Black Londoners are five times more likely to be homeless than whites

Black Londoners are nearly five times more likely to be homeless than white people, research today shows.

African and Afro-Caribbean British people are 4.6 times more likely to have been accepted as “homeless and in priority need” by their local authority compared to white Londoners, according to a race equality think-tank.

The Runnymede Trust, which analysed homeless figures from all 33 London boroughs, said the data showed how London’s housing crisis was “disproportionately” affecting black people.

It today called on Mayor Sadiq Khan and councils to devise policies to tackle the “ethnic housing penalty” and not act in a “colour-blind” way. Farah Elahi, research and policy analyst at the Runnymede Trust, said: “These shocking homelessness figures show that beneath London’s multicultural image the capital is riddled with stark racial inequalities.

“We have a long way to go for London to truly become a city that works for everyone.

“We call upon Sadiq Khan to have targeted schemes for groups who are currently worst affected by the housing crisis. Colour-blind approaches are not adequate to meet the needs to Londoners.”

The three worst London boroughs are Haringey, where black people are 9.5 times more likely to be homeless, Kingston-upon-Thames (9.2) and Harrow (7.5).

The research, using 2015-16 local council data, also found that British Asians in London are 1.5 times more likely to be homeless and in priority need — the highest category of homelessness.