The proportion of people owning their own home in Hounslow has fallen by 7.7% in the space of a decade, according to Labour's London Mayor candidate Sadiq Khan.
The MP for Tooting says the huge slump, from 36.7% in the 2001 census to 29% in 2011, is symptomatic of the housing crisis currently afflicting the capital.
Speaking during a visit to West Thames College , in London Road, Isleworth , the Labour MP promised to help more people onto the housing ladder if elected to the capital's hot seat this May
He told students at the college on Tuesday (February 2), how he would provide cheaper part-owned, part-rented homes, on which Londoners who have been renting for at least five years would be given "first dibs".
He claimed his proposal would save Londoners up to £400 a month compared with existing support available to first-time buyers.
"Home ownership has plummeted in London, with the sharpest fall in outer London. My plan will take this on," he said.
"I'll give first dibs to Londoners who have been renting for five years, and these homes will be up to £400 a month cheaper than they would be under Tory rules.
"I'll offer a lifeline to Londoners who are fed up with wasting 'dead money' on rent – by bringing home ownership back within reach."
Mr Khan said if he is elected London mayor he would ensure such homes - where owners buy 25-75% of the property and pay rent on the remainder - were built in all London boroughs.
He said he would do this by building on public land controlled by the London mayor - including sites owned by Transport for London (TfL).
The new homes in outer London could be bought with an average deposit of just £5,200, he claimed, and the monthly rent payable would be as little as £400.
'Fantasy target'
He said that under the government's current plans, buyers could be forced to pay up to £800 a month in rent, on top of mortgage costs for the portion they own.
Mr Khan said the fall in ownership in the borough of Hounslow showed how hard it was for Londoners to get on the housing ladder.
He is the front-runner in the election race according to bookmakers, with Ladbrokes pricing him at 8/15 on compared with 6/4 for Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith.
Responding to Mr Khan's latest pledges on housing, Mr Goldsmith said: "At a time when London's population is set to hit 10m, we cannot afford a four year housing experiment that we know will fail.
"Labour's record in town halls proves that a fantasy target chokes off new housing – the same will happen if (Jeremy) Corbyn's candidate Sadiq Khan is elected mayor.
"If elected mayor I will work with the government to deliver the homes this city needs and that the next generation can afford the keys to."
