The revelation that the Chancellor failed to apply for a licence to let her home in Southwark shows just how expensive and complex the rules now are if you want to be a small landlord. £945 for an on line licence with extra for an invoice, or £1174 if you apply in writing. You need to show at least four certificates about features of the property, supply floor plans, show compliance with planning and other requirements.
If government was serious about easing the housing shortage and bringing rents down they would make it easier to rent out your home or second home for a limited specified period. These complex requirements and high charges put many people off renting out property they may need back.
Labour usually hound people who fail to comply or make mistakes. They are anti landlord. Why are they so forgiving of the Chancellor and why did they seek to keep the Deputy PM when both failed to follow their own complex rules to save themselves money?
October 30, 2025
When did we grant public employees the right to dictate what citizens are allowed to do without permission?
We are free citizens of England, we do not live under the continental laws of Code Napoleon. The states role is not to grant freedoms, it is there to preserve and protect our freedoms. Those include the freedom to engage in commercial activity agreed between two parties.
The growing scale of state interference in our normal everyday activities, along with the state claiming the right to impose licence requirements and fees on ever more basic trade activities must be stopped.
The increasingly common fees now being imposed for the most basic trading activity is driving commence down. What’s more puzzling, it is totally contra to the stated ambition of government, which is to grow the economy.
October 30, 2025
If Rachel objects to the licence fee, she can vote against the Dulwich Labour Council at its next election. Reform would be likely to abolish it.
October 30, 2025
Julien Jessop found a tweet from the Accounts lady:
•Rachel Reeves for Leeds West and Pudsey @RachelforLWP • Oct 20
I welcome Leeds City Council’s decision to expand their selective landlord licencing policy to include the Armley area.
While many private landlords operate in the right way, we know that lots of private tenants in Armley face problems with poorly maintained housing.
October 30, 2025
RE
Just shows how far we have gone down the line of Sate Control over our lives, finances, property, and car ownership, you can no longer do as you like with your money or assets, all of which you have already paid some sort of tax on, multiple times.
You WILL work for the State, YOU will own nothing.
October 30, 2025
@Berkshire Alan – That is the teaching of the Resolution Foundation and I believe Karl Marx, Engels, Hegel that are the main mentors to the UK Parliament, its chosen Government and the ‘State’ they manage between them.
‘Redistribution’ is now at the core of those that write the UK’s Budget, and define its Taxes and set the agenda. (and it is not Rachael Reeves, she has been sidelined, there to take the blame)
October 30, 2025
Ian B
I have no problem with those beliefs (everyone to their own) if that is what they want to do, if they had put such propositions in their manifesto, but they did not, worse than that they actually lied about taxation.
These redistribution policies will eventually destroy the Country, because there is no point in working hard or risking your finances to invest in a business, if those who cannot be bothered can reap the same rewards for doing absolutely nothing.
October 30, 2025
@Berkshire Alan – I was dancing around the of naming names, the people now running the show have written papers suggesting, as in your words ‘You WILL work for the State, YOU will own nothing.’ Down to the bit where the State provides ‘pocket money’. Private ownership and wealth is thier fantasy world is forbidden. It wasn’t in the manifesto as these individuals now appointed to run government affairs were not in the front line, just distant advisors of left-wing theories.
You are correct, changing direction having said one thing stinks. But I believe as with all sovereign democracies elsewhere terms of more than 2 years without seeking approval also stinks. Even Trump will have an election to contend with in November 2026. He only came into office in January 2025, we have to wait until 2029 – thinking of the sustained damage that will be done in the mean time
October 30, 2025
@Rod Evans – 100% with you there. We need our ‘English/Common’ Law along with Democracy back.
October 30, 2025
Indeed these laws are an outrage. Why buy a property in the, UK if it is not even yours one you have done so. Thos with planning laws, licensing laws, energy performance laws, 15% stamp duty, CGT tax, no deduction of interest from rents, council tax, conservation areas… Government should concentrate on law and order, controlling our borders, defence and should stop blocking the roads and rigging markets.
Not in mugging and inconveniencing Racheal Reeves. Another huge parasitic job creation scheme for LEA workers, lawyers, agends and licencing compliance officers. Fines of up to £30k and you might have to repay 12 month rent to tenant – why how have the tenants lost out? But I assume it was the con-socialist who allowed councils to start this “licensing” mugging racket!
October 30, 2025
Local Authority workers rather! A let have more parasitic workers to push rents, inconvenience, delays and taxes up even further. Might easily cost you a few month rent and leave you with an empty property and a council tax bill while vacant. So £900 fee plus other costs of say £7000 in compliance, loss of rent, extra council tax and this fewer available to rent and higher rents! A great plan done I assume JR while under the Con-Socialists? Doubles the licence will only have a short life too. It will also encourage disputes between landlords and tenants. As the council will often get involved with your tenants issues!
Reply Labour legislation under Blair, Labour Council! Do stop endlessly repeating lies re Conservatives. You had plenty of free hits here when they were in power.
October 30, 2025
It seems Reeves approved and encouraged the introduction of this appalling landlord licensing scheme in her area of Leeds. It came in under the Tories more pure appalling socialism. You think you bought you house but no really the government control, regulate and tax more and more of it!.
So Reeves richly deserved to be entrapped in this appalling red tape and back door taxation system!
October 30, 2025
Licensing has been in place for over 20 years. It was introduced by the 2004 Housing Act.
October 30, 2025
Thanks but most councils did not implement it and certainly not normal houses. Most schemes started during the 14 years of Cameron, May, Boris, Sunak not did anything to roll it back Gove was trying to mak things even worse. Churchill failed to roll back the disasters of Attlee (another disastrous lefty lawyer like Blair and Starmer). but Churchill was I suppose rather old by this time. The above PM failed to roll back the disasters of Blair Brown they did not even try to quite the reverse!.
See David Starkey’s video – Blair did more harm than 2 world wars.
Reply Labour Councils introduced these schemes, not a Conservative government.
October 30, 2025
OK but they did nothing to kill these vastly damaging schemes for 14 years did they?
October 30, 2025
The FT reported last week that showed that across the country rent, was taking up ~47% of take home salary, the highest proportion on record
As everyone has been posting here for months, there are too many people in this country and not enough dwellings. If only we still had the council houses!
Reply We still have the Council houses sold to their tenants, usually still lived in by same people!
October 30, 2025
Having Council Houses (ie social housing) won’t make a scrap of difference to supply all the time the Establishment is continuing to import hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year (legal and illegal) and is giving them the housing.
October 30, 2025
@Donna – Yes, Social Housing is for Criminals
October 30, 2025
Donna:
Quite! but that is something that Labour will never admit. They must think the British public is daft!
October 30, 2025
More houses or fewer people it is very simple. A low skilled minimum wage immigrant, even if they do work and do not live on benefit is a huge liability. They need housing, schools, police, roads, social services, legal aid, the NHS, extra energy capacity… they will nearly all be huge net financial liabilities even before all other costs of government like defence, the the moronic payments for Chagos, HS2…
October 30, 2025
Reply to reply
Those sold houses should have been replaced using the funds received for the sale. That would have increased the stock.
Those same houses should also have had it written into the deed that they must be sold at a similar market discount to that the first purchaser received so that others may benefit in future rather than one owner gaining as a one off.
Reply Where the Council had repaid debt often incurred to build the house originally they could spend the receipt on a new build. Do not see who would be eligible to buy the house at a discount on re sale.
October 30, 2025
To reply plus if they had to sell at a discount few would sell and leave as would need full value to get another home. Save as few ever leave if they are paying only half market rents.
October 30, 2025
If sold at the same discount ot was bought at the seller makes proportionally the same return. If they can’t afford to sell and buy somewhere else then just stay but if a relative sells after death then someone else should benefit from the discounts
October 30, 2025
It is the government that restricts supply, pushes up costs and rent through planning controls and taxes while overloading us with imported low value immigrants.
Meanwhile the development that is encouraged and permitted results in wastelands of thousands of dormitories with insufficient infrastructure
– No more towns and villages, just barracks.
October 30, 2025
Indeed restricts supply with OTT planning restriction, planning delays and costs, social housing provision or infrastructure enforced contributions, OTT net zero, car charge point and other building regs, up to 15% council CGT and other high cost like utility connection costs, heat pumps, solar and the rest.
October 30, 2025
Why are Labour so forgiving to their own and so hard on others? That’s the sort of people they are. But we knew that already.
More interesting is the mystery of Reeves’s letting and managing agents. It is inconceivable this wealthy, busy woman did not employ agents, and inconceivable they did not advise of her legal duties.
Reply She says she did employ agents who failed to advise her.The radio said she had in the past called for more licencing.
October 30, 2025
@Nick – 2TierKier maintaining his two tier world?
October 30, 2025
Thank you Sir John. Her agents are reported to have warned her in writing of the licence fee.
The former deputy PM Angela Rayner found herself in a similar position over her flat purchase. She too blamed her professional advisers, who denied being at fault.
Ms Rayner found her position untenable and resigned. The precedent is set. If Ms Reeves does not want to follow that example she must explain how her own case is different.
October 30, 2025
Her case is different because it has been put about that the Bond Markets don’t want her to go, even though it looks as if Darren Jones and Torsten Bell are the ones waging war on the British people through the Treasury.
October 30, 2025
Reeves should produce proof that she was not advised to obtain a licence and was using an agent. Was she using an agent for finding tenants or for full management? If the former, she was responsible and would normally face a £20,000 or even harsher fine. LAs are licensing as lucrative income.
October 30, 2025
https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2025/05/landlord-fined-66000-and-must-sell-for-a-simple-oversight/
October 30, 2025
So she was aware on licencing. Surprised she didn’t do a simple Internet search for her area
October 30, 2025
Any MP who can’t obey the law in full should immediately take the Chiltern Hundreds.
BTW if you want to build any home now (even if you have permitted development rights), in addition to planning permission Councils are charging additional ‘mitigation’ fees. Eg to ‘mitigate the building of apartments within 6 miles of the coast (even if it is a matter of refurbishing an existing building) costs £350 per unit in North Tyneside.
October 30, 2025
Whatever happened to “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. Meaning a person’s home is their private sanctuary, where they have the right to be free and can do as they please.
October 30, 2025
It became an Englishman’s home is an immobile cash cow for the government to tax and over regulate (IHT, stamp duty, CGT, empty double council tax, refuse fines, planning applications fees and fines, licences… perhaps even to comp. purchase way below value to build a rip off train track.
October 30, 2025
Spot on, John!
October 30, 2025
Why so forgiving of the Chancellor?
Because the Establishment in the UK believes that Laws and Rules are for the little people: they are “special people” and are exempt.
October 30, 2025
Details dear boy details, one would hope that a Chancellor would be across details.
October 30, 2025
It’s a little bit grubby that Ministers who are given grace and favour homes then make money out of their own properties. No doubt all parties have had a go over time but it is not a good look.
Perhaps those with grace and favour homes could reciprocate by providing their homes to parliament to be used by other MPs at no cost to the country.
Reply There is nothing grubby about letting out your home when you have to live in a state owned home/ office in Downing Street. The issue is how complex and difficult that now is and why the Chancellor did not buy a licence when she had spoken out in favour of such demands.
October 30, 2025
Mrs Thatcher paid rent for the Downing St flat. Presumably everyone before her did too. Letting your own home to pay that rent is fair enough. Letting and living rent free looks like a small time grift. Not worth the candle.
October 30, 2025
No reputable professional firm – be it letting agents, solicitors, architects, accountants – would embark upon a transaction of this kind without confirming advice on key regulatory issues in writing to their client. In the context of the relatively low commission they would gain from their involvement in the transaction, they would not wish to risk a negligence claim that would either leave them with an insurance excess wiping out the commission, or a subsequent year’s premium hike.
Rather than dwell upon potential hypocrisy on the part of such a firm’s client, the point is best left there.
October 30, 2025
All these Labour ministers with property.
Their voters thought they were voting for socialists, they discover they’re red in the tooth capitalists after all.
October 30, 2025
I’m willing to accept this was an oversight on her part but her letting agent should have known surely? However, your point about ever more red tape is a valid one. Less (but better) regulation would require less people to administer/enforce it would cut public sector overhead and ‘un-gum’ the system.
Reply. Also will she get her home back easily when her stay in Downing Street ends?
October 30, 2025
reply to reply….let us hope she finds squatters, who will not budge.
October 30, 2025
MT
If that was the case she would get action the very next day, unlike many “normal” people who sometimes wait for months for the law to take effect at great cost to themselves..
October 30, 2025
It doesn’t need to be squatters, under the new Labour rental reform bill passed yesterday at best it will take her months to get the house back even if she’s moving back into it. A risky situation because Starmer could easily fire her in November and eject her from No. 11. I trust her tenants will also immediately challenge the rent they agreed at a tribunal as they are now permitted to do.
October 30, 2025
Whoever pays the rent for an ‘assured short-term’ tenancy ought to stop paying at end of term period but stay put.
October 30, 2025
It is possible to return to live in a property by using a Section 8 notice.
My understanding of licensing (based on the fact that I will have to comply with it in coming years) is that it is the responsibility of the landlord to register, not the managing agent.
October 30, 2025
I believe at present ( could change with the Renting Bill in November) what you have said Sir John only applies if the rented property has more than two residents. That is it becomes classed as a HMO. However if one or more residents are family members then it is not classed as an HMO and again the registration requirements do not apply. I am not sure if the HMO registration was a Labour or Conservative introduction. The current rules are not that complex I think, and surprising that a chancellor not aware of them. I find that the left wing socialists are all don’t do as I do, do as I tell you.
Reply No this was not under HMO rules which require in Southwark one of two other types of licence
October 30, 2025
So this is a matter of local council rules, rather than Nationwide regulations which could be blamed on the Labour Government ? But I assume Southwark is a Labour council? This still does not detract from the lack of competence(or worse) of the Chancellor and her advisors. Any local Southwark Estate Agent or Solicitor would know what would be required to rent out the property. Does a Chancellor have time to manage a property and get the plumber in if there is a leak or heating stops working ?
October 30, 2025
It is selective licensing, which individual councils can choose to implement or not, and can also decide where to implement it and is separate from HMO licensing.
Reading BC has selective licensing in one ward and plans to introduce it in two others in future years.
October 30, 2025
My property with one tenant was licensed.
October 30, 2025
Yes more rules broken with the same excuse “I was not aware” Try to get away with than if you were not a Chancellor.
This is what happens when you legislate more and more for more control, few people understand the rules because they are so complex, and so many of them.
Gone are the days when two people could make an agreement that simply suited themselves.
Die at any time and any age, and HMRC can ask to see all of your bank accounts going back 7 years, to see if you made financial gifts, or purchased expensive presents for people under present IHT rules.
Yes happened to a family member because HMRC want to see proof that you have not gifted money or made substantial (whatever that means) gifts to anyone, and the Government have increased the number of investigative staff recently so that more estates can be investigated as more and more people are dragged into this tax sphere.
You can no longer do as you like with any of your finances, without possible investigation, although tax has already been paid on all of your earned income or investments.
State control has got out of hand, except for the privilege few perhaps.
Coffee down the drain sums up the power and legislation grab.
October 30, 2025
@Berkshire Allen. It reminds me of running a small business in France about 20 years ago: the employment and other regulations were so many and so confusing that any trader could be “taken down” by the local or state authorities if he annoyed them. I saw it happen to someone who annoyed a local politician’s friend.
October 30, 2025
Indeed you certainly do not wish to upset the local Mayor in France if you need to get anything done in the area they serve and control.
October 30, 2025
Also when did the PM know about this?
I am a landlord and there are many barriers in the way of providing affordable property to rent. All these rules have come in over the last 25 years and seem to multiply each year
October 30, 2025
Indeed both Labour and the Tories are to blame. Government is almost invariable the problem not the solution. They are in the tax, licensing, regulating and control business. They produce little of value just more costs, inconvenience and delays and reduce supply of property so push up rents and purchase costs!
October 30, 2025
Rachel lacks awareness or is careless in her own affairs. People need to sort themselves out before being allowed to interfere with others and their finances.
The licence fee is an aspect of costs and income that can be subjected to Treasury control. It may already have been in her draft budget for months, yet she appeared to know nothing about its relevance to her own home, nor even its existence.
October 30, 2025
That’s always the way of socialism which manages to strangle trade with red tape.
Just as their doctrines over how we must speak, sexual orientation and “political correctness” end up eating themeselves in their own spaghetti labrynth, so their regulations end up eating up the economy and everything else in its path.
October 30, 2025
Sir John
“Why are they so forgiving of the Chancellor and why did they seek to keep the Deputy PM when both failed to follow their own complex rules to save themselves money?” You appear to be asking what the World knows, this is TwoTier UK, Labour Party Members make mistakes and the rest break the law and need to be punished….
October 30, 2025
They were dire laws and rules both brought under the Con-Socialists!
October 30, 2025
Sir John, as you infer, and in line with the Marxist Rule promoted by this Parliament, its Government, the State machinery and even their embedded Resolution Foundation, if you are not reliant on the State you are a non-person(an enemy) that this Politburo doesn’t need. You should leave
Then again you have to minded the State is self feeding it creates work and jobs to grow its mass.
October 30, 2025
It creates unproductive and parasitic work of negative value makes us all, on average, worse off. Good for parasitic workers though.
October 30, 2025
That is their style.
Just look at how Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council have been hounding people over tiny infringements to recycling rules, but this is what socialists do, this is their way and they won’t let up on it.
With Net-0 about to encapsulate everything we do, we can certainly expect more enforcement officers of every kind.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2127308/black-bin-bag-inspectors-visiting?utm_source=daily_express_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morning_daily_newsletter&utm_content=&utm_term=&ruid=9adbb459-b969-47df-b1bd-5828c2c16f2f&hx=ffab7e7a78a8cfc3cdac6591b742cc52605bbdec0e0f593d88144d322f74b1b6
October 30, 2025
Only a few days ago Reeves was welcoming Leeds council introducing licencing in her constituency, something she had lobbied for. And yet it apparently never occurred to her that she herself might need a licence for renting her house in London. But Starmer says “no problem” and Southwark council (Labour) will do nothing. The best way to rent out your house where I live in London, bypassing all issues like this, is to hand it over to the council to rent it out on your behalf for a fixed term – they handle all permissions, all insurance, all maintenance, all rent collection etc. – I suppose we can guess who they get to occupy it.
October 30, 2025
So Rachel from Complaints has not welcomed legal nor illegal immigrants into her empty family home.
A good socialist/marxist ought to be ashamed to take profit from State funded zero cost to her, highly expensive accomodation. But..
October 30, 2025
Two tier hypocrisy exposed again and again (and preventing the replacement Deputy PM from getting her megaphone out to seize back the narrative from Reform that Labour is the answer to all out prayers).
For a Chancellor who embellished her CV and the ex Deputy P M who made mistakes comparison with Boris cake takes some brass neck to bring down the government.
Meanwhile Starmer Harmer drama twisting and turning to deny what happened in the China spy trial.
October 30, 2025
Starmer had trouble defining a woman – tying himself in knots in the process –
so it comes as no surprise he has trouble with many simple challenges like these unlike most ordinary people.
October 30, 2025
I read that Mrs Reeves has referred herself to an ‘Independent ethics adviser’. Since when has any normal, still less right honourable, person, needed an adviser to tell whether something is ethical or not?
October 30, 2025
Excellent article – thank you. The rules are now about to become more complex with Making Tax Digital and the submission of quarterly tax returns. This will be so time consuming with the amount of apportioning required. Accounts will be less accurate as a result.
October 30, 2025
If she tried this out on her tax return would HMRC just accept this excuse??
No chance for any of us we would be hounded. Rachel gets away with it.
Surely now the council should whack her with the maximum fine (which I have read is unlimited!) and we should then see if she is successful in suing these negligent agents……..
October 30, 2025
Having to donate £1000 to the Council’s pension fund in order to rent out your own house is a disgrace.
On the other hand, it is well-known that many (probably by now most) councils demand such ‘registration’ of properties to let, so ‘forgetting’ to apply is either crass naivete, or else a deliberate attempt to get away with it. Which in Reeves’s case would be sheer recklessness, as it should have been obvious to her that her action was publicly reported in the autumn of 2024, and would eventually reach the ears of even the most incompetent council.
Being naive or reckless are neither of them recommendations for high fiscal office. Immediate resignation should follow – but of course she still has to be the scapegoat for Labour’s idiotic economic mismanagement, so she won’t be sacked until the day after the budget.
October 30, 2025
word missing – many (probably by now most) *London* councils
October 30, 2025
Anthony Fisher from IEA said in the early 70’s, ‘the quickest was to ruin a city after bombing, is to pass a rent act’
Although not a rent act the continued war on Landlords, farmer’s, and business’s will and is ruining the Country.
Starmer must hate Britain.
I remember his first public press conference when he said, “if you don’t like what we’re doing, then let me make it clear, YOU CAN LEAVE.
He didn’t mean the immigrants or non British
October 30, 2025
One rule for them and another rule for the Plebs.
October 30, 2025
BTW, the amounts of income from property letting are suppressed in the Register of Interests, as Parliament claims that to publish it would be ‘too intrusive’ (see They Work for You).
In that case, the Register is pointless.
October 30, 2025
I think Rachel Reeves letting agent is more responsible for this mistake, they should have known and advised her properly. But why do you need a license to rent your property? This is typical of the over regulation we all suffer from these days.
Unless properly controlled, government, local government and the NHS are like vampires sucking the life out of people in the UK. We are overtaxed, overregulated and the public sector cart is getting too big for the private sector horse to pull it at any speed.
October 30, 2025
Landlords are responsible for registering rental properties under selective licensing, not managing agents.
Selective licensing has been around for about 20 years. It’s not a new thing.
October 30, 2025
Selective licensing was for problem areas and had to be approved by the ministry. Gove allowed councils to decide whether areas were causing problems and how much to charge. Unsurprisingly, most of them expanded the problem areas to most city wards and charged as much as they could. I pay £700 for a house paying £450 pcm rent and all the council does is to request copies of gas and electrical certificates, which are required by law anyway. They lost my gas certificate after 5 month and I had to send it again.
October 30, 2025
Surely the letting agent should have dealt with or is she hiding something more?
October 30, 2025
Registration is the landlord’s responsibility, not the agent’s.
October 30, 2025
Maybe the introduction of a digital I.D. might help …..sarc.
October 30, 2025
I am a landlord of a sizeable number of properties but I would say if people who move around for work or study purposes or who cannot afford to become owner-occupiers are to have a reasonable chance of getting out of their probably overcrowded parental home, the most important priority is to allow all people (the majority of landlords) looking to rent out one or maybe two homes to do (as the Chancellor evidently wished to do) to opt out, but unlike her legally opt out, of all housing legislation – otherwise it is now becoming financially counter-productive and too risky, certainly outside of the higher rents that property attracts in London (where her property is) to rent out homes. The present policy is going to cause a major housing crisis by drastically reducing the supply of available housing which in turn will cause a crisis of immobility and many lost opportunities in the jobs market.