Racism in our housing system

Historical legal and policy decisions, like the ones listed below, have disadvantaged People of Colour and migrants in particular. Research shows the negative impact this had, and continues to have, on People of Colour’s access to a safe and secure home.

Post-war period (1940s–1960s): racial steering and restrictive allocation rules

• From the mid-20th century, racial steering by social housing providers meant that People of Colour were routinely placed away from White communities and into less desirable, under-resourced areas.

• At the same time, restrictive allocation policies emerged. Local residence requirements, introduced between the 1940s and 1960s, meant that applicants had to live in an area for a set period before qualifying for a social home there. These rules particularly affected newly arrived migrants from former colonies, who were increasingly differentiated according to their country of origin, immigration status, and associated rights.

1970s–1990s: ongoing racial discrimination in access to housing 

• Through the 1970s, discriminatory practices continued to affect migrants and People of Colour. Many faced racist treatment from letting agents when trying to access good-quality rented homes and, as a result, were more likely to end up in poor-quality accommodation and vulnerable to exploitation by ‘slum’ landlords, such as the notorious Peter Rachman.
  

• Through the 1980s and 1990s, several investigations also uncovered that some local authorities used racist allocation practices, including offering People of Colour poorer-quality properties or making it harder for them to be rehoused.

1980s onwards:

Immigration controls and exclusion from housing registers 

• Immigration status became increasingly linked to the right to access public funds. By the 1990s, it became a statutory requirement to exclude people seeking asylum and those subject to immigration controls from social housing registers, further limiting access for many People of Colour.

The Right to Buy era

• Meanwhile, the introduction of the Right to Buy policy in the 1980s reduced the social housing stock without sufficient replacement. People of Colour were also less likely than White households to have the income needed to purchase their own homes, leaving them more affected by the shrinking supply of social housing.

Community responses and positive developments

• In response to systemic exclusion, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) housing associations emerged to challenge mainstream discrimination. Some continue today, though others have struggled to remain financially viable.

This legacy of historic policies continues to impact Black and Black Mixed heritage households today as they navigate a housing system that has long been shaped by exclusionary practices.

People of Colour (or PoC)
This is a term used to refer to anyone who does not identify as White.

Structural racism
A system in which public policies, institutional practices and cultural representations reinforce ways to perpetuate racial inequity. It includes dimensions of history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with ‘Whiteness’ and disadvantages associated with ‘People of Colour’ to endure and adapt over time.

Structural racism is not something that a few people or institutions choose to practice. Instead, it has been and still is a feature of the social, economic and political systems in which we all exist.

Systemic racism
This refers to the way racism is built into every level of our society. One difference between the terms is that structural racism analysis pays more attention to the historical, cultural and social psychological aspects of our currently racialised society. Systemic racism refers to the way racism is built right into every level of our society.

Anti-racism
This is the proactive dismantling of systemic racism and racist policies underpinning the White privileged society in which we exist. It addresses the specific harm and impact of racism on all racially marginalised communities and proposes equality of outcome, not just opportunity.

For Shelter, this means recognising how race directly impacts the experience and outcomes of our staff and clients, whether positively or negatively, and acknowledging the role power plays, who has it and how it's used.

1. We refer to ‘Black-led households’ rather than Black households because the ethnicity of the lead applicant may be different to other members of the household.

2. 'More likely to be homeless’ means some groups of people are more likely to experience homelessness when compared to their percentage of the overall population. For example, Black-led households make up 4% of households in the general population, but 23% of households in temporary accommodation. This means Black-led households are overrepresented in temporary accommodation. Source: Statutory homelessness in England: April to June 2025 - GOV.UK

3. Shelter/Yougov survey of 4,023 private renting adults (18+) in England, 2023.

4. Private renters experiencing illegal acts has been defined as those who said they have experienced at least one of the following:
   my landlord/letting agent cut off my electricity/gas/water for no good reason. My landlord/letting agent has entered my home without giving any notice/a chance for me to give permission. My landlord/letting agent has stolen or damaged my personal belongings or possessions. I have paid a tenancy/damage deposit to a landlord or agent and they have not placed the deposit with any of the approved government protection schemes. I have been removed from a private rented home without being given the proper notice period and/or without the correct procedures being followed by the private landlord/letting agent. I have experienced threatening behaviour, harassment or assault by my private landlord or letting agent. Essential safety or household appliances/amenities were not working when I moved into a property (e.g. broken fire or smoke alarm, water or central heating not working). I have been treated unfairly by a landlord/letting agent due to my race/age/nationality/gender/sexual orientation/disability.