Landlords have condemned Rachel Reeves‘ ‘double standards’ amid claims some had been fined £30,000 for breaching licence laws she had supported.
The Chancellor was under increasing fire last night after the Daily Mail revealed she has been illegally letting a four-bedroom property in Dulwich, south London, without a licence.
Ms Reeves initially blamed her letting agent for failing to tell her she needed one, and said she applied immediately after being told of the oversight.
But yesterday it emerged she had repeatedly backed a similar licensing scheme in her own constituency of Leeds West and Pudsey, causing angry locals to claim she should have known better.
Landlords who have paid thousands of pounds for licences are now demanding she is penalised for breaking the law – as many others have been.
The licensing rules in Leeds sparked fierce opposition from landlords, who said it would not improve conditions in rental properties and merely serve to push up rents due to the costs involved.
Kathryn Badon, 67, a member of the Leeds Landlords Against Licensing group, said she and other landlords ‘would never get away’ with pleading ignorance as the Chancellor has done.
Mrs Badon said she knew of a landlord who was fined £30,000 for late licence applications across three rental properties.
Rachel Reeves, pictured with husband Nicholas Joicey, was under increasing fire last night after the Daily Mail revealed she has been illegally letting a four-bedroom property in Dulwich, south London, without a licence
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed on Wednesday night that the Chancellor had been renting out her family home (pictured) without a licence since entering Downing Street
She said the landlord, struggling with her application due to IT issues while caring for her mother who has dementia, was confronted by bailiffs and taken to court.
Syed Ali, 44, an electrician and landlord from Leeds who is set to pay more than £10,000 to obtain licences across eight properties, branded it ‘glaring hypocrisy’.
‘This is the same MP who only last year walked with Labour councillors in Armley [a ward in Leeds West] in full support of reintroducing and expanding selective licensing,’ he said.
‘The irony is so perfect it’s almost artistic. Her defence, that it was an oversight by her letting agent, is the exact same excuse landlords are told is not good enough. It speaks to a profound double standard.’
Ms Reeves was reportedly taken by councillors on a ‘walkabout’ to see her constituency’s private rented housing stock, while she supported a significant expansion of the local licensing scheme.
Alan Lamb, the Conservative leader on Leeds City Council, said he would be ‘astonished’ if Ms Reeves ‘wasn’t aware of selective licensing being a big issue’ given her campaigning on the matter.
He added: ‘That’s the hypocrisy. It’s a tax landlords have to pay, and the Chancellor didn’t pay it.’
Southwark Council, who runs the scheme in Dulwich, said: ‘When we become aware of an unlicensed property, we issue a warning letter advising the landlord they have 21 days to apply – enforcement action is reserved for those who do not apply within that time.’
