Grant Shapps, Shadow Housing Minister, has accused Labour of hiding the truth about repossession numbers by excluding the figures for homeowners who sold their home and rented it back, so that they could stay in their home. Labour figures show 48,000 homes were repossessed in 2009, compared with 75,000 in 1991 (the peak of the last recession). The OFT suggests that 50,000 or so property sale and rentback deals were done, which makes the true number of those who have lost their home far worse. “It transpires that thousands of people have actually lost their homes, even though the official figures fail to reflect their misery,” said Mr Shapps.

Sale and Rentback didn’t exist in 1991 and there have been grave concerns about their fairness and security.

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