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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ admission of breaching housing law neatly illustrates the challenges landlords face in keeping up with ever-changing legislation, according to the Eastern Landlords Association (ELA).
“This case highlights the chaotic and complex regulatory landscape that landlords must navigate daily,” says chair Paul Cunningham (pictured). “If a senior policymaker - who actively campaigned for selective licensing in Leeds - is unable to comply with the very laws she promoted due to lack of knowledge, it raises serious concerns about the clarity and fairness of the system.”
Cunningham believes that penalties for non-compliance - both civil and criminal - must be applied consistently across the board or alternatively, the enforcement framework should be reviewed to ensure it is proportionate and equitable.
The ELA chair also challenges suggestions that income from private rented sector landlords is “unearned”. Landlords and associations strongly refute the claim, highlighting the extensive work and responsibility involved in managing rental properties, says Cunningham.
“Landlords are required to navigate a complex regulatory environment, ensure compliance with numerous legal obligations, and manage the day-to-day issues that arise in property letting. This active involvement demonstrates that income derived from the PRS is far from passive or unearned, as it demands significant time, effort, and expertise from landlords.”
He argues that such a stance misrepresents the reality of property letting. “Letting property is far from passive,” he adds. “The risks and obligations are significant, and they fall squarely on the landlord - not a letting agent.”
The landlord group recently submitted its response to Great Yarmouth Council’s proposed selective licensing scheme, set to cover about 60% of the borough’s privately rented properties. It believes this should be abandoned in favour of a realistically priced accreditation scheme and says a national mandatory landlord registration scheme would allow the authority to identify non-compliant landlords and target them with existing legislation and powers.
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