Abstract Legal obligations were placed on local authorities to house the homeless from the inception of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977. By reason of the Race Relations Act 1976 these obligations must be met in a non‐discriminatory fashion. This article highlights facets of contemporary practice relating to the interpretation of the homelessness provisions, and identifies changes which have, or are likely to have, an adverse impact on ethnic minorities. Council house residualisation increases competition between waiting list and homeless categories for a diminishing number of lets; the homeless will lose out, frequently in inner city areas with poor quality stock and with a high proportion of ethnic minority residents. As a result, the law relating to homelessness and discrimination appears to be increasingly by‐passed so far as it professes to protect the interests of ethnic minority groups.