Boris Johnson is set to lay out plans to extend a right to buy scheme to housing association tenants.

The Prime Minister is expected to confirm his intentions in a major speech on Thursday (June 9) as he seeks to repair his fortunes after a bruising Tory revolt against his leadership.

He will hope the pledges to assist individuals onto the property ladder will please rebel MPs and voters who are facing fresh pressures from the cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking in Lancashire, Mr Johnson will commit to detail “reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure” over the coming weeks.

He will argue that £30 billion in housing benefit that currently goes towards rent could help people secure and pay for mortgages, according to The Times, which first reported the plan.

The Bolton News: Johnson has faced a difficult week, after surviving a confidence vote on Monday (PA)Johnson has faced a difficult week, after surviving a confidence vote on Monday (PA)

But the newspaper said his separate desire to give millions of tenants the ability to pay for housing association properties at discounts of up to 70% is likely to be limited to a series of pilots for now, without additional Government funding.

The plan could, however, differ from Margaret Thatcher’s original right to buy policy with a possible commitment to ensure every home bought under the scheme would be replaced to ensure the stock is not run down.

What is the right to buy scheme?

Right to buy allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount, but there are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You can check on the Government website here if you would be eligible to apply to the Right to buy scheme.

Additionally, you can apply to buy your council home if:

  • it’s your only or main home
  • it’s self-contained
  • you’re a secure tenant
  • you’ve had a public sector landlord (for example, a council, housing association or NHS trust) for 3 years - it does not have to be 3 years in a row