More than a million housing association tenants could buy their first house under an extension of Right to Buy, the Queen's Speech revealed today.

The Conservatives promised to make the expansion in their manifesto for the General Election.

Housing charity Shelter has already slammed the policy. Chief executive Campbell Robb said: "The Government talks about providing a helping hand to people wanting to get on the ladder, but in reality, they're giving with one hand and taking with the other.

"Getting on the housing ladder is beginning to look less about the product of your hard work and more like the product of a lottery.

"Instead of building the 250,000 homes a year we need or protecting the affordable homes budget, starter homes will be available to a select few, and right-to-buy will be the nail in the coffin for some of the last truly affordable homes."

And Matt Hutchinson, director of flat and house share site SpareRoom, said: "What we need is a clear plan to build more and also make better use of existing stock, rather than selling it off at a discount."

But who will this policy actually benefit, and how does Right to Buy work?

Right to Buy
(
Image:
Getty)

First introduced in the 1980s, the scheme has allowed council house tenants to buy their properties at a discount. The Conservatives want to extend the scheme to 1.3million housing association tenants as well.

You can get a discount starting at 35% for houses and 50% for flats. In cash, this discount can be up to £77,900 across England, and £103,900 in London.

Who can benefit

Right to Buy discounts

£77,900

in England

£103,900

in London

Council tenants with at least five years' tenancy can currently take advantage of the scheme. You can find out if you're included here. The Conservatives want to open it up to housing association tenants as well.

The Scottish government has scrapped Right to Buy from 2016. This means if you want to take advantage of it you will need to buy before 31 July 2016. You can find out more here.

You can also find out information about Right to Buy in Wales and Northern Ireland.

How to get it

poll loading

Would you consider Right to Buy?

You need to fill in an application form and send it to your landlord. If your landlord agrees to sell, you will probably need to find a mortgage to cover the cost of buying the property. In most cases, the mortgage lender will treat your discount as a deposit. You can find out more here.

Can't get Right to Buy? Try Social HomeBuy

With Social HomeBuy, you buy a share of your council or housing association home and pay rent on the rest of it. You can get a discount of up to £16,000 on the value of your home - but you must buy at least 25% of it.

To apply, ask your landlord for an application form.

For more on buying your first home, like Mirror Money on Facebook!