Estate agents in Rachel Reeves’ rental row apologises to chancellor for ‘oversight’
The estate agents who the Chancellor used to rent out her family home in south east London have come to her rescue, ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton reports
The lettings agency handling Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ rental arrangements has apologised to her for an “oversight” after they did not apply for a rental licence on her behalf, having offered to do so.
Reeves previously admitted to mistakenly breaching local council housing rules by failing to obtain a rental licence for her family home when she moved into No 11 Downing Street in 2024.
Southwark Council requires people renting out their properties in certain areas to get one of the licences in advance, and not doing so can lead to a prosecution or a fine.
Emails released by the government on Thursday show exchanges between Harvey Wheeler, the estate agent handling the rental, and the chancellor’s husband.
In them, the company offered to apply for a selective rental licence on behalf of Reeves’ family “once the new tenant moves in”, but never did.
Reeves said the agency failed to submit the application “in part due to a member of staff leaving,” but added that she accepted “full responsibility” for the oversight.
In a letter to the prime minister published on Thursday, the chancellor said that, despite the letting agency’s fault, it was her and her husband’s “responsibility to secure the licence.”
“I also take responsibility for not finding this information yesterday and bringing it to your attention,” she added.
Harvey Wheeler’s owner, Gareth Martin, admitted on Thursday that the agency had offered to help with the licence but failed to do so after an employee resigned.
He 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.
“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.”
Reeves had described the situation as “an inadvertent mistake” and said she has since applied for a licence.
The new information has been passed to both the prime minister and his independent ethics adviser, who on Wednesday night said no investigation into the matter was needed and the matter was “sufficiently” resolved.
Asked whether the prime minister still believed the chancellor had not broken the ministerial code, the PM’s spokesperson reiterated: “The prime minister has full confidence in the chancellor.”
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The Conservatives questioned the chancellor’s initial explanation that she had not been made aware that she was required to get a rental licence for her home.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Last night Rachel Reeves said ‘she had not been made aware of the licensing requirement’. Today, we find out that Reeves was alerted to the need for a licence in writing by the estate agents.
“Having been caught out, the Chancellor is now trying to make the estate agents take the blame, but Reeves never followed up with them to ensure that the licence had been applied for, or checked if the licence had been granted.
“Regardless, under the law, Reeves and her husband are responsible for ensuring the licence is granted. With more information coming to light every few hours, the Prime Minister needs to grow a backbone and start a proper investigation.”
The Tories suggested section 95 of the Housing Act 2004 meant Ms Reeves was ultimately still responsible for obtaining the licence.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition, had called on Reeves to resign if she were found to have broken the law.
The Conservative leader told ITV News the chancellor had “a lot of questions to answer”.
“If she is breaking the law, then yes, she should go,” said Badenoch.
Both the prime minister and his independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, have said they felt the issue was sufficiently resolved and would not be investigating further.
Downing Street rejected suggestions that Reeves had got off “scot-free” to avoid spooking the markets.
Selective rental licenses were introduced in an attempt to crack down on rental properties in poor condition.
Licences are awarded to properties that are deemed to be of a sufficient quality.
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