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The multi-millionaire son of a Tory minister who presided over the controversial “right-to -buy” scheme is a buy-to-let landlord owning scores of former council flats.

A Daily Mirror investigation found a third of ex-council homes sold in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher were now owned by private landlords.

In one London borough almost half of ex-council properties are now sub-let to tenants.

Tycoon Charles Gow and his wife own at least 40 ex-council flats on one South London estate.

His father Ian Gow was one of Mrs Thatcher’s top aides and was Housing Minister during the peak years of right-to-buy.

Other wealthy investors own scores of ex-council properties via offshore holding firms in tax havens in the Channel Islands, the GMB union has found.

Boss Paul Kenny said: “You couldn’t make it up. The family of one of the Tory ministers who oversaw right-to-buy ends up owning swathes of ex-council homes.”

Our probe comes as the housing shortage facing ordinary families hits crisis point.

There are five million people waiting for social housing in Britain and house building cannot keep up with demand.

(Image: Rex)

Meanwhile, the private rented sector has almost doubled in a decade and 8.5 million people are tenants – one in six households.

Experts link the crisis to Mrs Thatcher’s decision to sell off council homes to tenants at a discount.

Right-to-buy proved popular, but our investigation has found 30 years later, the next generation has not benefited.

Controversially councils were not allowed to spend the cash on building more homes.

We used the Freedom of Information Act to ask city councils how many of their ex-flats, where they still own the freehold, were being sub-let by the leaseholder.

The 13 that responded told us in 32% of the properties, the leaseholder had an “away address” for ­correspondence – a clear sign the flat was being rented out.

(Image: Shelter)

London’s Wandsworth Borough Council has sold off 24,000 properties under right-to-buy since 1978.

For 15,874 the lease was sold, as they were in blocks of flats where the council kept the freehold.

The council told us 6,180, or 39%, of the owners who bought those leases gave a different address for correspondence.

And it also revealed 95 landlords have five or more of these properties.

The largest leasehold landlord owns the leases on 93 of its freehold properties, with the second largest having 32.

(Image: JNVisuals)

Research by the GMB suggests the owner of the 93 could be Charles Gow.

In one single ex-council block of 120 flats in Sherfield Gardens, Putney, 62 of the leaseholds are registered to different addresses.

Of these, Mr Gow owns 35 while his wife Karin owns another five.

Ian Gow was Mrs Thatcher’s parliamentary private secretary between 1979 and 1983.

Right-to-buy peaked in 1984, by which time he was Housing Minister.

He was killed in 1990 by an IRA car bomb.

Land Registry records show his son began buying properties in Sherfield Gardens in 1996 for £100,000 each.

His firm KCG is offering four-bedroom flats there for £1,500 a month.

The properties are now worth up to £300,000 and the Gows’ 40 properties could be worth £10million.

Mr Gow, who lives in a £2.5million house in Esher, Surrey, would not say how many ex-council properties he owned.

(Image: Tim Anderson)

But he added: “Your numbers are on the low side. I paid the market value for them. I’m running a business.

“You aren’t trying to make me feel guilty, are you?”

Two sister companies based in Guernsey own another portfolio of former council properties.

Chelsea Estates Ltd owns 38 ex-council homes in Wandsworth, Westminster and Lambeth, while Birkett Estates Ltd has 19.

They are controlled by ex-venture capitalist Alex Birkett Smith, 46 and brother James, 42.

The GMB found the pair and their wives also directly own another 27 ex-council properties in Wandsworth, meaning one wealthy family has almost 100 ex-council homes in the capital.

They were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Westminster council told us 31% of 8,910 leaseholders sub-let its flats.

There are 2,084 households on waiting lists for social housing in Westminster.

The council reportedly spent £2million in nine months paying for 120 homeless families to stay in hotels last year.

Officials at Kingston council told us 46% of ­leaseholders at 1,442 ex-council homes gave another address. There were 7,374 on its social housing waiting list.

In Kensington and Chelsea, 43% of leaseholders sub-let ex-council stock.

(Image: Rex)

Leeds council said 37% of 1,727 leaseholders “rent out their properties and live elsewhere”.

The city’s social housing waiting list is 21,252 households.

In Sheffield, 27% of 2,330 council freehold properties have a leaseholder with an alternative address.

There are 68,446 households on the city’s waiting list.

Nottingham council revealed 42% of 3,505 leaseholders gave an away address.

Mr Kenny added: The investigation exposes Thatcher’s policy as nothing more than a charter for the exploitation of social housing for private profit.”

Toby Lloyd, of housing charity Shelter, said: “Your investigation helps explain why millions are being squeezed into expensive private rented accommodation while a lucky few have done very well.

“The problem with right-to-buy was that the homes that were sold off were not replaced.

"It wasn’t a policy to encourage more home ownership – it was to encourage less social housing.”

The facts and figures

We used the Freedom of Information Act to ask a number of councils around the UK how many of the leaseholders in their freehold properties had given “away addresses” for correspondence purposes. These are the responses we received.

Royal Borough of Kingston - 46%

Response: “1442 leaseholders of which 659 have a correspondence address, one of whom (Mopes Farm Developments) holds five leases.

"Four of these are on the Cambridge Road Estate, the fifth is on the Kingsnympton Park Estate.

“Of the 659 leaseholders with correspondence addresses only one is that of a Housing Association- in this case, Thames Valley Charitable Housing Assoc.

"I understand it has just a single leasehold unit.”

There are 7,374 on the social housing waiting list in Kingston.

Nottingham City Council – 42% of ex-council flats are rented out

“The Council owns 3505 freehold property assets and the lease holder has a different "away address" for correspondence purposes in 1589 cases.

“There are 11 Leasehold owners holding five or more leases on such properties.”

After discounting five housing associations and social landlords, we found that 42% of council freehold properties were sublet.

There are 12,067 households on the social housing waiting list in Nottingham.

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - 40%

Response: “Number of council owned that are leasehold – 2485. Number of leasehold properties with different away address (sublet) – 1076.

"Number of leasehold where landlord has 5 or more properties – 4.”

The number sublet was 43%, which fell to 40% after we excluded two housing associations with 71 properties between them.

There are 7,551 waiting for social housing in Kensington and Chelsea.

London Borough of Wandsworth – 39%

Response: “As at 28th December 2012, Wandsworth Council has a total of 33,170 freehold properties, of which 17,296 are tenanted properties and 15,874 are leasehold properties.

“Of the 15,874 leasehold properties 6,180 leaseholders have provided the Housing Department/Finance Department with a different mailing address for finance correspondence.

“As at 28th December 2012 there are 95 leaseholders (a combination of individuals and organisations) who hold five or more leases on properties where the Council is the freeholder.

“Of the 95 leaseholders, 67 are individual leaseholders who own five or more leases on properties and 28 are organisations who own five or more leases.”

There are 5,208 households waiting for social housing in Wandsworth.

Leeds City Council – 37%

Response: “Leeds City Council own 57,576 residential properties. Of 1727 leaseholders in Leeds, 635 of them rent out their properties and live elsewhere.

"Leeds does not have any leaseholders that hold five or more leases.”

There are 21,252 households on the social housing waiting list in Leeds.

Southwark Council – 34%

Response: “The Council owns the freehold on 12,867 leasehold properties.

“The Council has 4339 leasehold properties where a separate contact address has been registered.

"Please note leaseholders are not required to provide us with an alternate contact address if they do not reside in the property.”

Three landlords had three leases or more.

There are 13,112 households on the social housing waiting list in Southwark.

Royal Borough of Greenwich – 34%

Response: “The number of properties that the Royal Borough of Greenwich owns as free holders is 4013, the total number which have alternate addresses is 1345.

"There are 4 leaseholders who hold five or more leases on properties.”

There are 11,656 households waiting for social housing in Greenwich.

London Borough of Lewisham – 32%

Response: “I can confirm that the number of leasehold residential properties owned by the Council is 5249, of which 1694 have correspondence addresses.

“According to our records, there is 1 landlord who owns more than 5 Council leasehold properties. They own 6 properties in total.

"None of the leaseholds with correspondence addresses are Housing Associations.”

There are 17,772 households waiting for social housing in Lewisham.

Westminster City Council/CityWest Homes – 31%

Response: “The number of leasehold properties which the council owns as freeholders is 8910. The number of sublet flats registered with us is 3412.

"There are 30 leasehold owners who hold five or more leases on properties where Westminster Council owns the freehold.”

That suggests 38% of council freehold properties are sub-let, until we discounted social landlords and housing associations which reduced the figure to 31%

There are 2,084 households on the waiting list for social housing in Westminster.

Sheffield City Council - 27%

Response: “The Council is the freeholder for 2158 sold leasehold flats & maisonettes. The Council is the freeholder for 172 houses.

"There are 638 'away addresses'. There are 5 leaseholders who hold five or more leasehold flats or maisonettes.”

There are 68,446 households waiting for social housing in Sheffield.

Lambeth Council – 26%

Response: “Lambeth Council’s current dwelling stock comprises 34,348 properties.

“16 leaseholders currently hold 5 or more leases on properties, namely: 6 companies that own 36 leases between them, 10 Individuals that own 98 leases between them.

“According to our most up to date records, based on 8863 leasehold accounts which had service charge estimates issued during the 2012-2013 financial year, 2331 leaseholders have registered a forwarding address which is different from the property address.”

Two housing associations were named with 12 leases between them.

There are 27,534 households on social housing waiting lists in Lambeth.

Newham Council – 26%

Response: “The total number of dwellings (residential properties) of which the Council owns the freehold is 17,396 (as of 1st December 2012.)

"Of this number, a total of 5,741 are leasehold properties. Of this number, a total of 1694 leaseholders have registered a different address for correspondence purposes, other than the address of the property for which the lease is held.”

Which gives a figure of 29% with away addresses, which we reduced to 26% after discounting four social landlords or housing associations with 190 leases between them.

There are 30,975 households on the social housing waiting list in Newham.

Bristol City Council – 2%

Response: “1,454 of the social housing is leased residential property.

"There are 433 'away addresses' different to residential property address of which 405 of the 433 'away addresses' are registered social landlords.”

There are 14,585 on social housing waiting lists in Bristol.