Help us fight racism in social housing and hold providers to account.
By adding your name to our open letter, we can begin to break down the systemic racism that is part of our housing system. We can achieve this, if we all take action together.
Dear Angela Rayner MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,
We, supported by the undersigned, are writing to you as people with real experience of racism in access to social housing. And we ask you to take urgent action to tackle this deep-rooted problem,
Together with many other Black people and other People of Colour, we are disproportionately affected by the housing emergency. This has damaged countless lives, like ours. It must stop. That’s why we are calling on the government to make anti-racism a key feature of social housing management.
Black-led households are almost four times more likely to face homelessness than White-led households. This negatively affects people’s physical and mental health. You’d think that would mean we should be helped, not made to face even more barriers. But our experience says otherwise.
Racism is deep-rooted in our systems, including social housing. This is an important factor in why Black people and other People of Colour are disproportionately affected by the housing emergency. Our research, co-produced with Shelter, affirms our lived experiences: racism is deeply ingrained in it.
When we are trying to access social housing, we face a culture that is dominated by prejudice and stereotypes. Does this seem right to you? It doesn’t to us. We need to begin to tackle this systemic racism.
Many of us feel deprioritised when trying to access a social home. This is backed up by Shelter’s recent statistical analysis that shows that Black-led households are more than twice as likely to have been in temporary accommodation for five years or more compared to White-led ones.
This is a scandal – but change is possible.
There are clear paths to improve the treatment of, and access to social housing for, Black People and other People of Colour.
Thanks to the tireless campaigning of Grenfell United and other tenants, the Social Housing (Regulation) Act became law in 2023.
This means the government has the power to direct the Regulator of Social Housing to introduce a new Competence and Conduct Standard. The government have confirmed they’ll direct the regulator on this new standard in Autumn 2025.
We are calling on you, Secretary of State, to make anti-racism a key feature of this new standard by:
- requiring senior staff involved in letting and managing social homes to have a professional qualification with a module on anti-racism, which includes understanding racial trauma.
- making sure senior staff and their teams practise anti-racism and promote race equity in their policies, practices and outcomes.
Together, we are taking a stand so that our communities are treated fairly when trying to access a safe and secure social home.
Sincerely,
Tracy, Victoria, Ahmed, Andrea and Uche
The undersigned
Everyone should have a safe place to call home — free from racism and discrimination. Let’s come together and demand this step in the right direction. Add your name by filling out the form.