New Migration, Class and Housing

David Robinson

16 April 2014

HSA Annual Conference, University of York, April 2014

• use of class in the Weberian sense of being based on common life chances

• focus on consumption (in addition to production) processes

• access to housing more than a function of socio-economic status alone

• conceptualise urban social groups in terms of a struggle over the allocation of scarce resources (housing)

• 1960s Birmingham - ethnicity a key issue in determining access

• linked to disadvantage in the market / discrimination in public-sector housing allocation

• outcome expressed in terms of the formation of different housing classes

Rex and Moore (1967) Community and Conflict: a Study of Sparkbrook

• immigrants are an underclass in the sense that they are bottom of the class system in relation to employment and housing

• over represented in the poorest paying, hottest, dirtiest jobs which have the fewest benefits and the least job security

• found in the housing class with most limited access to good housing

• occupy the lowest rung in the hierarchy of housing classes in Britain

Rex and Tomlinson (1979) Colonial Immigrants in a British City: A Class Analysis

Revisiting housing class.....three key insights

Parallels between the present and the past

1. Housing as source of tension and conflict, in the context of a severe housing shortage

2. Limited financial resources and restricted access to social housing directing migrants into the lower end of the PRS and poor quality accommodation

Diverging from the past - from progressive to retrogressive convergence

3. The prescience of migrant housing experiences for an increasing swathe of the UK population

• context = neoliberal governmentality - housing, welfare and labour market reforms

• dissolution of housing class distinctions; pre-eminence of social class distinctions

Summary of my argument

1. Housing Class Conflict Model

• housing shortage a crucial factor behind 'racial' conflict (Rex and Moore, 1967)

• "major cities were drawing in migrants to fill key positions in the local labour market but making no provision of extra housing or other services to meet the needs of the new arrivals. The latter thus found themselves in competition and potential conflict with local residents for the housing and services that were available. In public discussions in Birmingham this conflict was increasingly being expressed in racial terms" (Moore, 2011)

• the segregation, stratification and conflicts seen in Birmingham could in large part be explained by reference to housing 'classes' which derived not from residents' relations to the means of production but to housing..... Unemployment was at a very low level in Birmingham and the main conflicts appeared to be over access to services and, crucially, to housing (Moore, 2011)

• resonates with 2014.........

The 1960s

• building fewer houses than at any time since 1945

• 107,000 completions in 12/13 (DCLG, 2013a); 240,000 needed to keep up with demand

• rising house prices & restricted access to mortgage finance - ownership beyond the reach of many, who are left with little option other than to rent (Wilcox, 2008)

• 1.5 million+ households waiting for social housing*

• overcrowding on the rise - 600,000+ households (DCLG, 2014)

• people struggling with the costs of housing - increase in repossessions & eviction notices - 200,000 in 2012/13 (Shelter, 2013)

• homelessness on the rise...with use of B&B accom at a 10 year high (DCLG, 2013b)

• 4.9 mill dwellings (22%) fail decent homes standard (PRS 33%) (DCLG, 2014)

2014 - The English Housing Crisis

• migrants = convenient folk devil

• housing = a key issue around which popular and political debate about the impacts of migration has coalesced

• anti-immigration groups and far-right parties frequently place housing at the centre of their campaigns

• claims that British citizens losing in out in the competition for housing

• "one of the most frequently alleged injustices of new immigration" (Trevor Phillips, 2007)

• housing as a social force, promoting conflict

2014 - Blaming Migration

Migration increases demand and drives rises in rent levels"rents overall have been largely unaffected, as some [migrants] have crowded into existing properties and rented poor quality housing shunned by the local population" House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee (2008)

Migration increases demand and drives rises in house prices• migration = minor factor behind rising demand / prices • price rises in London high-end market; price drop in some poorer neighbourhoods• zero net migration - still need ~ 250,000 new homes p.a. (Nickell, 2011)

Migrants are unfairly advantaged in the allocation of social housing and gaining access ahead of UK citizens• eligibility of foreign nationals tightly governed by statutory regulations• migrants rarely skilled players of the welfare system• entering social housing in relatively small numbers (Robinson, 2010)

Three key accusations

Let's talk about housing....

"More than one third of all new housing demand in Britain is caused by immigration. And there is evidence that without the demand caused by mass immigration, house prices could be ten per cent lower over a twenty year period."

Theresa May (2012)

"we cannot have a culture of something for nothing. New migrants should not expect to be given a home on arrival. And yet at present almost one in ten new social lettings go to foreign nationals. So, I am going to introduce new statutory housing allocation guidance this spring to create a local residence test. "

David Cameron (2012)

"Given that we’ve got a housing shortage, any influx from Romania and Bulgaria is going to cause problems"

Eric Pickles (2013)

"The public don’t like the way that taxpayer-subsidised social housing is allocated, when foreign migrants can benefit over local people and members of the armed forces,” “This perception of unfairness undermines community cohesion and fuels further unsustainable immigration.”

Eric Pickles (2013)

2. Migrant Housing Experiences

• focus on consumption, as well as production processes• access more than a function of socio-economic status alone (Rex, 1971)• choices within a greater system of constraints than other housing classes• immigrants as a distinct housing class

• immigrants to the city lacked the sizeable and secure income necessary to raise a loan for house purchase

• excluded from local authority housing by prior-residence qualification

• discriminatory practice of key gatekeepers in the housing system (estate agents, letting agents, landlords etc.)

• forced into sub-standard multi-occupied dwellings supplied by private landlords in the inner city - "twilight zone" (Rex and Moore, 1967)

• resonates with 2014.....

1960s

• migrants earn less than British-born counterparts when first find work: over 30% less for men and 15% less for women (Dickens and McKnight, 2008)

• high incidence of temporary work; agency working; non‐standard and unsocial hours (Jayaweera and Anderson, 2008)....unpredictability of work and incomes

• lack financial resources to access owner occupation

• restricted eligibility to social housing...

• directed to lower end of PRS by financial prerogative to minimise costs and maximise capital accumulation

• poor living conditions and overcrowding

• inability to pay deposits required by landlords can limit migrants to a ‘migrant housing market’ accessed via word of mouth (Spencer et al. 2007; Phillimore et al., 2008)

• income minimising strategies can involve sharing accommodation with other households and absorbing newcomers to share costs (Datta et al., 2006)

• evidence of people staying with friends or ‘hot bedding’ to minimise housing costs (Netto et al., 2011; McNaughton, 2008; Dench et al., 2006; Wilkinson, 2012)

2014

Tenure by Nationality (LFS quarterly, April-June 2013)

Tenure UK EEA other EU 8 EU 2 Non EEA

Owned outright 28 25 3 2 17

Being bought with mortgage or loan 42 31 12 12 32

Rented 29 43 84 85 51

Total 100 100 100 100 100

Of those renting, type of landlord

Local Authority 30 18 10 2 21

Housing Association 27 14 8 2 16

Private Rented 43 68 82 96 63

Total 100 100 100 100 100

Social renting

• the return of the local residency test to social housing – an overtly discriminatory practice thought to have been consigned to the history books (Ratcliffe , 1999)

• expectation that LAs use the residence test (Cameron, 2013).... localism?

• closing key housing option for refugees (Phillips, 2006; Robinson et al., 2007)

• grappling with bureaucracy and discrimination.... in the context of increasingly light touch regulation (serious detriment test)

PRS

• new requirement on private landlords to check the immigration status of new tenants - incentivising discrimination?

Limits on the Housing Rights of Migrants

3. Breaking with the Past - Retrogressive Convergence

From Progressive to Retrogressive Convergence

Immigrant Households

lack the income to raise a loan excluded from council housing discrimination in the market HMOs in PRS

1960s – 2000s 2014

Progressive Convergence slow march toward equality challenging racism / discrimination Race Relations legislation multiculturalism BME-led housing; CRE; Housing Corp within a welfare liberal state

Improved Opportunities / Outcomes

securing social citizenship rights increasing housing choices OO and social renting greater security / improved conditions

Retrogressive Convergence insecurity and precariousness =

entrenched aspects of the new landscape (Beck, 1992)

deregulated labour market / neoliberal housing reforms

key exclusionary processes impacting on migrants and UK nationals

pre-eminence of labour market position as determinant of housing market position

within neoliberal state

Reduced Opportunities / Outcomes

extraordinary prescience of the migrant housing experience housing options increasingly limited to renting; more expensive;

less regulated; more precarious (Hodgkinson and Robbins, 2012) wide-spread exclusion from social citizenship rights (secure,

decent, affordable housing)

New Migrant Households

lack of financial resources to access OO limited eligibility to social housing discrimination in the market directed to low grade PRS

• access to housing more than a function of socio-economic status alone

BUT

• position in labour market (social class) = key determinant of position in housing market

• discrimination = source of additional problems faced by particular groups....but complex patchwork of status advantage / disadvantage

• households exercising choice within a growing system of constraints

This said....

• don't assume a unitary value system in terms of desired forms of housing

• don't neglect agency and choice

• recognise differentiation in housing outcomes

The Pre-eminence of Social Class

• owner occupation increasingly out of reach

• rising house prices - demand v supply; BTL and housing investment

• labour market casualisation; falling incomes; financial insecurity

• availability of mortgage finance

• the end of social housing as we known it

• restricted access; increased insecurity; affordability problems (rent rises / HB reform)

• increasing reliance on the (deregulated) PRS

• insecurity; poor conditions; affordability problems

Mirroring migrant housing experiences

Owner Occupation

PrivateRenting

SocialRenting

1982 58.6 11.0 30.4

1992 68.2 9.0 22.82002 70.5 10.3 20.7

2012 65.2 18.0 16.8

Trends in Housing Tenure

Source: DCLG (2014) English Housing Survey Headline Report. London: DCLG

Source: ONS (2013) 2011 Census Analysis, A Century of Home Ownership and Renting in England and Wales

Owner occupation out of reach

• increasing difficulty for first time buyers to raise deposit for a mortgage

• high house prices - doubling of average house price for FTBs 2001- 2011

• tighter lending requirements and larger deposits

• declining wage growth / rising inflation....rise of insecure, low paid work

• sharp rise in zero hours contracts - 55% increase 2006-12 (ONS) - estimates ranging from 1 - 5 mill people; fewer hours work, lower gross pay, fewer entitlements; under-employment

• sharp rise in underemployment - 2008-2012 - increase of 674,000 in pt workers wanting ft work (3 mill+) (Bell and Blanchflower, 2013)

• agency workers - estimates vary - ~1.3 million (2008); 17,000 agencies

• rising inequality - increasing gap between rich and poor - rise and rise in Gini coefficient; disproportionate impact of austerity - poorest 10th to see 38% fall in income 2010-15 (Oxfam, 2014)

Owner Occupation out of reach

restricted access; affordability problems; insecurity

Shortfall in supply• 1.5 million people on waiting list• 1997/98 - 2012/13 - 456,570 social completions; 643,833 social sales (DCLG, 2014)• fall of 100,000 in number of social renters between 2001-2011• 50%+ cut in Affordable Housing Programme; reliance on private finance

Tenure reform (Localism Act, 2011)• restricted access to waiting list - focus on 'deserving poor'• flexible tenancies ("stepping stone" tenure)• 'affordable' rents - 80% of market rents

Welfare reform and Housing Benefit• increase in non-dependent deductions• under-occupying deductions - Bedroom Tax• cap on total amount of out of work benefits payable to a household• payment of Housing Benefit to individuals rather than direct to landlords

An end to social housing?

(In)Security• assured shorthold tenancies - fixed-term of six months - then landlord can regain

possession with 2 months' notice • < 20% private renters resident in accom for 5+ years (62% social tenants)

Condition• 33% of stock non-decent (compared to 15% social housing)

Affordability• 55% LAs have a median private rent for a 2 bed property that is more than 35% of

median take home pay in the area (Shelter, 2011)

Welfare reform and Local Housing Allowance• maximum rents set at 30th percentile of local rents (rather than 50th) (11/12)• switch from 30th percentile to CPI indexation (13/14)...then to 1% p.a.• cap on maximum rents for each property size, with 4-bed limit• increase age limit for shared room rate from 25 to 35 years

Regulation• no overarching statutory regulation

Private renting - 1 in 5 (50% in London)

Closing Reflections

1. Housing as a source of tension and conflict - 1960s and 2014

2. Migrants directed to lower end of PRS and poor quality accommodation - 1960s and 2014

3. Convergence in housing situations and experiences - 1960s and 2014

BUT• retrogressive (2014) rather than progressive (1960)• prescience of migrant housing experiences for increasing

numbers of UK population• pre-eminence of social class distinctions

Reviewing my three key points....

Discursively distinct?

• blamed for the housing crisis

• portrayed as a threat in the competition for scarce housing resources

BUT

• conflict over housing in the context of migration represents conflict within, rather than between, classes

• organisational energy being squandered against allies rather than opponents (Bell, 1977)

• meanwhile…..the housing crisis goes unaddressed

Migrants as a distinct housing class?

Operationally distinct?

• particular dimensions of prejudice (subjective, institutional, structural)

• BUT...a complex patchwork of status linked advantages and disadvantages

AND increasing numbers of people (migrants / non-migrants) in England are:

• living with the consequences of labour market deregulation & the rolling back of state involvement in housing provision

• lacking resources, constrained by the housing market, exercising limited choice

• exposed to pressures / privations apparent in migrant housing experiences

• excluded from key social citizenship rights - decent, secure, affordable housing

Migrants as a distinct housing class?

• learning from the past

• re-engaging with class.....within an era of neoliberal governmentality

• pursuing research synergies - migration; housing; labour market studies

• for migrant studies - putting migrant housing experiences in context...within the restructured English housing system

• for housing studies - learning from migrant housing experiences...living with the insecurities of the restructured housing system

Research Challenge

Beck, U. (1992) Risk Society. London: Sage.

Bell, C. (1977) One housing classes. Journal of Sociology, 13, 1, 36-40.

Bell, D. and Blanchflower, D. (2013) Underemployment in the UK revisited. National Institute Economic Review, 224

Datta, K., McIlwaine, C., Evans, Y., Herbert, J., May, J., and Wills, J. (2006a). Work and survival strategies among low-paid migrants in London. London: Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London.

DCLG (2013a) Live Table 1000: Additional Affordable Homes Provided by Type of Scheme England.

DCLG (2013b) Statutory Homelessness: April to June quarter 2013 England. London: DCLG.

DCLG (2014) English Housing Survey. Headline Report 2012-2103. London: DCLG.

Dench, S., Hurstfield, J., Hill, D. and Akroyd K. (2006). Employers' Use of Migrant Labour. 04/06. London: Home Office.

Dickens, R. and McKnight, A. (2008). The changing pattern of earnings: employees, migrants and low-paid families. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Hodgkinson, S. and Robbins, G. (2012) The return of class war conservatism? Housing under the UK coalition government. Critical Social Policy, 33, 1 57-77.

House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee (2008) First Report. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldeconaf/82/8202.htm

Jayaweera, H. and Anderson, B. (2008). Migrant Workers and Vulnerable Employment: A review of existing data. Report for TUC Commission on Vulnerable Employment. Oxford: COMPAS.

McNaughton, C. (2008). Homelessness among A8 Nationals in the UK. Paper presented at: Housing Studies Association Annual Conference, 2 - 4 April 2008, University of York, UK.

Moore, R. (2011) Forty Four Years of Debate: The Impact of Race, Community and Conflict. Sociological Research Online, 16,3

References

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Oxfam (2014) A Tale of Two Britains: Inequality in the UK. London: Oxfam.

Peach, C. (1998) South Asian and Caribbean ethnic minority housing choice in Britain. Urban Studies, 35, 10, 1657-1680.

Phillimore, J., Goodson, L. and Thornhill, J. (2008). Migrants from A8 Countries and Housing in the East Midlands. Derby: Decent and Safe Homes.

Phillips, D. (2006) Moving towards integration: the housing of asylum seekers and refugees in Britain. Housing Studies, 21(4): 539-553.

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