BSWN directly contributed to the Bristol Living Rent Commission as one of its commissioners. Our mission for racial justice entails advocating for the fulfilment of the needs of Black and Minoritised communities in Bristol. Through this work, we were able to provide our specific insights on the lived experiences of Bristol’s Black and Minoritised households within the private rented sector.
The Bristol Living Rent Commission was created in 2022 to investigate how to make Bristol a “living rent city.” The report is an investigation into the private rental sector in Bristol and rent control measures, concluding with 29 recommendations including engaging the government on a national rent control system and devolving powers to the city-level to control rents. BSWN contributed written evidence on ethnic disparities within the private rental sector to the Commission. The report found that 69% of survey respondents from minoritised communities were more likely than other respondents to have experienced a rent increase. A quarter of respondents had been asked to leave a property in the last five years with the landlord providing a reason, those with mixed or multi-ethnic backgrounds experienced this more frequently. It is clear that existing issues within the private rental sector are exacerbated for minoritised communities - in 2018, 48% of private renters in the South West identified as ‘non-White’.
BSWN supports the Commission’s recommendations on property regulation and local rent control measures in tandem with other national policies such as increasing the social housing stock.