Labour leads as biggest party of landlord MPs amid calls for ban

The London Renters Union is demanding a ban on MPs as landlords after data reveals Labour has the highest number of landlord MPs.

Data from The i, based on the register of members’ interests, shows that 38 Labour MPs earn more than £10,000 a year in rental income.

However, the actual number could be higher, as MPs are only required to declare property portfolios if their rental income exceeds £10,000, meaning more MPs could be landlords without having to declare it.

The news comes after Labour MP and homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigned over evicting her tenants and pushing up the rent by £700 a month.

Cabinet ministers among those who are landlords

According to The i, 38 Labour MPs earn at least £10,000 annually from rental income.

Among them are cabinet ministers, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, both of whom reported rental income exceeding £10,000 in the most recent register of members’ interests.

Previously, The Telegraph reported Ms Reeves and her husband are earning £74,000 annually from rental income.

Labour MP Jas Athwal is Labour’s biggest landlord, owning 15 properties. However, after an investigation, Mr Athwal, who describes himself as a “renters champion” and a “good landlord,” was forced to admit that his rental properties are plagued by ant infestations and black mould and are unlicensed. 

One in ten MPs are landlords

The i also reveals that one in ten MPs are landlords, with 83 MPs owning rental properties in the current Parliament. Of these, 77 are residential landlords, while the rest own commercial or agricultural property.

The Conservatives have 27 landlord MPs, and the Liberal Democrats have nine, including Lib Dem MP Charlie Maynard, who declares rental income from a house in New York.

Co-leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay is also a landlord but claims in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he co-owns the property with his ex-wife and does not make a profit, as he keeps the rent below market rates.

However, he is listed on the register of interests as earning more than £10,000 in rental income.

MPs should be banned from being landlords

Tenant groups are now calling for MPs to be banned as landlords, claiming it’s a conflict of interest.

Jae Vail, spokesperson for the London Renters Union, told the i: “The sheer number of landlords in parliament is shocking.

“During an unprecedented housing crisis, it’s a blatant conflict of interest that MPs are making millions from struggling renters, while some even use taxpayer money to cover their own personal rents. Tenants need a government that works for us, not one that profits from our hardship.

“Until parliament is free of landlord MPs, renters will not trust the government to deliver the bold action we need. It’s time for the government to ban landlords from parliament and start working for ordinary people, investing in council housing and capping rents.”

However, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), defended landlord MPs.

A spokesperson for the NRLA told the i: “Calls for MPs to be totally banned from being landlords are fuelling an unhelpful narrative that providing homes to rent is a bad thing” when demand is outstripping supply.

“Being a landlord is not a bad thing. For MPs, it is vital that when deciding whether to rent out property, they have the time to fully meet the responsibilities of being a landlord.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told The i that strict parliamentary rules govern MPs when renting out property, and that the Labour government is working on the Renters’ Rights Bill to transform security for renters.