<jats:p>Britain’s new Prime Minister has put “council housing” at the heart of his programme for government. [1] The case for building more affordable homes is strong: near-record numbers of families in England are living in temporary accommodation today, and 1.3 million households are on local authority housing waiting lists. But whether Andy Burnham means building more homes for social rent, councils building more themselves or both, there is a price tag attached.</jats:p>