The deputy prime minister said the new restrictions would prevent new homes from “leaving the system” once built.

The government has committed to building 1.5 million homes in its first five years in power, a social housing drive not seen since the post-war years.

Rayner he told the BBC: ‘We will impose restrictions so as not to lose those houses… we are not going to lose that stock.’

Social tenants have been able to buy their homes since the 1980s, often at a significant discount, under the right to buy scheme introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1980.

Right to buy was initially hailed for increasing home ownership but, in recent years, the plan has been guilty for fueling the housing crisis and homelessness in the UK.

Since the scheme was introduced, more than two million council homes have been sold, including homes within Mikhail Riches’ Stirling Prize-winning Goldsmith Street housing project in Norwich (see Goldsmith Street’s first council house sold under right to buy).

He said levels of homelessness in England represent a “catastrophic emergency situation” that must be addressed urgently.

Ministers will begin a consultation on the plans before the end of the year, according to the bbc.

The work has saying The right to buy discount could be reduced from its current rate of £102,400 for homes across England, or £136,400 for homes in London, to between £16,000 and £38,000, depending on location.

Local authorities will also be able to keep all the money they earn from council home sales, rather than having to give a portion of the proceeds to the Treasury, as announced in last week’s Budget.

The budget also included £233 million to address homelessness.

Angela Rayner purchased her own home through the right to buy program in 2007.

At the Labor conference in Liverpool in September, the deputy first minister said she was determined to deliver “the biggest wave of council housing in a generation”, adding: “that’s what I want to be measured on”.

Labor hopes its drive on housebuilding will reduce house prices, helping many young people who currently cannot afford to rent or buy.