THE MP for Wellington has described the current housing system in the UK as “feudal” during a debate on leasehold and freehold issues in Parliament.

Gideon Amos, who is the Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson on housing and communities, expressed concern over homeowners falling into cycle of uncapped rents, and chose to highlight what he saw as escalating property service charges, saying that new legislation was needed.

This comes after a meeting he had with a constituent regarding these charges, which was brought up when speaking in parliament.

He said that this constituent saw a 52 per cent increase in their service charges just one year after they bought their property, which had risen from £1,700 in 2022 to £2,600 in 2023.

He also claimed that this constituent would then go on to see their charges rise to £3,700 the following year, representing another 43 per cent increase, before another 34 per cent rise in 2025 brought that figure up to £5,010.

In parliament, Mr Amos said: “Overall, the service charges tripled in just three years, and for what?

“After a huge effort by residents asking to see quotes and invoices, it turns out that the answer was that it was for nothing — or rather for incompetence.

“Eventually, through the right to manage, the residents appointed a new managing agent and got their charges back down to around £2,000.

“That means that over those four years, residents paid approximately £13,000 in service charges.

“If the charges had remained at the proper level, it would have been £2,000 a year, so they have overpaid by £5,000 each and they will never get that money back.

“That is the cost of delay — it is a real cost being borne by constituents of mine and other members.”