At present such tenants are placed at the back of the housing waiting list if they move between local authorities.

But under new rules announced by communities secretary Eric Pickles this will no longer be the case.

It is formulating a ‘Right to Move’ guarantee for all existing council or housing association tenants which means people will no longer be forced to decide between housing or work.

A public consultation launched last autumn showed strong support for the reforms.

All councils will be forced to offer 1% of their housing stock for use by the scheme and allocate moving workers ‘reasonable preference’ when allocating new council houses.

Pickles said: “Tenants who want to work hard and get on in life should be supported in their goal – not penalized for it.

“Councils will now have to work to ensure social tenants are no longer forced to choose between their home or the chance of a new job which could transform their lives.

“The Right to Move guarantee will mean existing tenants who need to move closer to work or who are offered employment in a new community can move on and move up – not find themselves back at square one on the housing waiting list.”