Stigma has been attached to social housing and its tenants for decades. The Grenfell tragedy brought things to a head but only now, eight years on, are we seeing a genuine attempt to address it. But, as Neil Merrick finds out, stigma is a complex issue with no easy answers.

Stigma – it’s virtually impossible to live in social housing without experiencing it, at least some of the time.

Eight years ago, former prime minister Theresa May returned from meeting residents at a burnt-out Grenfell Tower and promised that something would be done.

But nearly a decade later, while the regulatory landscape may have shifted in favour of tenants, the stigma that surrounds much of social housing is proving extremely hard to remove.

Second-class citizens

Nic Bliss, director of the Stop Social Housing Stigma (SSHS) campaign, recalls helping civil servants arrange roadshows soon after Grenfell so that ministers could demonstrate they were listening to tenants. “They were like chickens caught in the headlight,” he says. “Tenants felt like second-class citizens.”

The problem is too many people in Britain don’t see themselves as having much, if anything, in common with those who live in social housing. “There’s a wider societal social housing stigma that’s an endemic part of British culture,” adds Bliss.

The SSHS campaign was set up following Grenfell after Bliss and others realised that May’s promises were unlikely to lead to much in the way of serious change.

Just over a month ago, a report by the Housing Ombudsman into complaints about repairs mentioned the word stigma five times. “Residents repeatedly tell us how they can find landlord communication dismissive, derogatory or even stigmatising,” said the ombudsman.

None of which comes as a surprise to Mercy Denedo, an associate professor at Durham University and joint author of a 2021 report into stigma and social housing.

“A lot of tenants feel they’re not listened to by housing providers,” she says. “Their complaints aren’t addressed adequately and they are made to feel grateful for the services they receive.”

Back to the ‘80s

If you wanted to pinpoint exactly when the stigma increased it was probably the introduction in the 1980s of right to buy. Suddenly, it wasn’t enough to aspire to be a homeowner; tenants could snap up council homes at knockdown prices, leaving fewer homes for other people on limited incomes.

The change is evident to employees in the sector who lived in social housing when they were younger. “The stigma has always been there, but it’s got progressively worse,” says Adele McLaren of Thirteen Housing Group. “I was proud to grow up in council housing. It gave us security and a sense of community and belonging.”

“Stigma against social housing tenants often intersects with stigmas aimed at people who are poor or disabled, as well as ex-offenders and people of colour”

Nic Bliss is unequivocal about the reason stigma has increased. “If you see homeownership as the aspirational tenure, then social housing is bound to be seen as residual,” he says.

With tenants increasingly likely to be vulnerable or classed as having the greatest need, a misleading image emerges of tenants being unemployed, poorly educated, and perhaps disabled or suffering from ill health.

Ironically, most of the people living in Grenfell Tower were in employment, even if some had poorly-paid jobs. “The narrative in favour of homeownership creates stigma,” says Mercy Denedo. “The government needs to change the way it portrays social housing.”

Amanze Ejiogu, a professor at Sheffield Hallam University and co-author of the 2021 report, says the situation is made worse by prejudice. This means stigma against social housing tenants often intersects with stigmas aimed at people who are poor or disabled, as well as ex-offenders and people of colour.

Stigma in numbers

Research published in January by the G15 group of London housing associations shows how being a tenant can affect everything from job prospects to your social life, with 45% of the residents saying they experienced prejudice or discrimination due to living in social housing.

Of these, 43% cited interactions with their landlord as a common area where they feel stigmatised, with 24% experiencing it when dealing with banks, mobile phone companies or the police; 18% felt stigmatised at work, while 14% were concerned about stigma when dating.

Tenants in a variety of jobs, including management positions, may even avoid telling friends or work colleagues that they live in social housing. “People feel they have to hide part of themselves,” says Isobelle Connor, author of the report. “Their sense of identity is being impacted.”

Connor, who previously worked for L&Q and is now research and policy manager at Peabody, says social housing is a force for good that can be a springboard for many people, but that is not how the wider population always sees it.

“Across the G15 we’re focused on improving customer service, with tenants involved in conversations in a way that they don’t feel stigmatised,” she adds. This is already demonstrated in moves away from the use of paternalistic language. “It’s about talking in a way that’s respectful,” says Connor.

“If you see homeownership as the aspirational tenure, then social housing is bound to be seen as residual”
Nic Bliss, director, Stop Social Housing Stigma

Toward the end of May, the SSHS campaign launched a ‘journey planner’ for social landlords wishing to tackle stigma. Nine housing associations or local authorities were held up as examples of what can be achieved if landlords don’t just listen to tenants, but make them feel part of the solution.

In Croydon, a customer influence and assurance panel was set up last December to act as a ‘critical friend’ to the housing department, reviewing feedback from residents and ensuring that improvements are put into place. The panel is made up of eight tenants and two leaseholders and meets bi-monthly.

One of its first recommendations was an expansion of the council’s neighbourhood voice scheme, allowing tenants to submit photos and other feedback via an app. A residents’ charter, put together by Croydon’s tenant and leaseholder panel, sets out how residents expect to enjoy a relationship with their landlord built on transparency and respect.

In May, the Regulator of Social Housing lifted a breach notice served on the London borough four years ago for poor housing conditions and lack of tenant engagement.

Sue Edgerley, Croydon’s resident involvement manager, says some tenants may not even realise that they are suffering stigma. “They think it’s part and parcel,” she says. “I’d like to make much more progress and talk to tenants that we don’t tend to hear from.”

A stigma group launched last December by Thirteen Housing Group attracted strong interest from tenants keen to see social housing portrayed in a more positive light.

The group includes six tenants, as well as staff, and meets once per month to look at ways that stigma affects Thirteen’s 36,000 households in north-east England and parts of Yorkshire.

Adele McLaren, head of Touchpoints, Thirteen’s contact team for customers, says many tenants have first-hand experience of stigmatisation or have witnessed it.

“A lot of tenants feel they’re not listened to by housing providers. Their complaints are not addressed adequately and they are made to feel grateful for the services they receive”
Mercy Denedo, associate professor, Durham University

The stigma group is using Thirteen’s ‘involvement framework’ (covering areas such as consumer standards and repairs) to assess the extent to which tenants play a role in decision-making and scrutiny, and suggest ways to reduce stigmatisation.

A campaign on restoring pride in social housing is planned for later this year, linked to the wider SSHS campaign. McLaren adds: “It’s about how we rebuild relationships and have pride in social housing again.”

Eight years after Grenfell, change is undoubtedly in the air. Tougher regulation is playing a part, with tenants quizzed regularly over landlord services, but that only goes some way towards removing stigma.

Politicians

Some social landlords are training not just staff but contractors to avoid language or behaviour that might be seen as stigmatising. But what about the national picture? Have politicians learned anything since Grenfell?

The SSHS campaign was encouraged to hear Keir Starmer call for wholesale cultural change in social housing during his response last year to the final Grenfell report.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is a former council tenant, as is Florence Eshalomi, chair of the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

But is that enough? Sometimes it comes down to simple things, like checking that a tenant is going to be at home before contractors turn up, or referring to where they live as a home, not stock.

“We need to think through every part of the housing service so things are geared to individuals, who we respect and view as equal partners,” says Nic Bliss. “We need to consider how we’d want things done in our home. If it’s not as good as that, then it’s not good enough and increases the likelihood of stigma.

Five possible ways to reduce stigma

1. Don’t describe homes as assets, stock or units. They are houses and flats and mean a lot to the tenants who live in them.
2. Ensure contractors give an approximate time when they will visit to carry out repairs, or for other reasons. It’s wrong to assume that someone will be at home all day.
3. Refer to tenants or residents as that, not customers. Tenants see themselves as part of the community, not a corporate balance sheet.
4. Pay proper attention when tenant board members and other residents make suggestions. Engagement is pointless without people feeling empowered.
5. Study ways to reduce discrimination against tenants in the wider community, perhaps by flagging up positive stories to the local or even national media.

Southampton calls for an end to labelling

Later this year, contractors that carry out work in council homes in Southampton will be issued with a card calling on them to show tenants more respect. The cards will also be carried by council employees, and even handed to the police.

One of the things that tenants complain about most is the attitude shown by council staff and others when they visit their homes or estates.

Andy Frampton, Southampton’s cabinet member for housing, says the local authority is determined to get its house in order but wants anybody who comes into contact with tenants to join the council in “seeing people not labels”.

“Unfortunately, there’s a stigma shown towards a percentage of our population that live in council properties,” says Cllr Frampton, who grew up on a council estate in Southampton.

Stigma isn’t exactly a new problem for the city’s 16,000 council tenants. Four years ago, a study found about two thirds of tenants felt disrespected or simply ignored by staff working for the local authority.

The report, by tenant inspectors working for the council, also flagged up how friends and family of council tenants sometimes decline to visit them due to the perception that council estates were dangerous.

In other cases, the parents of children living in other parts of Southampton refused to let their children socialise with ‘tower block kids’ or ‘council estate kids’.

Tenant inspectors are paid by the council to check on the quality of properties and services, and report problems such as fly-tipping. “It’s about ensuring that we have proper engagement and encouraging people to get involved,” adds Cllr Frampton.

Subsequently, tenant inspectors have begun training staff and other tenants over how comments or behaviour can inadvertently reinforce negative stereotypes, while a series of short videos about stigma made by the council’s tenant engagement team are included in mandatory training for employees.