David Robinson, Jenny Preece and Glyn Robbins set out to study equality in housing in England, Scotland and Wales. They planned to include examples of best practices. The idea was to showcase examples where projects or initiatives were underway to counter inequality in the housing market.
The evidence of inequality is there. White people are less likely to live in private rental or social rented housing than every other ethnic group1. Other markers of housing inequality2 are also less common among the White British population.
In the long run, Robinson, Preece and Robbins had to give up the plan to report best practices because evidence has not been documented or assembled.
As the research progressed, the absence of data and documentation became a recurring theme of the study. Here are a few examples:
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- England’s housing policy statements acknowledge inequality among minority ethnic populations, but is silent on any plans to deal with it.
- England’s policy statement on race equality does not mention housing.
- England’s Social Housing Regulator is not collecting data about racial inequality in social rent housing.
- Help To Buy is one of England’s biggest programs to help people get on the home ownership ladder. It does not collect data about the ethnicity of the people who qualify for the program.
Things are a little more advanced in Scotland and Wales, but overall, it’s pretty well impossible to tell what if anything is being done to change the unequal housing conditions.
It’s important to be clear that the United Kingdom is not alone. Canada’s National Housing Strategy set goals to improve the housing situations for specific groups. After five years it is unable to say whether the situation of these groups has improved at all3. No data has been collected to assess what’s going on.
You might wonder why this report is even worth mentioning at all. Here are two thoughts:
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- affordablehousingaction.org started with the intention of reporting what works and what doesn’t. The report attached to this post is an excellent illustration of what isn’t working.
- Robinson, Preece and Robbins were determined to provide some guidance about best practices. In the absence of current data, they looked to history, researching housing policy and program documents in Great Britain from the 1970’s to the 2000’s. They found a treasure trove.
- During the earlier time frame, the government was collecting and analyzing data about housing inequality among minority ethnic groups. The government was also supporting a number of programs to narrow the differences in housing experience. Thanks to this report, the learnings from the work in the last century could breathe new life into inequality programs today.
The report linked to this post will be of particular interest in the United Kingdom, but the idea of looking to history for precedent and best practices applies regardless of where you live and work.
Read more at the UK Collaborative Centre For Housing Evidence: Race Equality in Housing: A Review of the Policy Approach in England, Scotland and Wales
Footnotes
- In the UK census, minority ethnic groups include Mixed or multiple, as well as Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Other Asian, Black and Other
- Deprivation is one example. It includes overcrowding, inadequate heating and doubling up.
- Try: Canada’s National Housing Strategy – Heading Off In The Wrong Direction
