Head-to-head: Housing plans

The government aims to provide �60,000 homes to first-time buyers

The government is aiming to help first-time buyers by offering part-ownership schemes to 100,000 and releasing state-owned sites for housing development.

But some charities argue there is too much emphasis on buying homes at the expense of social housing provisions.

A man who last year bought his first home through part-ownership and a single parent stuck in temporary housing share their experiences and views.

I looked at new-builds on the open market, and they were looking for 10% deposits. The cheapest ones cost �210,000, so I would have had to stump up quite a lot of money.

I was surprised that you needed to have a chunk of change, and there was no way that I could actually come up with that deposit.

I spoke to a friend and she said, 'Why don't you try shared ownership?' I looked on the internet and it was really straightforward.

You have charge of your own destiny much more, and can plan for the future Kevin McCutcheon New 'cheap' home sites unveiled

The deal is you buy a minimum 30% of the value and then pay rent, subsidised by the government, on the remainder.

When going through the budget with the housing association they look at it pretty stringently, so you can work out if it's going to be affordable or not.

And if interest rates rise, you are buffered - it only affects the percentage that you own.

After a year in the property, you can decide to purchase a higher percentage. So from 30% you can buy another chunk, which will in turn reduce the amount you pay rent on. Eventually you can own 100%.

My quality of life is much improved. It was definitely the right thing to do. You have charge of your own destiny much more, and can plan for the future. I would highly recommend it.

I have an eight-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. I was in another relationship, living in a two-bedroom flat with my partner and her daughter.

Having the three children in the flat put a lot of stress on our relationship. Eventually we split up and I took the children to social services.

They took us to the local authority, but the council said they had no obligation to provide us with permanent accommodation.

We were homeless, so they put us up in a hostel for three months, then moved us all into the single room where we are now. We have a small kitchen area and the kids sleep on bunk beds.

The government is trying to help first-time buyers - that would be no good for a lot of people Aubre Corbin

I know they have no duty towards me, but the Children's Act does put a duty on them to house the children. I have been telling them this for five months. The social services have also been telling them this.

Finally it seems they have accepted it. I spoke to them and they told me they have sent our details over to their permanent housing people.

I see the government is trying to help first-time buyers. That would obviously be no good for me. It would be no good for a lot of people.

After all, if people are in a position to be first-time buyers, presumably they are already in accommodation.

There are plenty of people who need help to find any kind of accommodation at all. Perhaps they should be the priority.

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