Low-paid workers will be able to use housing benefits to secure and pay for mortgages under new plans set to be announced today
Boris Johnson will today set out his vision for lower-paid workers to be able to use housing benefits to buy their homes and an extension of the right to buy for housing association tenants.
The Prime Minister is expected to confirm the plans in a speech on Thursday as he moves on from a bruising Tory revolt against his leadership earlier this week.
It is hoped the pledges will help people on lower incomes onto the property ladder and will please rebel MPs and voters who are struggling amid the cost of living crisis.
The moves will form part of a plan by Mr. Johnson to reassert his authority after surviving a confidence vote on Monday, despite the revolt by 41% of his MPs.
What is the government’s new housing plan?
It is understood that Mr. Johnson’s speech will set out plans to allow low-paid workers to use housing benefits to secure and pay for mortgages, and will give tenants of housing association properties the right to buy their homes.
Mr Johnson will argue that £30 billion in housing benefit currently spent on rent could be better used to help people secure and pay for mortgages, according to the Times.
However, the newspaper said the vision to give millions the ability to buy their social properties at discounts of up to 70% is likely to be limited to a series of pilots for now, without additional government funding.
The Prime Minister will also commit to detail “reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure” over the coming weeks as he seeks to ease the impact of soaring prices.
In his speech in Lancashire, Mr. Johnson is set to say: “We have the tools we need to get on top of rising prices.
“The global headwinds are strong, but our engines are stronger. And, while it’s not going to be quick or easy, you can be confident that things will get better, that we will emerge from this a strong country with a healthy economy.”
What is the Right to Buy scheme and who is eligible?
The current Right to Buy scheme in England allows council tenants to buy their homes at a discount.
You can apply to buy your council home if:
it is your only or main home
it is self-contained
you are a secure tenant
you have had a public sector landlord for three years
If your home used to be owned by the council, but they sold it to another landlord (like a housing association) while you were living in it, you may also have the Right to Buy.
The government has an online eligibility checker on the Own Your Home website so tenants can check if they can apply.
Rules differ for those who live in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What else is known about the housing plans?
Cabinet minister Michael Gove said there will be a “cap” on the number of people who can take advantage of the government’s new housing scheme.
When asked what the limit would be, he said: “That’s something I will be discussing with housing associations.”
Speaking on Sky News, he added: “We’re looking specifically at a savings vehicle that people can use in order to save for that deposit.
“Because home ownership is not just good for individuals, it’s good for society overall.
“We want people to have a stake in the future, we want people to be able to invest in their own home, we want people to have somewhere safe and secure, warm and decent, in which they can raise their children.”
Mr. Gove added that the government will ensure there are new houses to replace those bought by lower-paid workers under the plans.
He explained: “When new homes are built for sale by the big housing companies, we will extract some of the money that they make and some of that money will be set aside explicitly to make sure that there is more affordable housing or council housing for people who need it.”
Source: https://www.nationalworld.com/news/politics/right-to-buy-housing-benefits-plan-3725265
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