i don't think i agree with that.
i think selling off the council houses was a good idea - why?
1) people look after their own house that they own, people don't look after houses owned by the council.
2) people who own their house, have more of an interest in their surrounding area.
3) because of this, council estates end up becoming 'run-down' or sink estates.
4) there's no reason why a private renting market wouldn't/doesn't work.
i think it works pretty much in fact, and can drive up standards in housing.
The real issue in housing is that not enough houses have been built over the past 25 years.
If enough land & planning permission was given, then we would have a good supply of houses, which would have meant that house price would be at a sensible level, and therefore affordable to the majority of the population.