At least 15 MPs are each letting out a London home for more than £10,000 a year while renting another property on expenses, the BBC has found. The MPs, of whom 13 are Conservatives and 3 are ministers, are claiming up to £22,920 a year for rent payments.
The revelations come amid concerns over MPs’ second jobs and follow Conservative Owen Paterson resigning after he broke Commons rules.
There is no suggestion the MPs letting properties have broken any rules.
One of the MPs letting their London home and renting another property told the BBC that a “ridiculous” change to parliamentary rules had meant that they and colleagues had been “forced into a situation we didn’t want to be in”.
Since 2010 MPs have not been able to claim for mortgage repayments on a property they own in London. This change was intended to stop them making profits on homes at the taxpayer’s expense.
But it also means that those who own properties in London have to claim for rent if they want to receive expenses for living near Westminster.
Ipsa has said that while there could be a “perception of personal gain if an MP receives rental income while living in a parliamentary-funded flat”, it decided to continue to allow MPs to claim for rental costs even if they own a property in London.
Letting and renting may not be against the rules but, yet again, it’s Tory MPs taking advantage of the situation …
This was also happening back in July 2017 and probably well before then. I can also recall the start of when council houses were sold off. At that time one female MP was I believe caught out in this causing quite some scandal. Unfortunately no details as it was a long time ago, my memory yielded very little on that but it was something that happened.
Former attorney general sir Geoffrey Cox, who has been facing backlash over the £1m he earns a year as a lawyer, is among the ministers taking advantage of the loophole. Cox has been letting his Battersea home since 2017, renting another London flat for £1,900.
Others include former cabinet ministers John Whittingdale, Liam Fox, former minister Robert Goodwill and Tory backbenchers including Philip Davies.
No surprise at all is it! All parties though have MPs who were landlords and surprise, surprise a name that I seem to recognise is on the list of MPs who were landlords at that time in 2017:
• Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon) – Conservative
Sadly 2 of the 17 are Labour MP’s. The other 15 are Conservatives.
Being an MP & being a property landlord is not an issue. But renting out a property, whilst drawing state benefits for your other home is. And how are we ever going to improve the situation for those who rent via private landlords if 122 MP’s are themselves private landlords & are not exempt from voting on issues surrounding private landlords?
I might be interesting to know how many Wives, or other MP Families are listed as Landlords.
Also, a look at Industry and one would find that it is quite normal for employees who have to work, temporarily, in a different location, to rent out their main homes until they get back.
As long as the appropriate taxes are covered (in the name of one of the family) it’s legal.
It, also, makes sense in that it gives another family a place to live if it’s needed. Should the main homes be left empty?
The issue centres around a loophole that allows MPs to rent out a London property they own while billing taxpayers for living at another address in the capital.
Changes made after the expenses scandal in 2010 mean MPs are unable to claim mortgage repayments on a property they own in London, meaning those who already had a home in the capital had to rent elsewhere if they wanted to claim expenses for the cost of having somewhere to live near Westminster.
