A critical read for us this week has been Bloomberg's article on Tuesday 18th May titled ominously "How London's Property Boom Left Black Britons With Nothing". The article doesn't make for light hearted reading and critically illustrates the challenges and negative impact of gentrification but also how Black people living in London and elsewhere in the UK have lost out in the property market especially around home ownership which is at it's lowest for people of African and Caribbean backgrounds, currently only 30% of Black families are home owners.
Generational wealth is held in bricks and mortar, one of the most secure long term investments one can make is in housing. As a fixed asset it weathers recessions and financial downturns and most importantly it can be passed onto the next generation as a foundation to housing but the average figure for wealth accumulated by black people and passed down to the next generation stands at zero! With fewer black people and families owning a property of their own and being priced out of areas they have traditionally lived in; wealth transference has not just stalled but stagnated.
This article is not a new story, and there have been similar reports through other news outlets such The Guardian article "We know there's a housing crisis – but why is it so much worse for black families?" written in 2017. But it does compound the issue that something wider is wrong with the housing market and society that an entire group of people are missing out in home ownership. There was considerable decline in Black home ownership from 39% in 2001 to the current level of 30%. Is it simply that Black people are poorer than other communities, have been impacted severely by the recession of 2008, and/or less able to access financing to acquire a home they want and need? The Guardian article does allude to the fact that poverty is both "a symptom and a cause..." of not owning a property.
Add to this disparities in employment, income, higher rates unemployment, racism and other discriminatory factors the situation seems to be only getting worse. We can only hope that by speaking up, highlighting and campaigning on housing issues including lowering rents in the private rented sector and improving living conditions and substandard housing we can make small redress to what is a dire situation.
Home ownership should not be the reserve of a few and especially should not be down to race. There are structural and personal factors to overcome, these will need resilience, policy change at central government level, open discussion and analysis of the barriers but also the solutions.
Newham ACN welcome all efforts to ensure that Black people in the UK are not further disadvantaged in housing and are committed to using our platform to raise this critical issue.
Read the Bloomberg article here - How London's Property Boom Left Black Britons With Nothing
Need assistance in the London rental sector? Contact the London Renters Union.