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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Justice for Tenants has predicted a surge in Rent Repayment Order claims following the Chancellor’s failure to license her rental property.
It reports that calls from tenants who had discovered their homes were unlicensed jumped by 26% since last Wednesday when it emerged Rachel Reeves didn’t have a selective licence for her four-bedroom home in Dulwich, under Southwark Council’s licensing scheme. Southwark has generated more calls to the group than any other council, The Telegraph reports.
With renters able to claim up to a year’s rent following a licensing lapse - which will be increased to two years under the Renters’ Rights Act - Al Mcclenahan, Justice for Tenants outreach lead, says Reeves’ mistake had “done more to raise awareness of licensing and rent repayment orders than anything else”.
Justice for Tenants boasts a 98% success rate in securing compensation for renters, who it represents at property tribunals.
“Our helpline services have seen a significant increase in the number of enquiries from tenants who discovered their landlord is unlicensed following Wednesday’s news about the Chancellor’s own failure to license her property,” Mcclenahan reports.
“Now, a lot of these callers have correctly identified that their landlord lacks a licence but misunderstand the law as their property isn’t covered by licensing rules. However, many concerned tenants do live in areas with additional HMO or selective licensing, meaning they could take action against their landlord – and get up to 12 months’ rent repaid.”
The Chancellor is understood to have applied for a licence but could still face a rent repayment claim of £38,000.
Reeves says her letting agent, Harvey and Wheeler, wrongly assured her husband that a licence would be obtained later, an oversight for which the agent has since apologised. However, emails have revealed that her husband had been told by another letting agent that a licence was required, contradicting her initial claim that they had both been ignorant of the legal requirement.
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