Rachel Reeves broke housing regulations by renting out her home without a licence after entering Downing Street, it emerged tonight.
The Chancellor has sparked uproar as she referred herself to the independent ethics adviser, claiming “she had not been made aware of the licencing requirement”, after she put her Dulwich home on the rental market.
But she did not obtain a licence from Southwark Council.
Ms Reeves told the Prime Minister about the blunder.
The Chancellor put her four-bedroom detached house on the market for £3,200 a month last year, and her register of interests states she has received rental income since September 2024.
A spokeswoman for Ms Reeves said: “Since becoming Chancellor Rachel Reeves has rented out her family home through a lettings agency.
“She had not been made aware of the licencing requirement, but as soon as it was brought to her attention she took immediate action and has applied for the licence.
“This was an inadvertent mistake and in the spirit of transparency she has made the Prime Minister, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards aware.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “If the Chancellor, who has spent months floating punishing tax hikes on family homes, has at the same time seemingly been profiting from illegally renting out her house, that would make her position extremely tenuous.
“The Prime Minister must launch a full investigation. He once said “lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers”. If, as it appears, the Chancellor has broken the law, then he will have to show he has the backbone to act.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary also called on the Chancellor to be sacked. She said: “Looks like Rachel Reeves has broken the law on her second home. She’s threatened tax hikes on family homes, imposed new laws on landlords, while failing to follow the law by illegally renting out her house.Southwark Council must prosecute her for breaking the law & Starmer should sack her.”
Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition in Southwark, said: “When Southwark Labour introduced this licensing scheme, they promised it would crack down on bad landlords and protect tenants.
“Yet when the Labour Chancellor has been caught breaking the rules – and the council hasn’t taken any enforcement action. That speaks volumes about Labour’s failure to properly regulate landlords locally.
“If Rachel Reeves can’t follow the housing laws set by her own party in Southwark, how can anyone trust Labour to get it right for private renters across the country? Not only are Labour failing as social landlords, they can’t even follow their own rules when their MPs are private landlords.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party holding Labour to account – and residents will remember that when they go to the ballot box in May.”
Southwark Council said licences were brought in to “improve safety, security and quality for people living in private rented homes”.
They cost £900 and landlords must submit documents proving their property is fit for purpose, including gas, electrical and fire safety certificates, floor plans and tenancy agreements.