Michael Gove will overhaul planning laws to help young people get on the property ladder

Michael Gove plans to force councils to build more homes in towns and city centres. Photo: PAUL ELLIS/AFP

“If people think markets are rigged and democracy doesn't listen to them, then you get — and this worries me — more and more young people saying: 'I don't believe in democracy, I don't believe in markets' «, he said.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Gove said the Government's target remains «absolutely, completely, 100 per cent» to build 300,000 new homes a year, even if it is an «advisory» step. obligation, not «mandatory».

The current three-month deadline before office buildings can be converted into homes will be scrapped, allowing councils to give the green light to developers as soon as they become vacant.

The government will also allow office buildings of any size to be converted into apartments without new planning permission, removing the current limit of 1,500 square meters, the equivalent of the size of a football pitch. step.

“For the first time, commercial buildings, regardless of their size, will be eligible for permitted development rights,” a government source said. The scheme allows homeowners to improve and extend their homes without the need to apply for planning permission.

Councils with less than 75 per cent of their homes planned will be subject to a presumption that they must be built on abandoned sites in towns and cities.

The aim of the strategy is to ensure that new housing is located on already developed areas, to limit the spread of development to the outskirts of villages or the green belt.

Mr Gove is pushing for 1 per cent deposit mortgages to be part of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's budget on 6 March. It is understood that this is an option and the government will offer financial guarantees to banks to encourage them to issue mortgages covering 99 per cent of the cost of a home.

Mr Hunt is also being forced to cut stamp duty and introduce a «foreign property tax» to deter international investors from snapping up residential property.

Confirming his lobbying, Chancellor Mr Gove told the BBC: «I'm doing everything I can, I mean, short of putting a siege on his own Houses. Every day I send him a note or message emphasizing the importance of further action to increase the supply of housing. And he gets it.

“So Jeremy Hunt is a man who absolutely understands the importance of supporting the next generation.”

He also insisted the government would ban no-fault evictions before the general election.

February data showed a sharp rise in the number of repossessions following no-fault eviction orders in England, with the figure set to increase by 49 per cent in 2023.