The pilot project will be open to households earning under £60,000, who will be able to rent the property at a discounted rate for two or three years, and will be given the option to buy it.
Rents will be 80% or less of the real market value, in order to save up for a deposit.
The scheme, which will be managed by the Housing Corporation, will be open to buyers who qualify for the government's new-build HomeBuy scheme, but are currently unable to buy. They would have an option to buy 25% or more of the property at any time under the scheme.
The government had previously extended the shared ownership scheme from key workers to those households earning £60,000 or less.
Bids will have to be made for the rent first, buy later scheme through registered social landlords.
Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat shadow housing minister, says: "Another day, another new affordable housing announcement. The government’s hot air will not hide the fact that 10% fewer shared ownership homes were provided last year than in 2006.
"What is strangely absent from this announcement is any suggestion of how the government imagines the rent-to-buy scheme will be paid for."
He adds: "With building firms making redundancies and councils strapped for cash, who does the government expect to fund it? Councils should freed to borrow so they can buy up empty homes to meet the huge demand in social housing."
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