Reeves refers herself to parliamentary watchdog over renting home

Rachel Reeves has referred herself to the parliamentary standards commissioner and the independent ethics advisor after admitting she has unlawfully rented out her family home without a licence.

Reeves is understood to have worked through a letting agency to rent out her home while she resides in Number 11 Downing Street.

A spokesperson for Reeves said it was an “inadvertent mistake” and she has now applied for a licence.

The house is in an area of Southwark where any rented properties are required to have a ‘selective licence‘. The scheme was introduced by the Labour council in 2023. Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle, the cabinet member for community safety, said at the time it would help the council work with landlords  to “make improvements and bring up the quality of housing, and the experience of renting for our residents.”

This is a further embarrassing incident for the Labour leadership. The revelation is particularly ill-timed, coming as it does in the week the Renters’ Rights Act gained Royal Assent.

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