Brits have lost millions of pounds trying to sell retirement properties over the last decade as their values plunge due to high service charges and restrictive leases.

Many of the UK’s 190,000 privately owned retirement flats are now worth far less than when they were built with an extreme example having fallen by 95 per cent.

Frustrated pensioners have watched service charges soar by more than half in just seven years on their homes, making them difficult to sell and leaving some empty.

Read More: The ‘unsellable’ retirement homes scandal