ABSTRACT
Issues of housing preference and the promotion of choice have dominated recent centralgovernment policy-making. Such policies may, however, be largely irrelevant fordisadvantaged groups in society who have little opportunity to exercise choice in thehousing market, or whose housing is determined by forces largely outwith their control. British South Asians, for example, have long suffered from discrimination in housing, but it is important to avoid the determinism of approaches which portray them as pawns, unable to resist the forces which control their lives (cf. Ballard, 1992). While accepting that there are considerable limitations on housing choice, this paper recognises, with Ballard and also Sarre, Phillips and Skellington (1989), that social actor agency is a vital component influencing life-style and life chances.
