Communities Secretary Greg Clark is to announce landmark changes to spread home ownership to millions, as part of the government’s commitment to working people.
The minister said: "Our Housing Bill will offer over a million people a helping hand onto the housing ladder. That is what a government for working people is about – making sure people have the security they need to build a brighter future for them and their families."
The Bill includes a comprehensive range of measures to offer England’s 1.3 million housing association tenants the chance to benefit from the same opportunities council tenants enjoy, with significant discounts to buy their homes.
Receipts from selling an owner’s current property will help build replacement affordable homes on a one-for-one basis. This means the number of homes across all tenures will effectively double for each home sold, increasing national housing supply and creating a new affordable home for those in need from each sale.
First-time buyers will be further helped by plans to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes, which will be available at a 20% discount to first-time buyers under 40.
Henry Gregg, Assistant Director at the National Housing Federation, said: "This policy is not a genuine solution to our housing crisis. An extension to the Right to Buy would mean that housing associations are working to keep pace with replacements rather than building homes for the millions stuck on waiting lists. At a time when we need to be increasing the overall amount of social housing, it is like trying to fill a bathtub with the plug taken out.
"What’s more, forcing housing associations to sell of their properties under the Right to Buy sets an extremely dangerous precedent of government interference in independent businesses.
"We fully support the aspiration of homeownership, but this policy does nothing for the 11 million private renters and three million adult children living at home with their parents. If there is £22.5 billion of public money available for housing, we should use it to build homes the next generation needs, not just gift it lucky few already housed in housing association homes."
But Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: "Schemes like Help to Buy are helping thousands of people who want to buy their own home – but we need to go further.
"Anyone who works hard and wants to get on the property ladder should have the opportunity to do so, which is why tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech will include measures so a million more people have the chance to do exactly that.
"And with housing starts at their highest since 2007, we’ll take steps that will get workers on sites and keep the country building."
The vast majority of people want to own their own home. While substantial progress has already been made in helping people achieve this, with more than 200,000 households helped to buy a home since 2010 through government-backed schemes, further action must be taken.
A ‘Right to Build’ in the Bill will also help increase housing supply and diversify the housing sector by giving people the right to be allocated land with planning permission for them to self-build or commission a local builder to build a home. Self-build delivers a majority of homes in many other countries and can act as a boost to smaller and medium sized builders.
The Bill will confirm housing as a priority for the government, and ensure home ownership is once again seen as an attainable aspiration.
