A radical pilot scheme to evict new council tenants who refuse to find work will launch next year.

Approval has been given for the Housing into Work policy, which means new Wandsworth Council tenants who fail to find work or enrol on a training course may lose their home.

But the plans have met criticism from opposition councillors, who claim the scheme needs to be linked to building more affordable housing.

Housing spokesman, Councillor Paul Ellis, said: "This isn't about punishing people who are made redundant or cannot find a job.

"It is about having a way to penalise those who can't be bothered to make the effort.

"Ultimately when it comes to offering council homes in the future we want to give people a hand up - not a hand out."

The pilot will involve around a dozen cases, before it is rolled out to all new tenants.

Wandsworth Council is also looking to introduce new rules that give a higher priority to working families when it comes to allocating council properties.

New applicants would be subject to fixed term tenancies and they would have to attend reviews to help them find employment.

Labour's housing spokesman Councillor Mark Thomas said that his party was pressing for more affordable homes to be built and was proposing that a percentage of those should be earmarked for those with jobs.

He said: "The jobs market is very tough at the moment, so it is crucial that the council provides meaningful employment support with a real job at the end of it, and that those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own are not unfairly penalised."

The policy pilot scheme will launch in June 2012.