In the 2 years to March 2023, 17% of households in England lived in social housing – this means they rented their home from a local authority or housing association.[3] … Across all income bands, White British households were less likely to rent social housing than households from all other ethnic groups combined.[3] The highest percentage of households renting social housing were from the Black Caribbean (48%), Mixed White and Black Caribbean (41%), and Bangladeshi (40%) ethnic groups, while households from the Indian (5%), Chinese (5%), and White Other (11%) ethnic groups had the lowest percentage renting social housing.[3]

The proportion of non-UK-born residents (43%) who lived in owner-occupied accommodation was lower than UK-born (67%). Social rented housing levels were similar across the populations, although slightly lower for EU-born. Private rented housing levels, by country of birth group, were highest for EU-born at 53%, followed by non-EU-born (36%), and were lowest in the UK-born population (16%). Comparing 2021 with 2011, across all country of birth groupings, home ownership has decreased while private renting has increased and social renting has remained broadly stable.

Households led by someone born outside the UK are less likely to own their own home: 45% do, compared to 68% of households led by someone UK-born. Correspondingly, households led by a foreign-born person are more likely to rent privately. Rates of social renting are similar for UK-born and non-UK-born household reference persons. This section looks at housing tenure by the country of birth of the household reference person (HRP). ‘Country of birth’ is sometimes used as a proxy for migration status, but it does not identify whether or not a person has UK citizenship.

Compared with other ethnic group combinations, households where all residents identified within the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" high-level category had the highest percentages in the social rented sector, being 2.7 times higher in England (45.8%) and 2.6 times higher in Wales (42.2%), compared with households in England (17.1%) and Wales (16.5%) overall.[5] … The highest percentages of social rented accommodation were in households where all residents identified within the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" high-level category in every region, except for East of England and South East, where privately rented accommodation or living rent free was more common.[5]

Around 48% of London social housing households are headed by someone born outside the UK, according to analysis of the 2021 Census. “Born outside the UK” is not the same as “foreign national.” Many of those people are now British citizens and may have migrated decades ago.

Most lead tenants in 2021/22 were UK nationals (90%). European nationals comprised 5% of lead tenants with the remaining 5% from nations outside the European Economic Area (EEA).[2] This is similar to the composition of nationalities in the English population, where 90% are UK nationals, 5% European nationals and 5% from nations outside the EEA.[2] Lead tenants of new social lettings whose nationality is from outside the EEA are now more common than inside the EEA.[2]

To compare, 16.9% of English households were in social housing, or 3.2 million of 18.6 million households where a person born in England is the “household reference person”. In households where a person born outside the UK is the reference person, 19.2% lived in social housing, or 0.75 million of 3.9 million households. In other words, households headed by someone born outside the UK are only slightly more likely to be in social housing than those headed by someone born in England.

Among UK-born heads of households, an estimated 74 percent are owner occupiers, 17 per cent live in social housing and 7 percent are private tenants.[1] In contrast, of foreign born people who have arrived in the UK in the past five years, about 17 per cent are owner-occupiers, 11 percent live in social housing and 64 per cent are private tenants.[1] New migrants to the UK over the last five years make up less than two per cent of the total of those in social housing. Some 90 per cent of those who live in social housing are UK born.[1]

In 2021, 15% of people living in social housing were born outside the UK, slightly lower than the foreign-born share of the UK population. The foreign-born were marginally less likely to live in social housing. Among people eligible for social housing in England, local authorities do not prioritise assistance according to applicants’ nationality or immigration status – instead, priority is determined according to need. While some non-UK passport holders may be more likely to have the characteristics required to gain priority for social housing, on average, they were slightly underrepresented among social renters at the time of the 2021 Census of England and Wales. In 2021, 7% of people living in social housing in England and Wales had a non-UK passport, compared to 9% of the population overall.

Across England and Wales as a whole, people born overseas were a bit more likely to be in social housing than people born in the UK: 18% compared to 17% in 2021. First, let’s look at the proportion of social tenants where the head of the household (the “Household Reference Person” in census jargon) was born overseas, with data from Census 2021. There is massive variation around the country: less than 7% were born abroad in Wales, while it was 20% in England as a whole and just under half (47.6%) in Greater London. Having 377,000 occupied by people born overseas (or 183,000 who arrived since 2001) still means those properties are not available for other people.

In the year ending March 2024, lead tenants from the Black ethnic group made up 7.8% of new social housing lettings – at the time of the 2021 Census, Black people made up 3.9% of the population of England aged 16 and over. Lead tenants from the Asian ethnic group made up 4.9% of new social housing lettings, while Asian people made up 9.0% of the population. Each household’s ethnic group is the ethnicity of the ‘lead tenant’. In joint tenancies, the lead tenant is the person who is either employed, responsible for rent, or the oldest.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify Household Reference Persons in England and Wales by tenure and by ethnic group.[6] Tenure of household includes owner-occupied; private rented; and social rented through a local council or housing association.[6] The data allow analysis of the proportion of each ethnic group whose household reference person is in social rented accommodation compared with other tenures.[6]

One useful analysis indicates the extent to which foreign-born people are more or less likely to live in social housing than UK-born people (17% of whom do so). The table shows that some national groups, such as people from Pakistan, Kenya and Poland, are much less likely to live in social housing than the average, while some, such as people from Zimbabwe, Portugal, Turkey and (especially) Somalia are much more likely to do so. The report suggests that the very high proportion of Somalis living in social housing (80 percent) is likely to be linked to their refugee status.

In 2011, the Black African, and also the Other Black, White Gypsy and Irish traveller and Mixed White and Black Caribbean groups have the highest proportions of their population in social rented housing (housing rented from local authorities, housing associations and other social housing providers): over 40 percent for each of these groups.[7] Social renting is lowest for the Indian (7%), Chinese (11%), Other White (12%) and Pakistani (13%) ethnic groups.[7] Between 2001 and 2011 these groups, consistent with all others, saw a decrease in social housing.[7]

2021 census data shows that 47.6 per cent of the household reference persons who lived in social homes in London were born outside of the UK, slightly below the proportion of all household reference persons living in London (52.2 per cent). The census defines the household reference person as the person who is responsible for the household. The Mayor’s response explained that access to social housing is controlled by eligibility rules based on citizenship or immigration status, and by local connection rules, rather than by country of birth.

Across all ethnic minority groups, rates of homeownership are generally lower than among White British households, and some minority groups have particularly high rates of social renting.[8] For example, Black Caribbean and Black African households are much more likely to be social renters than White British households, whereas Indian and Chinese households have relatively high rates of owner occupation.[8] The review notes that ethnic differences in tenure intersect with migration histories, socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination in the housing market.[8]

Migrants are often blamed for housing shortages, but the truth is they stand less of a chance of getting social housing than people born in the UK. Analysis of the 2021 Census shows that 15% of people living in social housing were born outside the UK, slightly lower than the foreign-born share of the UK population overall. Non‑UK nationals accounted for 7% of people living in social housing, compared with 9% of the population. This suggests that migrants are under‑represented in social housing relative to their share of the population.

In London, where diversity is significantly higher, foreign-born households account for nearly 49% of all heads of households. Data shows that 47.6% of social housing in the capital has a foreign-born lead tenant. These figures reflect the capital’s higher proportion of migrants relative to the rest of the UK and do not mean that migrants are more likely than UK-born people overall to live in social housing. The underlying data is from the 2021 Census.

The map presents data from the 2021 Census on the country of birth of social housing tenants. According to this analysis, 19.2% of social housing tenants in England and Wales were born outside the UK. The tables used are available to download from the ONS website.

The post claimed that 48% of London’s social housing is occupied by foreigners. The number 48% is real. According to Census 2021 data from the ONS, it refers to lead tenants, officially called household reference persons, who were born outside the UK. But being born abroad doesn’t mean you’re not British. According to the Office for National Statistics, 68% of those foreign‑born tenants now hold a British passport. Only 29% have non‑UK passports and 3% have no passport at all.

A user cites figures that "right at the top of the league is Somalians, with 72% in social housing; at the bottom are Romanians, at 4.2%" when looking at social housing rates by nationality.[4] Another commenter claims that "48% of London's social housing is allocated to a first gen migrants" although no official source is provided in the discussion.[4] The thread discusses differences in employment rates and migration patterns as possible explanations for variation in social housing use by nationality.[4]

A commenter notes: "You do realise that 71% of social housing residents in London are British-born. This is about household heads. Moreover, 75% of foreign-born residents in social housing are actually British citizens now." The thread links to ONS 2021 Census data on housing tenure and place of birth, stating that the map is based on ONS data.

Across all country-of-birth groupings in England and Wales, social renting has remained broadly stable between 2011 and 2021, while home ownership has decreased and private renting increased. Social rented housing levels were similar across the UK-born, EU-born and non-EU-born populations, and slightly lower for EU-born residents.