Ethnic minorities spend a greater share of their household income on housing than White British counterparts but get less in return, a think tank claims.

Ethnic minorities are more likely to live in damp or overcrowded conditions, according to a new Resolution Foundation survey.

It reveals how what it calls “stark housing affordability gaps” cannot be fully explained by ethnic minorities being, on average, younger, more likely to privately rent, and live in high-cost areas than White British adults. The survey explores other explanations, including stronger neighbourhood preferences as well as discrimination.

On average, ethnic minority adults live in households that spend more of their income on housing than their White British counterparts. This is especially true for Bangladeshi and Arab adults, who spend over twice as much of their household income on housing than White British adults (23% and 26% respectively, compared to 11%).

The analysis shows this is not simply reflective of lower incomes among ethnic minorities. Despite having higher household incomes than White British adults, on average, Chinese and Indian adults still spend more proportionally on housing (16% and 15% of their incomes).

At least half of the housing affordability gap between ethnic minorities and White British adults is due to differences in age, tenure and region (except for Pakistani adults, where these factors explain 42% of the gap) with low home ownership being the biggest cause. However, a significant portion of the affordability gap facing ethnic minority adults remains unexplained, according to the study.

The research also finds that ethnic minority adults receive less in return for spending more, as they are more likely to live in homes that fail to meet basic quality standards. Black African and Bangladeshi-headed households are three times as likely to live in damp conditions as White British adults (9% and 10% of homes have damp, against 3%).

One possible explanation of the housing affordability gap could be that ethnic minority families need larger homes for larger households, compared to White British counterparts.

Instead, the research finds they are more likely to live in overcrowded and intergenerational households. Over one-in-six Pakistani, Black African, and Black other adults live in overcrowded homes, making them over nine times more likely to live in overcrowded homes than White British counterparts.

The report authors say the housing affordability gap might be exacerbated by some ethnic minority groups, such as Arab and South Asians, paying a premium due to a stronger-than-average attachment to place and community. 

However, the foundation claims discrimination must also be considered as a factor as 9% of Arab people and 7% of Black Caribbean people report experiencing ethnic discrimination in accessing housing within the last five years.

The Foundation says that the possibility of structural discrimination in housing access demonstrates the need for an official inquiry into housing costs and conditions for ethnic minority households.