Landlord MPs rake in at least £830k every year

Labour has been warned the government won't be trusted on renters' rights after it emerged that MPs rake in at least £830,000 a year in rent.

- ALICJA HAGOPIAN KATE DEVLIN

Some 83 members of parliament earn a minimum of £10,000 from renting properties, according to the latest register of interests, with Sir Keir Starmer's party leading the pack of mostly residential landlords.

The true figure which MPs earn from rent is unknown, but is likely to be higher than £830,000, as 170 registered properties have received rental income in the past year.

Campaigners said the number of landlords in parliament was “shocking” and called for greater scrutiny over what they described as a “blatant conflict of interest” when voting on legislation that would directly affect them.

High-profile ministerial landlords include chancellor Rachel Reeves and foreign secretary David Lammy. Ms Reeves moved to Downing Street following her new role in government.

It comes as the government reels from the resignation of homelessness minister Rushanara Ali, who quit over claims she evicted tenants from a property she owns and then increased the rent by hundreds of pounds.

She was accused of “staggering hypocrisy” as her department is bringing in legislation to ban landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property from relisting it for rent for six months.

Ms Ali is not Labour’s only landlord, nor its most profitable. In fact, many of the most property-rich MPs are members of Sir Keir’s party, data from the parliamentary register of interests shows. Tulip Siddiq, Labour's anti-corruption minister who stepped down amid investigations she was gifted a flat by an ally of her aunt Sheikh Hasina, also declares rental income from two properties.