Letter: Racial harassment of white households

Sir: Your front-page article ' 'One in ten' non-white families suffer racial harassment' covered some of the early findings of the London Housing Survey, recently published by the London Research Centre. I would like to make clear to your readers that the survey was not confined to ethnic-minority households but involved interviews with a representative sample of all households living in London.

The survey results provide a unique new source of information on housing in London. Some of the most interesting findings include the fact that, against expectations, 88 per cent of Londoners are satisfied with their housing, which is exactly the same proportion as in the previous survey five years ago. On the other hand, double the proportion of households are now behind with their rent or mortgage payments. Three out of four householders still want to be owner-occupiers. Nearly all council tenants who want to continue renting their home would still choose a local authority as their landlord.

Yours faithfully,

ANNE PAGE

Chief Executive

London Research Centre

London, SE1

12 March