with the social housing system, they face greater hurdles than White applicants. The research found evidence of both interpersonal and institutional racism – from the behaviour of housing officers to allocation systems that disadvantage B/BMH households in how need is assessed and prioritised. Many applicants reported being overlooked, deprioritised, or made to feel like they were asking for too much when requesting a decent place to live.

And when B/BMH applicants are finally allocated housing, they are far more likely to be given poor quality, unsafe, or unsuitable homes – often in areas with limited access to services, transport, or community support. This isn’t housing justice – it’s managed neglect.

Freedom of Information requests conducted by Shelter paint an even bleaker picture. B/BMH-led households are households are much more likely to spend long periods in temporary accommodation compared to White-led households. For too many, temporary accommodation is not a short-term stopgap but a drawn-out limbo, with families stuck for years in insecure, overcrowded and often inadequate living conditions.

This is not accidental. It is the product of decades of underinvestment and a refusal to confront the racism rooted into our housing system. And let’s be clear: racism in housing is not just about what’s said or done – it’s about outcomes. It’s about who gets a home, who gets left waiting, and who gets trapped in housing that fails to meet even the most basic standards.

The forthcoming Directions to the Regulator of Social Housing must be a turning point. I’m supporting Shelter’s exceptional work and calling on the government to make anti-racism a core and enforceable requirement in the new Competence and Conduct Standard for social landlords. That means holding landlords to account not just for what they say, but for how they treat people.

Senior leaders in social housing must be professionally qualified to understand all forms of racism – including structural, cultural and interpersonal racism – and the impacts of intergenerational racial trauma. That knowledge is not optional; it is essential for those in positions of power who are responsible for allocating homes and shaping communities.

This style of training and accountability will help ensure that anti-racism isn’t just a statement on a website, but a principle fixed into everyday policy decisions and outcomes. Only then can we start to break the cycle of disadvantage and mistrust that has defined too many B/BMH people’s experiences of social housing for too long.

Shelter’s policy recommendations – co-produced with people who have lived experience of housing injustice – provide a practical, grounded roadmap for reform. They include clear, achievable steps that would make a real difference: fairer allocation policies, better oversight of local authority practices, and mechanisms to hold housing providers accountable for delivering equitable outcomes.

However, we won’t get there without political will. Tackling racism in social housing requires more than warm words and piecemeal reforms. It requires bold, transformative action. It requires acknowledging that the system is failing Black communities and it must make a conscious decision to do better.

We need to be investing in genuinely affordable, high-quality housing – and we need to be ensuring that B/BMH communities are not the last in line to benefit. Tenants and applicants must be empowered to speak out about discrimination without fear of reprisal. And access to housing must be treated as a fundamental right for everyone, not a favour to be rationed.

Racial justice and housing justice are inseparable. We cannot talk about rebuilding communities while ignoring the racial inequalities at the heart of our housing system. We cannot claim to be a fair society if we continue to allow the colour of someone’s skin to dictate the quality of the home they are offered – or whether they get one at all.

In 2025, no one should ever be locked out of a decent home because of systemic racism. We have the evidence. We have practical recommendations. What’s missing is political will and action – now is the time to start building a housing system that prioritises racial equality, dignity, and justice.

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

It’s helping people with disabilities. 

It’s creating safer living conditions for renters.

It’s getting answers for the most vulnerable.

Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change. 

If this article gave you something to think about, help us keep doing this work from £5 a month.