'Green' houses to be built to help first time buyers get on the property ladder

Plans to help first-time buyers get on to the housing ladder by building affordable, environmentally friendly homes, were revealed today.

The Government plans to alleviate a housing shortage by building three million new homes by 2020.

Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said first time buyers and families who are "struggling to get onto the housing ladder" would be helped through the move.

She said measures in the Housing and Regeneration Bill include building greener, more environmentally friendly housing and giving social housing tenants a "better deal".

Legislation will be included to make it easier for councils to build new homes while tenants will also be given more power to complain if they are unhappy with the service being provided.

A new watchdog body for social housing tenants - Oftenant, will also be established. Oftenant will have powers to step in and penalise landlords who are not giving tenants a decent service.

Unveiling the Bill, Yvette Cooper said: "We need new homes for the first-time buyers and families who are struggling to get onto the housing ladder.

"The Housing and Regeneration Bill will help councils and Housing Associations build more homes.

"And it will bring together responsibility for land and money for new housing alongside regeneration, to speed up the delivery of affordable housing and new communities.

"We owe it to future generations to act now on more greener and more affordable housing."

The Bill will also give powers to councils to tackle anti-social tenants through Family Intervention Projects and as part of the Government's pledge for all new homes to be carbon neutral by 2016 housing developers will be required to show if a sustainability assessment has been completed.

The assessment provides an in-depth green rating for new homes to show how carbon neutral and environmentally friendly they are.