LABOUR'S Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid is backing the party’s plans to end the ‘feudal’ leasehold system and save homeowners thousands of pounds.

A new Labour report includes proposals to cap unfair costs such as ground rents, while calling for a public inquiry into mis-selling in the leasehold market.

Leasehold ownership, most commonly found in flats, means purchasing a home for the duration of a usually long-term lease rather than owning it outright.

Mr Rashid says new figures show an estimated 47.84 per cent of homes in Warrington South were sold as leasehold last year.

The plans, set out in a consultation by Labour’s shadow housing secretary John Healey and shadow housing minister Sarah Jones, include a ban on the sale of new leasehold houses and flats.

Leaseholders would be able to buy the full, freehold ownership of their home for one per cent of the property value, with ground rents in existing leaseholds capped at 0.1 per cent of the property value, up to a maximum of £250 a year.

Labour’s proposals mean the average household in Warrington South would see annual ground rent capped at £200, with the cost of buying freehold reduced to £2,000, according to analysis published by Mr Rashid.

He said: “I am proud to support Labour’s plans to end the feudal leasehold system, saving homeowners thousands of pounds and breaking the stranglehold that developers and freeholders have on millions of families trapped in leasehold homes.

“This is an issue which has affected many of my constituents.

“At Prime Minister’s Questions last year, I challenged Theresa May to tackle this issue urgently.

“Unsurprisingly, we have seen very little action from her incompetent Tory Government since.

“Time is up on excessive ground rents which rip off hard-working people.

“Labour will improve and revitalise commonhold for flats and make freehold mandatory for all new houses as the Conservatives should have done years ago.”

But Tory Warrington South parliamentary candidate Andy Carter has hit back.

He said: “These proposals from Labour are simply plans, we’re already taking action and are dealing with the issues they’re discussing.

“Exploitative and unfair leasehold arrangements have no place in a modern housing market.

“Far from doing nothing, the Government are taking bold steps to reform the sector, on June 27, the secretary of state announced an end to the practice of selling leasehold.

“We’ve confirmed that we will legislate so that all new houses will be sold as freehold unless there are exceptional circumstances.

“Ground rents in future leases will be set at zero value and we’re looking at other leaseholder fees that should be capped or banned.”