24/01/2025
Report puts spotlight on social housing stigma
Flagship’s head of external affairs Rick Liddiment, left, and attendees at the launch day workshop for the report ‘Breaking Barriers: Understanding and reducing social housing stigma’.
Individuals and organisations have pledged to work together to tackle social housing stigma following the launch of a new report.
Called ‘Breaking Barriers: Understanding and reducing social housing stigma’, the report has been published by east of England housing provider Flagship Group following research involving more than 1,600 people.
The report reveals that working-class women aged 45-54 are the most likely to face social housing stigma, which contributes to isolation and anxiety, creates career barriers and limits social mobility.
Flagship’s head of external affairs and co-author of the report Rick Liddiment said he had faced stigma himself when growing up in social housing.
Mr Liddiment said: “People assumed I couldn’t afford certain things because of where I lived. Social housing is a helping hand for some, and a home for life for many others. Stigma comes from a misunderstanding of this based on the actions of a small minority.
“Stereotypes can spread faster than ever before on social media, and TV programmes like Benefits Britain don’t help. Growing economic inequality adds pressure and makes it harder for people in social housing to feel seen and valued.
“But we can reshape perceptions and ensure that social housing is recognised for what it really is—a vital foundation for thriving communities.”
Rick Liddiment speaks about the Breaking Barriers report at Flagship Group’s Norwich headquarters.
Breaking Barriers, co-written by Flagship researcher manager Peter Doolan, is based on surveys of 500 social housing tenants, 150 Flagship staff and 1,050 other members of the public, and was carried out by IFF Research.
The report highlights the effect of Right to Buy - which led to the sale of over two million council and housing association homes between 1980 and 2022 – as a root cause of stigma. Around 37% of England’s population lived in social housing in 1982, falling to 16% in 2024, leading to perceptions of it being a "last resort" for those unable to get onto the housing ladder.
Other key findings include:
- 58% of tenants said stigma negatively affects their mental health.
- 43% of tenants said stigma hindered their ability to find or progress in employment.
- 60% of public respondents said media portrayals caused negative attitudes.
- While 62% of female tenants aged 45-54 said they had faced stigma, putting them in the highest band, male tenants aged 65 and over were least likely to face it, at 42%.
Guests including Dr Mercy Denedo from Durham University (centre), and Professor Amanze Ejiogu from Sheffield Hallam University, took part in a discussion about social housing stigma at the workshop.
Although social housing stigma is a wider societal issue, tenants said they often felt its effects most keenly in the attitudes of housing association and council workers themselves. They said social landlords could tackle stigma by keeping their homes in good repair, and focusing on creating mixed developments of social rent and open-market homes.
Flagship is dedicated to tackling these challenges by fostering inclusive staff practices that dismantle ‘othering’ and challenge common misconceptions. While Flagship continues to create vibrant, mixed-tenure communities with homes built to the same high standards, the lingering legacy of ‘differential housing’ from the past remains a hurdle to overcome.
Breaking Barriers was launched at a workshop event at Flagship’s Norwich headquarters on January 22. There were around 20 attendees including tenants and representatives from the national Stop Social Housing Campaign, the National Housing Federation and Durham and Sheffield Hallam Universities.
Brenda Canham, 73 and from Thetford, was among the guest speakers, and told of how attitudes had changed since she first moved into social housing over 50 years ago.
She said: “My first home as a young married woman was a newbuild council flat in Leytonstone. I was the envy of all my family and I have a big family. Some estates started to get a bad name, the media would always call out the name of the estate rather than the street if there was any crime.
“I think the government needs to build a lot more social housing than private housing.”
Attendees said they would work together and agreed that improving media representation, implementing government-led awareness campaigns, and fostering community integration programmes were key to addressing social housing stigma.
You can download a copy of the report ‘Breaking Barriers: Understanding and reducing social housing stigma’ here.