Transcript Caught Between the State and the Market: voluntary and

New Migration, Class and Housing
David Robinson
16 April 2014
HSA Annual Conference, University of York, April 2014
Rex and Moore (1967) Community and Conflict: a Study of Sparkbrook
•
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
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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 Tomlinson (1979) Colonial Immigrants in a British City: A Class Analysis
• 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
Summary of my argument
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
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dissolution of housing class distinctions; pre-eminence of social class distinctions
1. Housing Class Conflict Model
The 1960s
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housing shortage a crucial factor behind 'racial' conflict (Rex and Moore, 1967)
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"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.........
2014 - The English Housing Crisis
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building fewer houses than at any time since 1945
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107,000 completions in 12/13 (DCLG, 2013a); 240,000 needed to keep up with demand
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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)
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1.5 million+ households waiting for social housing*
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overcrowding on the rise - 600,000+ households (DCLG, 2014)
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people struggling with the costs of housing - increase in repossessions & eviction
notices - 200,000 in 2012/13 (Shelter, 2013)
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homelessness on the rise...with use of B&B accom at a 10 year high (DCLG, 2013b)
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4.9 mill dwellings (22%) fail decent homes standard (PRS 33%) (DCLG, 2014)
2014 - Blaming Migration
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migrants = convenient folk devil
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housing = a key issue around which popular and political debate about the
impacts of migration has coalesced
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anti-immigration groups and far-right parties frequently place housing at the
centre of their campaigns
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claims that British citizens losing in out in the competition for housing
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"one of the most frequently alleged injustices of new immigration" (Trevor
Phillips, 2007)
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housing as a social force, promoting conflict
Three key accusations
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
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price rises in London high-end market; price drop in some poorer neighbourhoods
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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
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eligibility of foreign nationals tightly governed by statutory regulations
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migrants rarely skilled players of the welfare system
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entering social housing in relatively small numbers (Robinson, 2010)
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)
"The public don’t like the way that taxpayersubsidised 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)
"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)
2. Migrant Housing Experiences
1960s
•
•
•
•
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
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excluded from local authority housing by prior-residence qualification
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discriminatory practice of key gatekeepers in the housing system (estate
agents, letting agents, landlords etc.)
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forced into sub-standard multi-occupied dwellings supplied by private landlords
in the inner city - "twilight zone" (Rex and Moore, 1967)
•
resonates with 2014.....
2014
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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
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lack financial resources to access owner occupation
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restricted eligibility to social housing...
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directed to lower end of PRS by financial prerogative to minimise costs and maximise
capital accumulation
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poor living conditions and overcrowding
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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)
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income minimising strategies can involve sharing accommodation with other households
and absorbing newcomers to share costs (Datta et al., 2006)
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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)
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
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
Of those renting, type of landlord
Limits on the Housing Rights of Migrants
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)
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expectation that LAs use the residence test (Cameron, 2013).... localism?
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closing key housing option for refugees (Phillips, 2006; Robinson et al., 2007)
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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?
3. Breaking with the Past - Retrogressive Convergence
From Progressive to Retrogressive Convergence
Improved Opportunities / Outcomes
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
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securing social citizenship rights
increasing housing choices
OO and social renting
greater security / improved conditions
New Migrant Households
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lack of financial resources to access OO
limited eligibility to social housing
discrimination in the market
directed to low grade PRS
Retrogressive Convergence
Progressive Convergence
1960s – 2000s
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




slow march toward equality
challenging racism / discrimination
Race Relations legislation
multiculturalism
BME-led housing; CRE; Housing Corp
within a welfare liberal state
Immigrant Households




lack the income to raise a loan
excluded from council housing
discrimination in the market
HMOs in PRS
 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)
2014
The Pre-eminence of Social Class
•
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....
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don't assume a unitary value system in terms of desired forms of housing
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don't neglect agency and choice
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recognise differentiation in housing outcomes
Mirroring migrant housing experiences
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owner occupation increasingly out of reach
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rising house prices - demand v supply; BTL and housing investment
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labour market casualisation; falling incomes; financial insecurity
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availability of mortgage finance
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the end of social housing as we known it
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restricted access; increased insecurity; affordability problems (rent rises / HB reform)
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increasing reliance on the (deregulated) PRS
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insecurity; poor conditions; affordability problems
Trends in Housing Tenure
Owner
Occupation
Private
Renting
Social
Renting
1982
58.6
11.0
30.4
1992
2002
68.2
70.5
9.0
10.3
22.8
20.7
2012
65.2
18.0
16.8
Source: DCLG (2014) English Housing Survey Headline Report. London: DCLG
Owner occupation out of reach
Source: ONS (2013) 2011 Census Analysis, A Century of Home Ownership and Renting in England and Wales
Owner Occupation out of reach
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increasing difficulty for first time buyers to raise deposit for a mortgage
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high house prices - doubling of average house price for FTBs 2001- 2011
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tighter lending requirements and larger deposits
•
declining wage growth / rising inflation....rise of insecure, low paid work
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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
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sharp rise in underemployment - 2008-2012 - increase of 674,000 in pt
workers wanting ft work (3 mill+) (Bell and Blanchflower, 2013)
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agency workers - estimates vary - ~1.3 million (2008); 17,000 agencies
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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)
An end to social housing?
restricted access; affordability problems; insecurity
Shortfall in supply
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•
•
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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)
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•
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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
•
•
•
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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
Private renting - 1 in 5 (50% in London)
(In)Security
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assured shorthold tenancies - fixed-term of six months - then landlord can regain
possession with 2 months' notice
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< 20% private renters resident in accom for 5+ years (62% social tenants)
Condition
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33% of stock non-decent (compared to 15% social housing)
Affordability
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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
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maximum rents set at 30th percentile of local rents (rather than 50th) (11/12)
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switch from 30th percentile to CPI indexation (13/14)...then to 1% p.a.
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cap on maximum rents for each property size, with 4-bed limit
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increase age limit for shared room rate from 25 to 35 years
Regulation
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no overarching statutory regulation
Closing Reflections
Reviewing my three key points....
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
Migrants as a distinct housing class?
Discursively distinct?
•
blamed for the housing crisis
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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)
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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:
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living with the consequences of labour market deregulation & the rolling back of
state involvement in housing provision
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lacking resources, constrained by the housing market, exercising limited choice
•
exposed to pressures / privations apparent in migrant housing experiences
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excluded from key social citizenship rights - decent, secure, affordable housing
Research Challenge
• 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
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