Rachel Reeves warned by TWO estate agents that she’d need licence to rent out home… Pressure grows on Chancellor after telling PM she didn’t know she needed permit

According to The Mail on Sunday, Rachel Reeves was warned by a second real estate firm that she needed a license to rent out her family’s home.

The Chancellor has been mired in scandal since last week the Daily Mail revealed he had been illegally renting his south London property for £3,200 a month without the proper licence.

After initially telling Sir Keir Starmer she was unaware of the rules, she was left humiliated when emails between her husband and lettings agency Harvey & Wheeler revealed extensive conversations about the need to secure paperwork.

Now a source has told this newspaper that Mrs Reeves and her husband approached top-notch estate agency Knight Frank about managing the property before they started working with the company and were warned about the need for a licence.

The statement raises new questions about the Chancellor’s initial insistence to the Prime Minister that he was not aware of the legal requirements, as two separate estate agents had raised the issue.

Tonight a Knight Frank spokesman said: ‘It is standard procedure that all customers are informed of their legal and regulatory obligations when letting a property.’

Sir Keir had already scolded his Chancellor for not checking Harvey & Wheeler’s email chain before making his original pleas of innocence, but insisted there was ‘no need’ for further condemnation.

But given today’s statements, the Conservatives have called for new action.

Under pressure: Sir Keir Starmer scolded Ms Reeves for not checking her emails before protesting her innocence; but had previously insisted there was ‘no need’ for further action

Ms Reeves finally applied for a license on Friday, but still faces the threat of having to hand back a year’s rent – around £38,000 – to her tenants for illegally renting her south Dulwich property

Shadow Treasurer Gareth Davies said: ‘There are new questions every day about Rachel Reeves’ account. This last statement casts serious doubt on the claim that he was unaware of the need for a license. His story seems to change with every revelation.

‘The Prime Minister must now get to the bottom of this matter and order a thorough investigation without delay.’

It is not clear why Knight Frank did not take over management of the property on behalf of Ms Reeves and her husband Nicholas Joicey after they moved to Downing Street.

When asked if this was due to lack of licence, the spokesman said: ‘That was not the reason.’

The Mail first made the bombshell comments about the Chancellor’s lack of licences, on Wednesday evening.

After Ms Reeves claimed she and her husband were unaware of the requirement, the Prime Minister consulted his independent adviser on Ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, who said no further investigation was necessary.

Emails later revealed that the couple were indeed aware that they would need a license from Southwark council to rent their home in Dulwich.

The Prime Minister is desperate to exonerate Ms Reeves to avoid the political disaster of losing his Chancellor less than a month before he announces the Budget

Harvey & Wheeler said it took responsibility for ‘oversight’ because staff responsible for applying for licenses on its behalf suddenly resigned before the tenancy began.

Sir Laurie later told the Prime Minister that Ms Reeves had made an ‘unfortunate but unintentional mistake’ but there was no need for her to resign, allowing Sir Keir to acquit her a second time.

The Prime Minister wrote to her: ‘It would certainly have been better if you and your husband had fully examined all your email correspondence with the estate agent before writing to me yesterday.’

Despite this, he concluded that he had acted in ‘good faith’ and said: ‘I still view this as a case of inadvertent failure to obtain appropriate licence, which you have apologized for and are now rectifying’.

Ms Reeves accepted that it was her responsibility to obtain the so-called Selective Licence, and admitted they had found emails in which Harvey & Wheeler explained the requirements.

The firm said they would apply for the license on their behalf, but Ms Reeves added: ‘They also confirmed today that they have not brought forward the application, partly due to the departure of a member of staff.

‘Still… I accept that it is our responsibility to obtain the licence. I take responsibility for not being able to find this information and bring it to your attention yesterday.’

The Prime Minister is desperate to exonerate Ms Reeves to avoid the political catastrophe of losing his Chancellor less than a month away from one of the most critical Budgets of the modern era.

Ms Reeves finally applied for a license on Friday, but failure to obtain a license is a criminal offense and is punishable by an unlimited fine at prosecution, a £30,000 fine as an alternative to prosecution, or an order to repay 12 months’ rent (almost £38,000 in Ms Reeves’ case).

Southwark council is advising tenants to take action to court to recover rent if their landlord does not have a suitable licence.

No 10 insists Ms Reeves’s housing scandal is different to that of Angela Rayner, who was forced to resign in September after failing to pay £40,000 in stamp duty.

Asked whether the Chancellor was ‘unremovable’ as he was due to deliver the budget, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘These are separate and separate situations. The independent consultant had a decision in this case.

‘The Prime Minister also agrees with this and sees no need to take any further steps.’

Asked about Knight Frank’s advice, Ms Reeves’ spokesman said: ‘You are aware of the outcome of Laurie Magnus and the exchange of letters of 30 October in which Rachel Reeves referred to correspondence from Harvey & Wheeler saying a Selective License would be required.’

HOW THE PRESIDENT’S STORY CHANGED…

Rachel Reeves faces renewed pressure after a second estate agent emerged who will need a letting license at her South Dulwich home, The Mail On Sunday reports

Wednesday, October 29

18.32 A spokesperson for Rachel Reeves told the Daily Mail that she “was not informed of the licensing requirement” but took immediate action and applied for a license as soon as the issue was brought to her attention.

23.26 Downing Street published a letter from the Chancellor to the Prime Minister in which he said: ‘Unfortunately, we were not aware that a license was required’ and apologized for ‘an unintentional mistake’. Sir Keir Starmer responded by saying it was ‘regrettable’ that the license was not obtained sooner but accepted her apology as a sufficient resolution of the matter.

Thursday, October 30

16.14 No 10 says Sir Keir and Sir Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on Ministerial standards, have been given ‘new information’ about emails sent and received by the Chancellor’s husband about tenancy arrangements, but that it would be ‘improper to comment further’.

17.45 Reeves reveals the existence of emails between letting agency Harvey & Wheeler and her husband Nicholas Joicey, which show she was told renting the family home would require a licence. A message from the representative in July last year said: ‘We will need to apply for a license under the Selective Licensing Scheme through Southwark council.’

In another letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Reeves said emails showed the agency agreed to apply for a license but did not do so due to the departure of a member of staff.

However, he adds, ‘I accept that it is our responsibility to secure the licence,’ and also takes ‘responsibility for not being able to find this information yesterday.’

Scolding the Chancellor, Sir Keir said it was ‘obviously regrettable’ that the information in the emails was not shared with him the day before, but he still viewed it as an ‘inadvertent failure’ that required no further action. Sir Laurie said he found “no evidence of malicious intent”.

Saturday, November 1

11.29 Asked to comment on a statement in The Mail on Sunday that Ms Reeves had also been warned by estate agents Knight Frank and Harvey & Wheeler that she would need a licence, the Chancellor’s spokesman referred to Sir Laurie’s opinion on 30 October and published email correspondence with Harvey & Wheeler saying a license would be required.