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The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and the home secretary, Suella Braverman, are among five cabinet ministers who earn at least £10,000 a year renting out property, a new snapshot of parliament’s landlords has revealed.
The study, carried out by campaign group 38 Degrees, counted 87 MP landlords – more than 13% of the Commons – of whom 53 claimed rental income from one home and 34 from two or more properties.
Hunt has declared he operates seven flats in Southampton, while Braverman, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, and Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, all declared one rental property in the latest House of Commons members’ register of financial interests.
Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, declared a flat in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, and a share in a cottage in Gloucestershire, both producing more than £10,000 a year in income.
On the Labour frontbench, David Lammy, Emily Thornberry and Lucy Powell are all landlords.
Overall, MPs could be earning as much as £2.2m a year from renting out homes, the research found.
“The perspectives of those who profit from renting may be more prominent in parliament than those of the tenants who remain at the mercy of this broken system,” 38 Degrees said.
Matthew McGregor, the chief executive of 38 Degrees, said: “We make no inherent criticism of those politicians who make money from renting property.”
While McGregor has no issues with politicians investing in buy-to-let, he is calling on the government to press ahead with rental reform, including the scrapping of Section 21 evictions.
“With MPs almost four times more likely to be landlords than the rest of the population, and with eight cabinet members and nearly one in five Conservative MPs earning rental income, we highlight the need for tenants’ voices to be heard at the top of government,” McGregor added.
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the government was “absolutely committed to delivering a fairer deal for renters”.
They said: “That’s why next week we will bring forward the renters’ reform bill, which will include a ban on no-fault evictions, so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent rises.
“We are also introducing a decent homes standard for the private rented sector for the first time ever, which will make sure privately rented homes are safe and decent.”
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