Social housing allocation and immigrant communities

Article

Widespread media reports suggest that migrants receive priority in the allocation of social housing, and in doing so displace non-migrants. The Equality and Human Rights Commission decided to commission research to look at the facts behind these stories and to examine the allocation of social housing in England.

Widespread media reports suggest that migrants receive priority in the allocation of social housing, and in doing so displace non-migrants. The Equality and Human Rights Commission decided to commission research to look at the facts behind these stories and to examine the allocation of social housing in England.

The research asked three questions:

  • Who is entitled to social housing?
  • Who receives social housing?
  • Do some groups have unfair access to social housing?

This study is set in the context of increased international immigration to the UK and a reduction in social housing stock. Although international migration has always been a feature of national life, this aspect of population change has increased substantially since the early 1990s.

Related items

  1. A female carer pushes an older female wheelchair user along a path in a residential area on a sunny day

    Who will care?: How can we meet the scale of the care challenge?

    Progressives need to see a better future for care: as a functioning, reliable and affordable public service.
  2. Entrance sign at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office in Westminster

    Reset: Building modern partnerships with the countries of the global south

    The UK's relationships with many countries of the ‘global south’ are in a poor state.
  3. Doctor with patient for consultation, medical advice or procedure at clinic

    Taken to heart: Inequalities in heart disease in Scotland

    More than 7.6 million people across the UK live with cardiovascular disease (CVD), around twice as many as live with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer combined.