The Green Party has committed itself to phasing out private landlords from the housing system.

A motion passed at its party conference at the weekend called for the party “to seek the effective abolition of private landlordism” while backing building more council houses.

The plan is now official policy for the Green Party of England and Wales.

In England, 19% of all households live in privately rented properties according to the latest government figures, making it the second largest type of housing. In Wales, the latest available figure is 17%.

Under the terms of their new policy, the Greens would put more regulation and taxes on private rentals to make it difficult for landlords to make a profit, while boosting housebuilding by councils.

It would use existing Green policies such as imposing rent controls, ending buy-to-let mortgages and giving councils the ‘right to buy’ a rental property when it is sold at a discounted price.

The Greens would set up a state-owned housing manufacturer “to mass produce high quality mass council housing for local authorities”.

They would also levy national insurance on rental income, which, according to a report in The Times, is a measure that has also been considered by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Green MP Carla Denyer, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, suggested the policy was not as a radical as it might sound.

“While the motion to conference had an eye-catching name, it does not actually ‘abolish’ landlords,” she said.

“It does, however, address the housing crisis, empowers tenants and improves their wellbeing. It contains a range of policies which, over time, would reduce the proportion of the housing market that is privately rented, and increase the proportion of socially rented homes.”

Under the Greens’ rules, motions like this, which was put forward by an activist, become party policy if they pass a vote at either of the two conferences it holds each year.

Other new policies adopted over the weekend included protecting people who have been in care from discrimination by calling for “care experience” to be treated in the same way as age, sex or religious belief under The Equality Act.

Ellie Chowns, the Greens’ Leader in Parliament, said the party’s MPs would now push the government to adopt the measure.

She said that “those who have been in care often face discrimination, harassment and victimisation throughout their lives, in housing, education, health, employment and the justice system”.

She added: “Making care experience a protected characteristic would ensure public bodies make policy with care-experienced people in mind.”

The Green Party of England and Wales now claims to have more members than the Liberal Democrats, with more than 84,000 people signed up.