The changes are another nail in the coffin of the legislation introduced by Margaret Thatcher 30 years ago, during which time it is estimated that almost half a million council houses in Scotland were sold at discounted prices.

The new restrictions affect first time tenants and anyone returning to the social rented sector after a break. Existing tenants are not affected.

Ms Sturgeon made the announcement in Inverness at the SNP’s annual conference where she told delegates the reforms, which would be introduced “soon”, would retain up to 18,000 properties in the social housing sector that otherwise would be sold off.

She said home ownership was a “laudable ambition” supported by the Government’s shared equity programme which was helping more than 1500 people get on the housing ladder this year.

She added: “But we also have a responsibility to provide homes for those who want to rent or cannot afford to buy.

“We’re building record numbers of houses but our ambition to substantially increase the supply of homes for rent will be frustrated if we then sell them off under the right to buy.

That is why I believe the Right to Buy has had its day.”

Ms Sturgeon’s latest plan follows an announcement on the abolition of the right to buy on new-build social housing.

She said the Government was “working hard to reverse decades of decline” in council house building with a £26million investment which would allow work to start on 1300 new homes this year.

Labour’s health spokesperson Cathy Jamieson accused Ms Sturgeon of “completely missing the point” by tinkering with the right to buy instead of providing local authorities and housing associations with enough money to build more homes.

She claimed the Government was cutting the housing programme by £260million.

Tories denounced the scrapping of the right to buy for all new tenants as “political vandalism”.

Their housing spokeswoman Mary Scanlon said: “Over 400,000 families across Scotland have now fulfilled their aspiration of home ownership as a result of the Conservative policy of right to buy.

“It is a sad day for many people who hope that one day their status will change from tenant to owner.

“Future tenants will be denied the choice of home ownership due to the SNP political ideology taking priority over personal choice.”

Delegates in Inverness were also told that a referendum on independence was “closer than ever”.

The forecast was made by Parliament Minister Bruce Crawford who claimed it was “no longer a question of if, but when, the referendum is held.

He said: “”To those commentators who do not believe we can secure a referendum, I say to them watch this space. But if the unionists continue to deny the people of Scotland a voice - in 2011 the people of Scotland will have their say and I believe will back the SNP to give them the responsibility to decide the future of their country.”

Meanwhile, a leading think-tank has said the global recession has strengthened the case for Holyrood to be given greater financial independence.

But Reform Scotland warns that in the short term there will need to be spending cuts or tax rises or both to address the UK’s fiscal deficit.

In a report today, it says: “If additional fiscal powers are to have a real impact on the governance of Scotland and on the performance of the Scottish economy, they must be of a scale that is great enough to address the fundamental defect of the current devolution settlement - its lack of financial accountability.

“This can be achieved within the context of the UK if both the UK and Scottish Governments are given responsibility for raising the taxes required to fund their spending proposals.”