The private rented sector (PRS) houses the highest proportions of ethnic minorities relative to any other tenure, yet certain groups are still subject to persistent racial discrimination locking them out from safe and affordable homes. The racial inequalities deeply entrenched in the PRS have been well documented by Generation Rent, Shelter, The Runnymede Trust, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and others, highlighting the acute need to rewire our housing system and eradicate its deep-rooted racial inequality.
Our latest analysis of government homelessness data found that Black households are twice as likely to have faced homelessness as a result of a Section 21 eviction compared to their white counterparts. Section 21 evictions, which have since been made illegal as a result of the Renters Rights Act on 1st May 2026, allowed landlords to evict their tenants without needing a valid reason with just 2 months’ notice. This, coupled with the significant barriers Black households experience to accessing social housing or home ownership, explains why Black households are 13 times more likely to be stuck in temporary accommodation (TA), and for much longer periods of time.
We initially considered whether this disparity could be explained by geography, as Black renter households are more concentrated in regions such as London (making up 10% of the capital’s private renter population) and the West Midlands (7%), but in total only comprise 5% of the national private renter population. But in fact, in 2022-23, London and the West Midlands had relatively low rates of S21 homelessness (45 and 40 households per 10,000 renters, respectively) compared with other regions, particularly the North West (71 households per 10,000).
To take regional variation into account we analysed homelessness data at a regional level over the course of 2022 and 2023, by taking the regional total and estimating how many households from each ethnicity would be affected if all groups were at equal risk of this type of eviction. We then added these up and compared with the actual figures for each ethnic group at the national level (there is no breakdown of region and ethnic group).
Black renter households remained consistently overrepresented in homelessness cases. On a national level, actual levels of Section 21-related homelessness (5000 households in a two-year period) were around double what would be expected based on Black households’ share of the renter population (5% of 50,180 cases).
These findings reflect wider patterns of racial discrimination in the PRS. Generation Rent’s previous research found that nearly half (46%) of minority ethnic renter respondents had experienced racism or discrimination from their landlord or letting agent. Our Mystery Shopper exercise on Spareroom also found that white applicants were 36% more likely to receive a positive response to rental enquiries and viewing requests than Black applicants.
Research by the Runnymede Trust and the GLA found that many ethnic minority renters feel powerless to improve their housing situations, where experiences of racial discrimination compounded these feelings, contributing to higher rates of poverty, financial insecurity, and poor physical and mental health.
Our Recommendations
Local Housing Allowances (LHA) must be unfrozen and uprated to actual rent costs annually
LHA rates have been frozen at 2023 rent levels, so where LHA payments have not adjusted with rent inflation over the last few years, private renters have faced significant cuts to the income they have for other spending. As ethnic minority groups face higher income inequality and higher rates of poverty, they suffer disproportionately as rents continue to outpace benefits levels. Black renter households especially are more likely to claim LHA, so this freeze poses yet another barrier to this group accessing good quality housing. Unfreezing LHA allowing them to cover the bottom third of local renters will help to lift racialised minorities out of the risk of homelessness and living in TA.
Mandatory rent controls
The average renter household in England spends 36% of their income on rent. Limiting in-tenancy rent increase to the lower of either wage growth or Consumer Price Inflation (CPI), would improve affordability and reduce the risk of ‘economic evictions’ through unaffordable rent rises. This would particularly benefit minority ethnic renters, who as previously mentioned, are disproportionately more likely to be low-income. Read more about what rent caps could look like here.
We need to build more social homes
With more renters finding it harder to find affordable private tenancies in England, the long-term solution is to build more homes, particularly social homes. The Labour government’s plan to build 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029 aims to slow the rise of rents, however ambitions need to be greater to make sure rents are actually more affordable in relation to wages.
Introduce relocation relief for tenants when landlords evict to sell or move in
We estimated that an unwanted move costs the average renter household £2,216. Whilst Section 21 evictions are no longer possible, landlords are still able to evict their tenants to sell a property or move themselves in. We’re calling for landlords to waive the final two months of rent in these cases where an eviction is not a tenants’ fault to help renters meet the costs of an unwanted move.
To conclude, the new protections in the recent Renters’ Rights Act, including the end of Section 21 evictions and blanket bans on discriminations against renters with children or those receiving benefits, should improve housing security all renters. However, these reforms alone will not tackle the racial inequalities that remain embedded in the PRS. Addressing affordability, providing good quality housing stock, and continuing to monitor the impact of the new Act will help to reduce levels of discrimination experienced by minority ethnic renters.
| Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Total | |
| North East | 105 | 45 | 32 | 2182 | 46 | 2410 |
| North West | 604 | 276 | 175 | 6409 | 216 | 7680 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 283 | 141 | 92 | 3744 | 110 | 4370 |
| East Midlands | 325 | 181 | 92 | 3505 | 96 | 4200 |
| West Midlands | 361 | 226 | 88 | 2525 | 100 | 3300 |
| East of England | 367 | 286 | 132 | 4396 | 129 | 5310 |
| London | 1577 | 881 | 403 | 5459 | 711 | 9030 |
| South East | 668 | 367 | 220 | 7232 | 223 | 8710 |
| South West | 197 | 98 | 106 | 4687 | 83 | 5170 |
| Estimated Total no. of homelessness due to S21 | 4487 | 2500 | 1340 | 40139 | 1714 | 50180 |
| Actual no. of homelessness due to S21 | 3560 | 5000 | 1330 | 51730 | 1810 | 46410 |
| Difference between estimates and actual | -21% | 100% | -1% | 29% | 6% | -8% |
