Podcast: Calls grow for social landlords to confront systemic racism

Speaking on the Scottish Housing News Podcast, Shelter Scotland’s Gordon Llewellyn‑MacRae warned that the country’s housing system “creates different outcomes for people based on their skin colour,” citing data showing that Black people and people of colour are 2.5 times more likely to experience homelessness than white Scottish households.

While the report focuses on structural inequalities rather than individual prejudice, both Shelter Scotland and researchers at Heriot‑Watt University stressed that unintentional racism — and in some cases overt discrimination — continues to shape who gets help, who is turned away, and who waits the longest for a permanent home.

Although Shelter Scotland’s latest report is data‑driven, earlier research from Heriot‑Watt captured the lived experience behind the numbers. Participants described a climate of fear that discouraged them from challenging landlords — including social landlords — even when facing poor conditions or harassment.

One interviewee told researchers they avoided complaining because they feared reprisals, a pattern Llewellyn‑MacRae said was widespread: “There’s just a general sense of precariousness that means you don’t cause trouble.”

Others reported racist abuse from neighbours and a lack of confidence that their landlord would intervene. In England, Dr Nadia Ayed’s research uncovered cases where housing officers told people to “be grateful… because you don’t get it back in your own country” — a stark example of the explicit racism that still surfaces within frontline services.

Ayed emphasised that these incidents sit on a spectrum: from unconscious assumptions about what type of housing a family “should” want, to overtly discriminatory behaviour. All, she argued, have material consequences for people’s housing outcomes.

Shelter Scotland’s recommendations: accountability, not symbolism

Shelter Scotland is calling for mandatory anti‑racism policies for social landlords — but not as a tick‑box exercise. The organisation wants the Scottish Social Housing Charter strengthened so landlords must demonstrate what steps they have taken to understand and address the experiences of Black tenants and tenants of colour.

Llewellyn‑MacRae said the sector must move beyond defensiveness: “There’s always a need for more data, but there’s also always a need to start doing things… let’s start doing something instead of asking for more evidence.”

Shelter is also working with Wheatley Group on a practical tool to help landlords identify “unseen barriers” in their services — from inaccessible communication to assumptions about household needs.

Both researchers highlighted how allocation systems can unintentionally reinforce inequality.

Ayed’s UK‑wide study found that white households are more than twice as likely to be allocated social housing as Black households — 24% compared with 10%.

Meanwhile, Shelter Scotland warned that some housing teams make sweeping assumptions about multi‑generational households, delaying moves because they believe families must stay together in a single large property — even when that isn’t what the household wants.

Llewellyn‑MacRae described cases where officers assumed that “because you’re a member of that community, you’ll be wanting one of these,” despite the near‑absence of large homes in local stock.

Choice‑based lettings, he argued, could reduce bias by giving people more control — but Scotland’s current housing emergency means many councils have suspended normal allocations altogether.

Some sector leaders have pushed back on the findings, arguing that housing associations are already committed to equality. But Llewellyn‑MacRae warned against complacency, saying Scotland must confront the reality that “legal entitlements to temporary and permanent accommodation are being breached routinely every single day.”

He also noted the rise in racist commentary on social media directed at organisations supporting minority ethnic families — a sign, he said, that Scotland’s self‑image as a progressive nation is being tested.

Anti‑Racism and Housing Network: next meeting

The Scottish Anti‑Racism and Housing Network, supported by Shelter Scotland, continues to grow as a space for social landlords, third‑sector organisations and practitioners to share learning and develop practical anti‑racist approaches.

The next meeting takes place on February 18, with details to be shared via Scottish Housing News. Llewellyn‑MacRae encouraged anyone working in housing to attend:

“We want as many people… interested in how we can unpick the unintentional and sometimes intentional barriers to ending racism in Scottish housing to come along and get involved.”

Listen to the episode here or read the transcript.