
In 2018, Theresa May called for a shift in how we view social housing. “For many”, she said, “a certain stigma still clings to this tenure”. The year before, Grenfell thrust the issue starkly into the spotlight. This month, the inquiry’s long-awaited final report laid it bare: the social stigma around social housing played a key role in a tragedy that claimed 72 lives.
After Grenfell, conversations about social housing changed. The government promised lasting reforms to improve residents’ experiences, giving them a greater voice in decisions that affect their lives. For a while, it seemed this could be a watershed moment that would finally transform the negative narratives surrounding social housing.
The social housing green paper made a compelling case for tackling the stigma, dedicating an entire chapter to the issue, and highlighting it as one of residents’ main concerns. However, when the 76-page social housing white paper emerged, the term was mentioned only six times. This led to disappointment in the sector.
The G15 is a group representing the largest housing associations in the capital, collectively providing a home for one in ten Londoners. Our new report, Taking the Stigma out of Social Housing, reveals that little has changed since 2017. Stigma remains rife today, driven by the media, political rhetoric, government policies, and social landlords themselves.
Our survey of over 3,000 residents found that almost half had encountered some form of stigma. Those who experienced stigma were significantly less likely to recognise the benefits of social housing, with only 36 per cent strongly agreeing that it had a positive impact.
Different kinds of social stigma can act as a glue that traps inequality in place, exacerbating disparities in wealth, health and opportunity. It can affect people in social housing, making them feel like second-class citizens.
Our research shows that stigma impacts residents of social housing in various ways. It influences the quality of services they receive from their landlords, health care services and the police, and affects their relationships with colleagues and neighbours. Children in social housing face bullying, adults encounter job and financial difficulties, and entire communities can suffer from neglect. These factors trap residents in a cycle of disadvantage and reinforce harmful stereotypes.
But where did this stigma originally come from?
In the postwar era, social housing was seen as an aspirational tenure, housing a wide range of residents from the working class to the well-off. By the early 1980s, a third of households lived in social homes. Then came the Right to Buy policy, enabling residents to purchase their properties and slashing the UK’s supply of social homes. Over 2 million homes were sold, with only 4 per cent replaced, leading to a process known as residualisation. Those who could afford to buy did so, and with fewer social homes available, the remaining stock increasingly served as a safety net for low-income households and individuals with additional needs. Historically, these groups have often been marginalised, stereotyped, and excluded from decision-making.
Political rhetoric fuelled this sense of stigma. Tony Blair’s inaugural speech as prime minister was at the Aylesbury estate. It painted a picture of urban areas as hotbeds of welfare dependency, criminality, and what he called a “workless class”. A class-based narrative of a “Broken Britain” began to emerge, amplified by the media, and often including negative portrayals of people who live in social housing. Programmes like Benefits Street compounded the problem.
The social housing sector itself also contributes to the problem. In the past, social landlords have often been out of touch with residents, using outdated, top-down methods that leave people sidelined in decisions that affect them. As London’s largest group of housing associations, we acknowledge that the quality of our homes has also not been good enough. A rebalancing of relationships with residents must go hand in hand with an ongoing and significant investment to create the safe, decent homes our residents deserve.
Our language plays a role too. Describing residents as “needy” and “vulnerable” implies a lack of agency, reinforcing the image of social housing as a safety net, rather than a place to build a life. The jargon of housing management, which talks about homes as “units” and “stock”, alienates residents and downplays the human element of our work.
Negative narratives underpin and enable bad policies, perpetuating the cycle of stigma and exclusion. Decisions by successive governments to prioritise homeownership and underinvest in affordable housing have inadvertently fuelled the stigmatisation of those who live in it.
Our housing supply crisis has been decades in the making and has now reached a critical point. Despite the mounting pressure, we have struggled as a nation to get a grip on what has arguably become the biggest domestic issue of our time. If the severity of the housing crisis and the desperate need to build social homes changes that, it will lead to a welcome shift in attitudes across society.
Now is the time for change. Social housing, once an issue on the political fringe, is gaining traction. With a new government and a Secretary of State who grew up in council housing, political will is stronger than it has been in years.
Exposing the ignorance and prejudice at the heart of social housing myths reveals a complicated reality. To be meaningful and legitimate, the response to tackling stigma must be led by residents’ voices. And to be effective and long-lasting, the government, the media and social landlords must all play a role.
Together, we have the power to change the narrative and redefine social housing. Only then will we ensure it is no longer seen as a fallback option, but as a vital part of an inclusive and thriving society.
The G15 is an organisation bringing together London’s leading housing associations. Read the full G15 report, Taking the Stigma out of Social Housing.