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Calls for Reform Grows as Ministers Landlords Face Scrutiny

A recent analysis of Parliament’s landlords has revealed that five cabinet ministers, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, earn a minimum of £10,000 per year from renting out properties. The study conducted by campaign group 38 Degrees has highlighted that a total of 68 Conservative MPs, nearly one in five, are landlords. This has prompted renewed calls for the government to fulfil its 2019 promise of reforming private renting, including eliminating no-fault evictions and enhancing tenants’ rights.

Jeremy Hunt has disclosed his ownership of seven flats in Southampton. At the same time, Suella Braverman, Gillian Keegan (Education Secretary), and Lucy Frazer (Culture Secretary) have declared ownership of one rental property each. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk also declared a flat in Shepherd’s Bush and a share in a cottage in Gloucestershire, generating an annual income exceeding £10,000.

The research, covering the 12 months leading up to 17 April this year, encompasses properties sold within that period, such as Chalk’s Shepherd’s Bush flat. It identified 87 MP landlords, accounting for over 13% of the House of Commons, with 53 MPs claiming rental income from one property and 34 from two or more properties. In contrast, only 4% of the UK population declares rental income.

Notably, landlords on the Labour frontbench include David Lammy, Emily Thornberry, and Lucy Powell. The study estimates that MPs could earn up to £2.2 million annually from property rentals.

Campaign group 38 Degrees expressed concern over the potential influence of rental profiteers in Parliament, suggesting that the voices of tenants who face challenges within the current system may be overshadowed.

In 2019, then-Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to abolish no-fault evictions. Boris Johnson later reiterated this commitment in the Conservative Party’s general election manifesto, promising “a better deal for renters” with an eviction ban. However, official homelessness figures reveal that almost 47,000 households have since faced threats of section 21 no-fault eviction notices.

Landlord organizations have pushed back against the proposed changes, contending that, coupled with rising interest rates, such reforms could prompt many landlords to exit the sector, exacerbating housing shortages, unless they are provided with alternative means of reclaiming possession of properties.

Although ministers published a rental reform white paper in the summer of 2022, the turnover of six different housing ministers since 2021 and ongoing draft legislation delays have prevented parliamentary debates. Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, Michael Gove, announced that the draft bill would be released next week to reshape the relationship between landlords and tenants, offering tenants improved protection against arbitrary rent increases.

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