From Stigma to Solution
Council housing too often conjures images of poorly maintained monolithic estates blighted by anti-social behaviour. Yet, working with local authorities, I have found this to be an unfair and outdated portrait. Modern council-led schemes can deliver high-quality, energy-efficient affordable homes that respond positively to their surroundings and residents’ needs. Andy Burnham’s call for the largest council housebuilding programme since the post-war period presents an opportunity not only to increase affordable housing supply, but also to challenge the stigma that still surrounds council housing.
The scale of the housing crisis is well understood. As of March 2025, 1.34 million households were on council waiting lists. Councils bear much of the financial cost, from temporary accommodation to homelessness duties, alongside the social cost of unsuitable housing. So unsurprisingly councils are keen to find permanent and cost-effective solutions that go beyond allocating land, negotiating affordable housing contributions and granting planning permission.
There is already evidence of a revival. In 2024-25, local authorities delivered 10,480 affordable homes in England, the highest number since 1991-92. Yet that remains a fraction of post-war output, when councils built an average of around 147,000 homes a year in the 1950s.
Registered providers, meanwhile, accounted for 77% of new affordable homes delivered in 2024-25. Consequently, their role, alongside that of private developers, in the delivery of affordable homes must not be ignored or simply replaced by local authorities. Rather, council housing must be an additional source of supply, bringing forward homes that would not otherwise be delivered. Councils must also continue to act as enablers of development by RPs and others.
Councils as enablers and deliverers
Councils understand local needs, they’re significant land owners and are democratically accountable. Crucially, they can also take a much longer view on value. Whereas private developers understandably focus on the direct return investment through sale or rental income, councils can look beyond this and consider savings on temporary accommodation costs and wider savings to the public purse. As the long-term custodian of a place, councils can also take account of value created by regeneration over many years, including stronger local tax revenues. That broader view can support investment where a conventional development appraisal may not.
This does not mean councils should become developers of every site, nor that public land should automatically be 100% affordable. Some sites require substantial remediation, infrastructure and upfront investment and a mix of tenures will often be necessary. In other cases, a registered provider or private developer may be best placed to deliver independently or in partnership with the council.
Councils should therefore determine where direct delivery will achieve additionality while continuing to use their planning, land and convening powers to support housing delivery across the market.
Building capacity as well as homes
The Government is shifting the funding landscape. Under the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, £9.58 billion has been allocated to 33 strategic partners, which for the first time includes councils. The Government is also exploring further support for lower-cost borrowing and retention of Right to Buy receipts.
Funding, however, is only part of the solution. Since the 1980s, councils have lost much of the institutional knowledge and capacity required to deliver housing. The Government’s £46 million commitment to build expertise in development management, viability, land assembly, procurement and project delivery is welcome.
But rebuilding capacity cannot simply mean councils, registered providers and developers bidding against one another for a finite pool of talent. Councils will need to attract people with experience, but the wider aim must be to expand the skills base and use pooled expertise through mayoral authorities, Homes England and private-sector partners. This expertise will also makes councils better clients, commissioners, enablers and joint-venture partners.
Collaboration, not competition
The return of council housebuilding must add to housing supply rather than shift responsibility from one part of the sector to another.
Each part of the sector brings something different: councils offer land, democratic mandate and knowledge of local need; registered providers bring affordable housing delivery and management experience, while private developers provide investment, construction capacity and development expertise.
There will be circumstances where council delivery is right, others where a registered provider or private developer is better placed and many where the best outcome will combine the three.
A new era for council housing
I welcome the stronger role being given to councils. They are accountable for local housing need and can take a long-term view of place and value. But the scale of the challenge means they cannot, and should not, be expected to deliver affordable housing alone.
The opportunity is to create a more diverse supply of new homes, with councils increasing their direct contribution while continuing to enable registered providers and private developers.
Success should be measured not by which organisation built each home, but by whether the total supply of affordable housing rises far enough to meet need - and whether council housing finally leaves its old stigma behind.