LEIGH MP Jo Platt has backed plans to support people affected by the leasehold scandal.

A Labour Party report includes proposals to cap unfair costs such as ground rent, investigate misselling and help leaseholders save thousands.

Leasehold ownership, commonly found in flats, means buying a home for the duration of a long lease rather than owning it outright.

Homeowners who purchase a leasehold property are often faced with extortionate charges in the form of ground rent or service charges.

Figures show around 58 per cent of houses sold in Leigh last year were for leasehold.

The Labour proposals include a ban on the sale of new leasehold houses and flats. Ms Platt highlighted the Government failed to ban the sale of leasehold houses after the ground rents scandal, which left 100,000 homeowners in a property they cannot sell.

She said: “The leasehold scandal has hit our local towns hard.

"Leigh is the 10th highest constituency the country for the proportion of homes sold with a leasehold which sees families across our towns paying an effective rent on top of their mortgage payments. I see the impact of this in my surgeries every week with homeowners in real financial hardship because of the grossly unfair ground rent increases."

The report renews Labour’s calls for a public inquiry into misselling in the leasehold market.

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, said: “Exploitative and unfair leasehold arrangements have no place in a modern housing market so we are taking bold action to reform the sector.

“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.”