Three of the top five landlords in parliament are now Labour MPs, reflecting the shifting make-up of the ruling party ahead of major plans to tackle rental reform in government.
The biggest landlord — measured by number of properties — in the House of Commons is new MP Jas Athwal, who owns 18 rental properties, according to a Financial Times analysis of data from the UK parliament’s register of members’ interests.
The MP for Ilford South rents out 15 residential properties and three commercial properties, all co-owned with a family member.
Athwal, who was previously leader of Redbridge council, came to prominence in 2022 when he defeated sitting Labour MP Sam Tarry, a supporter of former leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn, in a deselection contest to replace him as the party’s candidate.
His collection of rental properties eclipses that of shadow chancellor Jeremy Hunt, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur who owns nine rental properties, according to the register.
MPs must declare if they have a rental property that generates more than £10,000 a year in annual income. There are 85 MPs who declare themselves as landlords under this definition — representing 13 per cent of parliamentarians — and they own 184 rental properties between them.
Labour has 44 such landlords, equating to 11 per cent of its 404 MPs, while the Tory party has 28 — a quarter of its 121 MPs. The Liberal Democrats have eight among their 72 MPs.
In the last parliament Labour had 18 landlord MPs and the Conservatives had 83. Labour more than doubled its presence in the Commons in July’s landslide victory.
There has been a shift in the make-up of Labour MPs under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, which has supported more centrist candidates, often with experience working in business — and put in place an effective veto on “hard left” politicians.
The rising number of Labour members with large property portfolios has also fuelled fears that this could bolster opposition to rental reforms that would give more powers to tenants.
Landlord MPs were accused of obstructing a rental market overhaul put forward by former levelling up secretary Michael Gove under the previous Conservative government.
These reforms included efforts to ban “no-fault” evictions and prevent freeholders from charging extortionate rates to leaseholders.
Pressure groups for rental reform have raised concerns that large numbers of landlords in the House of Commons could thwart policies to rebalance power between landlords and their tenants.
Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “We must not have a repeat of the situation that occurred with previous rental reform efforts, where there was a suggestion that parliamentarians’ private interests were contributing to slow-walking and watering down vital renting legislation.
“Whilst we clearly don’t believe being a landlord should preclude you from being an MP, we do think these MPs have an extra duty — to their tenants as well as their constituents — to support and bring forward long overdue renting reforms without delay.”
Labour has vowed to outlaw the practice of landlords evicting tenants without providing a specific reason, dubbed no-fault evictions, part of its plan to reform the private rented market in England.
In the run-up to the election Starmer also said he would “introduce a law” to prevent landlords from encouraging bidding wars between prospective tenants.
A Labour spokesperson said the government “will take the tough decisions that the last Tory government refused to, and we’ll give renters stability and security. Our plans will ban no-fault evictions, end rental bidding wars, and better protect renters against damp, mould and cold.”
There are also a large number of MPs — 158 — who declare second homes or land from which they do not receive a rental income. For example Tom Tugendhat, who is running to become Conservative leader, co-owns four flats and some agricultural land in France with various family members.
The other two Labour figures in the top five landlords were also newly elected this summer.
They are Gurinder Josan, MP for Smethwick in the West Midlands, who owns eight rental properties alongside members of his family, and Southend East MP Bayo Alaba, who owns seven, also with family members.
Athwal, Josan and Alaba did not respond to a request for comment.
Staggering.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet utterly unsurprising.
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