The National Trust’s property income has risen almost 40 per cent since 2008

The National Trust has been accused of profiteering after hundreds of leasehold tenants were told that they faced ground rent increases of up to 10,000 per cent.

The Tenants Association of the National Trust is demanding an inquiry into the conduct of the country’s biggest conservation charity after an 87-year-old resident was informed that his payments would rise from £148 to £15,000 a year. It accuses the trust of causing “immense suffering” by trying to make a “quick buck”.

The row has echoes of the recent leasehold scandal in which large housebuilders sold homes for which the ground rent doubled every ten years. Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, has promised to ban these “feudal” contracts.

More than 10,000 people live in 5,000 homes on National