Minority ethnic communities and housing: access, experiences and participation

This chapter will consider some of the key issues affecting minority ethnic access to housing and their experiences within the housing system in the UK. This will include a critical analysis of existing housing tenure patterns and possible reasons underlying the disproportionate under-representation of certain communities in social housing, despite their disadvantaged socio-economic status. Research suggests that as well as the desire for home ownership, key barriers to the social rented sector among these communities include lack of familiarity with social housing and their entitlement to it, the shortage of appropriately sized housing, discriminatory allocation procedures and fear of racial harassment. The chapter will then move on to consider the sharp end of minority ethnic lack of access to housing, that is, homelessness. The specific vulnerabilities of certain groups to this phenomenon, including Gypsy Travellers, refugees and women facing domestic violence will be illuminated. Recent policy initiatives in the allocation of social housing, notably, choice-based lettings, will be introduced and their potential for addressing some of the existing inequalities considered. The final part of the chapter will include an analysis of the extent to which minority ethnic communities have been able to influence and participate in the housing agenda, with specific reference to the role of ‘black-led’ housing associations.