Brits will be able to pay mortgages using housing benefits under ‘radical’ plan

Mortgages will soon be able to be paid for using housing benefits under a ‘radical’ new plan to get millions of Brits on the property ladder.

Boris Johnson is set to unveil the plan in a speech in Blackpool today, which is expected to include a pledge to boost home ownership, allowing lower paid workers to use their benefits to count towards a mortgage.

As it stands, housing benefit cannot be legally declared as income towards a mortgage, leaving many tenants trapped in rented accommodation and unable to get onto the property ladder.

Johnson will also set out his intention to extend Margaret Thatcher’s ‘Right to Buy’ scheme to allow housing association tenants to purchase their homes at discounted rates.

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Number 10 said in a statement: “The Prime Minister will confirm his ambition to unlock the opportunity of home ownership for more people through helping those in a position to buy, to access the mortgage finance they need, ensuring people are incentivised to save for a deposit no matter their financial situation, and improving the supply of housing across the country.”

However, Housing Secretary Michael Gove revealed today that there could be a cap on how many people can use the scheme.

Read More: Rishi Sunak warns homeowners their mortgage payments are ‘set to rise by £1,000 a year’

Speaking to Sky News today, Gove couldn’t put a figure on how high this cap will be, with him saying: “That’s something I will be discussing with housing associations.”

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.

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“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.”

And responding to critics who have cast doubt on the government’s ability to provide enough quality housing association properties, Gove insisted there will be new houses to replace those that are bought up.

He explained: “Yesterday I introduced legislation into the House of Commons that means there will be a new levy on developers.

“That means that when new developments occur, 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.”