There is an ongoing transformation of the Italian housing public service from public to social provision. This paper argues that the Italian transformation from public to social housing represents a ‘surreptitious’ and uncontrolled privatisation that mimics the English transition from council to social housing. By looking at the English experience, I advocate the Italian public housing service should backpedal from social to public housing, retaking state control of social housing provision given to non-profit organisations to redevelop a systematic, coordinated and participative national housing public service.