Reeves’ Estate agent apologises over failure to apply for rental licence: latest

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said he had “complete confidence” in Rachel Reeves and praised her “work ethic”.

He said: “She is so focused on her role as one of the big public servants of our time.

“She is focused on not just fixing the mess that she inherited as Chancellor from the previous administration, she is working day and night to make sure we can get our economy where it needs to be, so it’s creating the jobs and the wealth and economic growth that we need going into the future.”

Rachel Reeves’ tenants could be in line for tens of thousands of pounds rent refund after the chancellor failed to secure the correct licence to rent out her family home.

According to the council, tenants of an “unlicensed property” may be able to apply for a rent repayment order and get money back from the landlord if the property has been lived in in the last 12 months.

The property was listed for £3,200 a month, according to the Daily Mail which first reported the story, meaning her tenants could seek around £40,000 if the requirements are met.

Read more here by the Independent’s political correspondent Caitlin Doherty:

The lettings agency involved in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ rental arrangements said it had apologised to her for an “oversight” that led to a failure to obtain a licence.

Gareth Martin, owner of Harvey Wheeler, said: “We alert all our clients to the need for a licence. In an effort to be helpful our previous property manager offered to apply for a licence on these clients’ behalf, as shown in the correspondence. That property manager suddenly resigned on the Friday before the tenancy began on the following Monday.

“Unfortunately, the lack of application was not picked up by us as we do not normally apply for licences on behalf of our clients; the onus is on them to apply. We have apologised to the owners for this oversight.

“At the time the tenancy began, all the relevant certificates were in place and if the licence had been applied for, we have no doubt it would have been granted.

“Our clients would have been under the impression that a licence had been applied for. Although it is not our responsibility to apply, we did offer to help with this.

“We deeply regret the issue caused to our clients as they would have been under the impression that a licence had been applied for.”

Downing Street has guaranteed that Rachel Reeves will deliver the Budget on November 26.

Asked whether the autumn statement would be delivered by the current Chancellor on the expected date, a No 10 spokesman confirmed it would.

The spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has full confidence in the Chancellor.”

Southwark Council said only landlords who ignore selective licence warning letters are penalised, implying Ms Reeves should avoid a fine as she immediately applied for the licence when she became aware of her error.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Southwark Council requires private landlords to acquire a selective licence in order to rent out their homes if they live in specific areas. This is in order to protect tenants and ensure landlords are complying with housing requirements, providing safe, well-maintained homes.

“Selective licences are acquired by sending applications to the council, which we then assess and approve subject to conditions.

“When we become aware of an unlicensed property, we issue a warning letter advising the landlord that they have 21 days to apply for a licence – enforcement action such as fines are reserved for those who do not apply within that time or where a property is found to be in an unsafe condition.

“We cannot comment on individual cases.”

Rachel Reeves admitted she did not obtain a “selective” rental licence required to rent out her London home and apologised for the “inadvertent error”, in a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

Ms Reeves had told Sir Keir that “regrettably” she and her family were not aware a licence was needed in their area of Southwark in London, where they rented out their home for £3,200 a month after moving into No 11.

The Chancellor is understood to have relied upon the advice of a letting agent, which said it would advise if a licence was needed.

Ms Reeves told Sir Keir: “This was an inadvertent mistake. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we took immediate action and have applied for the licence.”

She added: “I sincerely apologise for this error and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.”

In his response, Sir Keir said he was happy the “matter can be drawn to a close” after consulting his ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, who decided against launching a probe.

“He has advised me that in relation to your inadvertent failure to secure the appropriate licence for your rental property – and in light of your prompt action to rectify the position, including your apology – further investigation is not necessary,” the Labour leader wrote.

He added it was “regrettable that the appropriate licence was not sought sooner” but he believed the Chancellor was “treating this matter with the urgency and seriousness it deserves”.

The Leader of the Conservative party Kemi Badenoch has criticised Rachel Reeves over the rent license row.

In a post on X she said the “whole thing stinks” and called for an investigation.

She said: “The Prime Minister needs to stop trying to cover this up, order a full investigation and, if Reeves has broken the law, grow a backbone and sack her!”

Acorn, a union for tenants who rent privately, has called for a full investigation of Rachel Reeves and said it is “laughable” she supported an initiative that she failed to follow.

In a post on X the union said: “Yet another senior government figure failing to comply with housing law. Whether this was accidental or not doesn’t matter – as chancellor she should be setting an example.

“Reeves must do the right thing and voluntarily pay the maximum Civil Penalty notice and return the rent she received from her tenants without a licence.”

In a separate post on X, Acorn recalled how the union won a campaign for expanded landlord licensing in Leeds and said Reeves “spoke positively” about it.

The union commented: “It is laughable for those in the highest positions of power in this country to support these initiatives then fail to follow them themselves, accidentally or not.”

Local authorities in England and Wales have the power to introduce a licensing scheme covering all privately rented properties in a certain area.

It is designed to safeguard tenants against landlords letting out poorly-maintained properties, but it also might be introduced because of concerns about persistent anti-social behaviour problems in rental homes.

If a private landlord wants to rent out a property in that designated area then they have to apply to obtain a licence.

Local authorities must contact people in the area to make them aware if there are plans to introduce the scheme, and they should display information about it on their website.

But it is the landlord’s responsibility to apply for a licence if they need one, even if they are advised by a letting agent to manage their property.

If a property does not have the correct licence, then a landlord and letting agent could be charged penalties or face prosecution.

This could be an unlimited fine or a financial penalty of up to £30,000 per offence.

Landlords could face a rent repayment order being made against them – meaning they would have to repay rent that was collected during the period that the property was unlicensed, for up to a year.