Discusses the recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report "Mixed tenure agreements: a review of partnership models" (ISBN 1859351735) that argues that true partnerships could make section 106 agreements work better for builders, housing associations and planners. The report argues that brownfield land is the obvious source of sites for almost all affordable housing. Public bodies with large landholdings should normally require bids for their brownfield land to be from partnerships of builders and housing associations with built-in arrangements to resolve tenure mix, design, costs and programming issues at an early stage.The s106 system is currently not being just used to ensure a supply of affordable housing but as a way of getting round capital controls imposed on local authorities by government. The report suggests that partnerships might last five to seven years and includes a sample protocol reached between builders and housing associations. The report is available at www.jrf.org.uk.