Attitudes survey: quarter of people over 66 feel uncomfortable living next to social housing
One in four people over the age of 66 feel uncomfortable living next to social housing, a national survey has revealed.
Findings from the 2018 British Social Attitudes survey looking specifically at social housing show that 25% of people aged over 66 feel uncomfortable living next to this type of housing.
In addition to the figures on those in retirement age, the survey revealed that 27% of 46 to 55-year-olds also feel uncomfortable living next to social housing.
In comparison, only 18% of 18 to 25-year-olds say they feel uncomfortable living next to social housing.
Carried out annually by social research institute NatCen, the British Social Attitudes survey asks around 3,000 people what it is like to live in Britain and how they think Britain is run.
This year’s data also revealed that people who own their home are also more likely to say they are uncomfortable living next to social housing (31%), compared to living next to private renters (21%).
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The Social Housing Green Paper, published by the government last summer, included proposals to attack the ‘stigmatisation’ of social housing tenants, including the launching of a ‘best neighbourhood’ competition.
The survey also looked into perceptions of social housing allocations, and found that 34% of people thought allocation decisions tended to be unfair.
Individuals with a higher income were less likely to think social housing allocations are fair: only 20% of those earning more than £4,351 per month said they thought housing allocations tended to be fair, compared with 31% of people earning less than £1,411.
