Councillor Tehmtan Framroze argued (Letters, August 26) Brighton and Hove's housing problems will be solved by the building of more "affordable" homes - in his definition, to rent.

What he fails to realise is that it is Brighton and Hove City Council's unbalanced housing actions that cause the problems he describes.

Firstly, we have its obsession with building new homes to rent when most people's aspiration is to buy a home of their own. Added to this, Coun Framroze's recent decision to open the housing waiting list to anyone from John O'Groats to Lands End means the current 4,000 waiting list figure is just a start. Thanks to Conservative pressure, safeguards were included for local people in Brighton and Hove to be given some priority.

In short, the council needs to drop its obsession with state-owned homes to rent and should instead be encouraging a diverse mix and range of homes in the city to promote the choice people need in deciding for themselves the housing they need at the price they can afford.

-Coun Brian Oxley, Leader, Brighton and Hove City Council Conservative group