It has emerged that Chancellor Rachel Reeves pounded the streets in her own constituency calling for selective licensing – the same kind of licence that she failed to secure for her own home, through a mix-up with the lettings agency.
Reeves was shadow chancellor in 2023 when she joined the Leeds city council leader and other members of the Labour-run authority on a walkabout in the Armley area calling for selective licensing.
She told a meeting after her walkabout: “We know that disreputable landlords and unsuitable private housing is an issue in Armley. A selective licensing policy will help us address these problems head on. The Armley councillors and I will continue campaigning for this scheme to be rolled out in Armley as soon as possible.”
Reeves repeated the campaigning in the spring of 2024.
When Leeds council agreed to extend the selective licensing regime, Reeves tweeted her delight – and showed her knowledge of the system when it was applied to other landlords: “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.”
The irony was not lost of seasoned property expert and current Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake who has tweeted: “Rachel Reeves campaigned to expand landlord licensing in Leeds (March 2024), but 18 months later still hadn’t bothered to get one for her own home in Dulwich. Shocking hypocrisy. One rule for them….”
Yesterday evening, the Reeves’ lettings agency apologised to the Chancellor for not fulfilling its pledge to help with the application.
