The Government will give more details of social housing reform later after David Cameron said he wanted to stop granting council homes for life.
A national scheme is being introduced to connect tenants in different areas who are keen to swap properties for employment or personal reasons.
Housing minister Grant Shapps is to say the initiative will help resolve the "contradiction" where a quarter of a million families lived in overcrowded accommodation, while more than 400,000 homes were larger than the occupants needed.
"Social housing should provide more than a roof over people's heads - it should lift them out of poverty and free them to take chances to improve the quality of their own lives," Mr Shapps will insist.
The announcement comes after the Prime Minister told the audience at a public question and answer session in Birmingham today that there should be "fixed term" tenancy deals so that individuals can be moved on if their circumstances change.
"At the moment we have a system very much where, if you get a council house or an affordable house, it is yours forever and in some cases people actually hand them down to their children," Mr Cameron said.
He added: "There is a question mark about whether, in future, should we be asking, actually, when you are given a council home, is it for fixed period, because maybe in five or ten years you will be doing a different job and be better paid and you won't need that home, you will be able to go into the private sector."
