Rachel Reeves let out house unlawfully

LizzieDrip

“Downing Street publishes letters showing letting agent saying it will organise licence.

With the Howard and Wheeler letting agency apologising in the past hour for failing to organise the renting licence Rachel Reeves needed for her house, Downing Street has now published the emails it promised earlier.
While the names have been blacked out, it appears to between the Reeves family and the estate agents.
The important part is that the most recent email - sent on 13 August 2024 - shows the estate agent saying: "I will do the Selective Licence once the new tenant moves in as I wont need to do this just yet."
It follows a chain of emails in which the estate agent offers to apply for the licence, and the homeowner agrees.
This marries with Howard and Wheeler's version of events - saying an employee offered to organise the licence, but the resigned suddenly and the application did not go ahead.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer today, Reeves says: "Yesterday I wrote to you and said that we were not aware that a licence was necessary to let out our property, based on conversations my husband had with the agency yesterday.
"Today the letting agency and my husband have found correspondence confirming that on 17 July 2024 the letting agent said to my husband that a selective licence would be required and agreed that the agency would apply for the licence on our behalf.
"They have also confirmed today they did not take the application forward, in part due to a member of staff leaving the organisation. Nevertheless, as I said yesterday, I accept it was our responsibility to secure the licence.
"I also take responsibility for not finding this information yesterday and bringing it to your attention.
"As I said to you today, I am sorry about this matter and accept full responsibility for it."

Source: Sky News online

Oh, snap.

Sago

I can’t believe that I’m going to defend the woman but to be fair the letting agent should have informed her.

Also they she should have made sure the license was in place before the rental agreement was signed.

Its just been on the news - the letting agent has taken reponsibility for not taking adequate actions

AND

to get down to pragmatic matters

After all that has happened as regards Raynor and indeed other MP's, she wouldn't be so knowingly daft as to risk her position for something like this.

Agree with LemonJam and Veganrock. Both spouses have demanding jobs. They use an agent to handle a house-letting and should be entitled to assume that the agent does the checking of regulations. That’s why they employ one in the first place. For heaven’s sake.

“Downing Street publishes letters showing letting agent saying it will organise licence.

With the Howard and Wheeler letting agency apologising in the past hour for failing to organise the renting licence Rachel Reeves needed for her house, Downing Street has now published the emails it promised earlier.
While the names have been blacked out, it appears to between the Reeves family and the estate agents.
The important part is that the most recent email - sent on 13 August 2024 - shows the estate agent saying: "I will do the Selective Licence once the new tenant moves in as I wont need to do this just yet."
It follows a chain of emails in which the estate agent offers to apply for the licence, and the homeowner agrees.
This marries with Howard and Wheeler's version of events - saying an employee offered to organise the licence, but the resigned suddenly and the application did not go ahead.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer today, Reeves says: "Yesterday I wrote to you and said that we were not aware that a licence was necessary to let out our property, based on conversations my husband had with the agency yesterday.
"Today the letting agency and my husband have found correspondence confirming that on 17 July 2024 the letting agent said to my husband that a selective licence would be required and agreed that the agency would apply for the licence on our behalf.
"They have also confirmed today they did not take the application forward, in part due to a member of staff leaving the organisation. Nevertheless, as I said yesterday, I accept it was our responsibility to secure the licence.
"I also take responsibility for not finding this information yesterday and bringing it to your attention.
"As I said to you today, I am sorry about this matter and accept full responsibility for it."

Source: Sky News online

aren’t UK law

Gosh she’s lucky in her local council then. When I looked up how many prosecutions there’d been, other councils haven’t been as understanding.

No the Licences are UK law. But have advocated for them so strongly I can’t understand how it could have slipped her mind that she might need one.

But if she has proof that she told the agents to get a Licence for her house and they didn’t, that’s fair enough.

But licences to let are a key Labour policy. He must have known that too.

If you know it’s a key policy, that applies all over the UK, surely anyone would check whether it applies to the house you want to let.?

Policy is not law.

I don't think the legislation has been passed yet. There can't be any licence in existence to have if it is not yet a legal requirement.

As it is, the licence in question is a local requirement for certain properties.

Anyway, the agents have said they stuffed up.

The local council have said they only prosecute if the landlord fails to get a licence within 21 days of them informing the landlord they need to get one.

Let's see how all the censorious mange to twist that one..

The letting agent is negligent for not applying for the licence. I've been a landlord, in the process of selling the property, we've always had a letting agent, they take their cut to dot the Is and cross the Ts. I wonder how much RR was paying her agents, they sound useless. Quite honestly having been a landlord for over 10 years, my experience of letting agents is varied, some don't do an awful lot for their rake off.

Casdon

fancythat

shoppinggirl

Rachel Reeves seems to be very forgetful...She forgot to disclose that a benefactor had paid for her clothes; she forgot to disclose the free tickets for various venues and now this! Very worrying that she's "in charge" of the country's finances!

Didnt realise that was all her as well.

For goodness sake. She was in opposition when she was given a donation which she spent on clothes, and it was correctly declared. She also declared the tickets on her public register of interests. The controversy was not about declarations, which were both in line with the rules, but about whether she should have accepted the gifts.

Ah ha.
Sounds fair enough.

An 'oversight' by her estate agent and an 'oversight' by RR for not checking that they had.

But R.R, in 2023 gave an interview in her own constituency supporting licencing for landlords, thinking it an excellent idea. How can she possibly been unaware that licencing might affect her? Surely she would have checked it out or asked her agent to? Ignorance is no defence in law. Well, not for most of us!

But licences to let are a key Labour policy. He must have known that too.

If you know it’s a key policy, that applies all over the UK, surely anyone would check whether it applies to the house you want to let.?

It simply doesn’t make sense to me that it would have just dropped out of her mind - or his. She spoken powerfully for the Licence and advocated for it in her own constituency.

And then she forgot it existed????

fancythat

shoppinggirl

Rachel Reeves seems to be very forgetful...She forgot to disclose that a benefactor had paid for her clothes; she forgot to disclose the free tickets for various venues and now this! Very worrying that she's "in charge" of the country's finances!

Didnt realise that was all her as well.

For goodness sake. She was in opposition when she was given a donation which she spent on clothes, and it was correctly declared. She also declared the tickets on her public register of interests. The controversy was not about declarations, which were both in line with the rules, but about whether she should have accepted the gifts.

MaizieD

Mollygo

MaizieD
Has it occurred to anyone that it might have been Reeves' husband who dealt with letting their house?

And if I or any gransnetter used that excuse, do you think it would be accepted?

I did actually say that. If not in that particular post then in a later one.

However, I think it perfectly reasonable that her husband may have made the letting arrangements and also perfectly reasonable that one should be able to trust one's husband to do such a task without having to check on whether or not he'd done it correctly.

Or are all Gnetters married to incompetents?

Furthermore, I'd be bloody furious if I got the blame for something my DH had done wrong...

From the BBC

Harvey Wheeler, the London estate agents used by Rachel Reeves to rent out her property in south London, have apologised to her for an "oversight".

The firm says they did not apply for a licence on her behalf, having offered to do so.

More to come,,

Mollygo

MaizieD
Has it occurred to anyone that it might have been Reeves' husband who dealt with letting their house?

And if I or any gransnetter used that excuse, do you think it would be accepted?

I did actually say that. If not in that particular post then in a later one.

However, I think it perfectly reasonable that her husband may have made the letting arrangements and also perfectly reasonable that one should be able to trust one's husband to do such a task without having to check on whether or not he'd done it correctly.

Or are all Gnetters married to incompetents?

shoppinggirl

Rachel Reeves seems to be very forgetful...She forgot to disclose that a benefactor had paid for her clothes; she forgot to disclose the free tickets for various venues and now this! Very worrying that she's "in charge" of the country's finances!

Didnt realise that was all her as well.

Maybe it's different in Scotland but here every landlord needs a licence.

I let out part of my house and have to meet all the regulations. My current tenancy ends soon and I am seriously thinking of no longer letting it because the process is quite costly and complicated.

I am not the Chancellor of the Exchequer though and have no advisors apart from the letting agency.
Did Rachel even use an agency?

There have been loads of prosecutions for letting unlicensed properties all over the UK.

Landlords have been fined 1000s and also required to pay back the rent to the tenants.

Justice demands that Rachel Reeves should also be required to do this.

I await developments.

shoppinggirl

Rachel Reeves seems to be very forgetful...She forgot to disclose that a benefactor had paid for her clothes; she forgot to disclose the free tickets for various venues and now this! Very worrying that she's "in charge" of the country's finances!

Well said shoppinggirl 👏👏

MaizieD
Has it occurred to anyone that it might have been Reeves' husband who dealt with letting their house?

And if I or any gransnetter used that excuse, do you think it would be accepted?

Always one rule for them and another rule for us I would like to know if there are any politicians that are not just out for themselves and what they can financially benefit from us

I am always amazed that these people who make laws on our behalf .Do not seem to know the laws themselves.

They also seem to have hoardes of highly paid advisors. So why were they not informed!

If Rachael Reeves rewlly wants to make money she should have let her house as an unregistered Air BnB.

Al the rage near me with Social Housing tenants.

Or sub let it as a house of multiple occupancy to Asylum Seekers.

Rachel Reeves seems to be very forgetful...She forgot to disclose that a benefactor had paid for her clothes; she forgot to disclose the free tickets for various venues and now this! Very worrying that she's "in charge" of the country's finances!

You'd think so Casdon.