Will young people ever be able to buy their own home?

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The Labour leader promised to hand local authorities the power to designate areas for building and to set aside up to half of new houses for first-time buyers in a bid to deal with what has been called “the biggest housing crisis in a generation”.

The announcement follows Mr Miliband’s pledge to build 200,000 new homes per year by 2020.

“There has been a systematic failure to build the homes our country needs,” he is expected to say during a visit to Milton Keynes.

For too many young families, the dream of home ownership is fading fast. Ed Miliband, Labour leader

For too many young families, the dream of home ownership is fading fast. Ed Miliband, Labour leader

Sir Michael Lyons, who proposed the plan in an independent housing review he carried out for Labour, underlined the importance of building homes for young people to buy.

“We simply have to do better as a nation, not only because our children and grandchildren need the homes we should be providing now, but because greater house building will make a direct contribution to national economic growth,” he said.

Priority

Exact details on eligibility for the scheme would be at councils’ discretion but it is thought that many properties could be reserved for people who have lived or worked in an area for at least two years. Labour stressed that the scheme was not intended to exclude would-be home-buyers of non-British origin or without family roots in the area.

Under Mr Miliband’s pans, councils would designate “housing growth areas”. Covenants would be placed on homes in them to prevent them being sold for buy-to-let rental or purchased as an investment and left empty.

Thanks to this government’s long-term economic plan, house-building in England is at its highest since 2007. Brandon Lewis, housing minister

Mr Miliband said that he would insist that big housing developers “play their part”, rather than hold land back. And he pledged to make housing a greater priority within the existing capital settlement for the next Parliament, requiring all local authorities to produce a plan to meet housing needs in their area.

Sir Michael said: “The recommendations will make more land available for new homes, unlock investment in infrastructure and ensure that new homes are built when and where they are needed in attractive, thriving places.

Help to buy

First-time buyers have been given help to get on the property ladder under the current government, which introduced the “help to buy” scheme for those who were struggling to put together the necessary deposit for a new-build home.

There were fears that, with demand already outstripping supply, the scheme simply increased the number of potential buyers, thereby pushing prices even higher. That claim was denied by the prime minister.

But Conservative housing minister Brandon Lewis attacked Labour’s plans. “They say they can meet their housing promises and not borrow a single penny extra to pay for it, but this just isn’t credible,” he said.

We need to act now to ensure our children have roofs over their heads in future. David Orr, National Housing Federation

“What’s more, no-one will take any lectures from Labour on house-building. Thanks to this government’s long-term economic plan, house-building in England is at its highest since 2007 and in the last 12 months, 230,000 homes received planning permission.”

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation and member of the Lyons review panel, said: “We currently build half the number of homes we need each year, which has left us with a housing crisis which is only set to get worse for the next generation. We need to act now to ensure our children have roofs over their heads in future.

“I welcome the ideas that would see us build 200,000 new homes by 2020 and the ambition to go beyond this to meet demand. We’re pleased that the ideas we’ve put forward to all the parties ahead of the general election have been listened to, such as access and control over how land is used.