David Cameron has pledged to address the UK’s housing crisis by selling off expensive council properties and using the money to build 400,000 new homes.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, the Prime Minister said the government is committed to building a “property-owning democracy”.

He said: “Part of having a good life is having a home of your own.

“It’s not about ‘assets’ and ‘appreciating values’ – it’s about someone standing there with their keys in their hand thinking ‘this place is mine.’”

The government plans to use the money generated to create a £1bn brownfield regeneration fund that will be used to create 400,000 new homes.

Charles Haresnape, Group Managing Director of Mortgages at Aldermore Bank, thinks the initiative is a step in the right direction.

He said: “There is still more that needs to be done to ensure that the housing market functions as well as possible for all involved, and initiatives such as this or proposals to free up brownfield sites are a welcome rebalancing towards more supply side measures, essential for a fully joined up housing policy.”

However, Christian Faes, CEO of LendInvest, thinks the Prime Minister will struggle to meet housing targets if he doesn’t consider the positive influence the private sector could have.

He said: “The Prime Minister’s campaign to promote housing building is laudable, but for targets to be met by 2020, the government must focus on the private sector’s ability to contribute to solving the housing problem.

“I can’t see how Cameron’s initiative can possibly sit comfortably alongside the Chancellor’s punitive plans to tax more buy-to-let mortgage holders and keep stamp duty high, pushing crucial landlords and developers out of business and seeing fewer homes built.”

The Prime Minister also announced that the Right to Buy scheme will be extended to all housing association tenants in the country.