Theresa May abandons "homeownership democracy"; to offer more security for renters

In a departure from her predecessor David Cameron, who focused on advancing Margaret Thatcher's ambition for a "home-owning democracy", a white paper will aim to deliver more affordable and secure rental deals, and threaten tougher action against rogue landlords, for the millions of families unable to buy because of sky-high property prices. Ministers will say they want to change planning and other rules to ensure developers provide a proportion of new homes for "affordable rent" instead of just insisting that they provide a quota of "affordable homes for sale".

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The proportion of people living in private rented accommodation has doubled since 2000 and ministers will accept that housing costs "are hurting ordinary, working people the most". The average couple in the private rented sector now hands over roughly half their salary to their landlord each month and 2.2 million working households with below-average incomes spend more than a third of their incomes on housing.