Council House

A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at reasonable rents to primarily working class people. Council house development began in the late 19th century and peaked in the mid-20th century, at which time council housing included many large suburban "council estates" and numerous urban developments featuring tower blocks. Many of these developments did not live up to the hopes of their supporters, and now suffer from urban blight.

Since 1979, the role of council housing has been reduced by the introduction of right to buy legislation, and a change of emphasis to the development of new social housing by housing associations. Nonetheless a substantial part of the UK population still lives in council housing. Approximately 40% of the country’s social housing stock is owned by local authorities, 15% is managed by arm's length management organisations, and 45% by housing associations. In Scotland, council estates are known as schemes.