Residential mobility and housing changes among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom

We investigate residential and housing changes among immigrants and their descendants in the UK. Whilst there are many longitudinal studies on individuals’ residential and housing changes among majority populations, most studies on immigrants and their descendants are crosssectional. We apply event history analysis to data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study to investigate residential changes by housing tenure type among immigrants and their descendants. Our analysis shows that immigrants’ residential mobility levels are similar to those of the native population, whereas their descendants, particularly those of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, exhibit relatively low residential mobility. Immigrants from Europe and India are most likely to move to homeownership or private renting. In contrast, individuals from Bangladesh, Caribbean, and African countries are most likely to move to private and social renting. The likelihood of moving to homeownership increases among descendants, but group-differences persist. Individuals of Caribbean, African, and Bangladeshi origin are less likely to move to homeownership and more likely to move to social housing than other groups. While low homeownership levels among immigrants are expected, similar patterns among some descendant groups signal either persistent disadvantage or intergenerational transmission of values and resources.