Disproportionate housing challenges for BME communities

TODAY (Oct 1) marks the start of Black History Month 2025 in the UK but at a time when we are celebrating black and ethnic minority communities, the disproportionate difference between BME and white people in terms of housing and homelessness has never been more pronounced.

Black History Month has been taking place in October in the UK since 1989 and provides an opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture and the significant achievements and contributions made by figures from black, Asian and ethnic minorities.

This year the theme for Black History Month is Standing Firm in Power and Pride, two core values that underpin the resilience, strength and commitment to progress that defines the black community. Power highlights the influence, leadership and capacity to bring about positive change shown by black people who have shaped history while Pride represents cultural identity, heritage and celebration of black excellence while looking ahead to a future of continued empowerment, unity and growth.

While achievement in the face of adversity is a common theme throughout black history, it is reprehensible that black and minority ethnicities should be encountering disproportionate challenges where something as fundamental as safe and suitable housing is concerned today.

While there’s no escaping the sad fact that the UK is embroiled in a housing crisis - recent figures place one in every 200 households in the UK as experiencing homelessness - but equally concerning is that the rate of homelessness amongst the African Caribbean community is rising fastest.

A study by the Institute of Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research at Heriot-Watt University into homelessness amongst people from black and minoritised ethnic communities showed:

• Homelessness amongst the African Caribbean population has risen 2½ times faster, since 1997, compared to the general population.
• Black people report much higher rates of homelessness than white people. They are almost 3 times as likely to report being core homeless (rough sleeping, living in shelters etc) in the last five years and roughly twice as likely to apply to the council as homeless (statutory homelessness).

BME groups are also disproportionately likely to experience poor housing:

• Asian households – particularly those of Bangladeshi origin - are at a higher risk of hidden homelessness, living in overcrowded conditions or ‘doubling up’ with other households.
• More than half of Bangladeshi children live in officially overcrowded conditions
• Twice as many BME households live in conditions deemed officially unfit for human habitation, compared to white households.

The study also showed that race, ethnicity and discrimination can all have an impact on the risk of homelessness for the BME community. Discrimination from social and private landlords can lead to tenants losing their homes while racist abuse and hate incidents lead to homelessness as victims flee their homes in fear.

At Turning Lives Around we work with vulnerable people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness from all ethnicities. Our aim is the same for all our clients – to empower them to believe that they can change their lives and live independently within sustainable communities.

We do this by providing accommodation to those who need it and trauma-informed support to all to enable them to overcome personal challenges, promote self-care, health and wellbeing and provide budgetary and financial advice to help break the cycle and prevent future homelessness.

This Black History Month we will be plugging into the theme of Power and Pride and encouraging our clients, especially those with black and ethnic minority heritage, to take strength and inspiration from role models in their communities, to celebrate their achievements and use it as motivation to get their own lives back on track.