Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell has been named among MPs letting out rooms to colleagues in Parliament — arrangements that collectively earned several MPs over £30,000 in rent last year. The practice, first reported by the Daily Mail, has reignited calls for greater transparency around MPs acting as landlords, with some campaigners demanding a total ban.
MPs renting to MPs under scrutiny
According to parliamentary data, five MPs received rental income by letting properties to other Members of Parliament, with payments made through the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). The regulator previously said it would review such arrangements amid fears of potential conflicts of interest, yet they remain permissible under current rules.
Lucy Powell, who recently replaced Angela Rayner as Labour’s Deputy Leader after Rayner’s resignation over stamp duty controversy, has confirmed that she rents a room in her London flat to another MP. The tenant claims the rent and bills through parliamentary expenses.
Powell, who has long declared this arrangement, maintains that it saves taxpayer money because the rent is set below market value. Her spokesperson told The Telegraph:
“Lucy pays for her own accommodation instead of claiming £30,000 a year that she could have for the 13 years she’s been an MP. Her friend and colleague contributes to rent and bills via IPSA — well under the permitted allowance and independently assessed as value for money.”
Watchdog faces questions on transparency
Despite earlier commitments to review landlord-tenant relationships between MPs, IPSA has continued to permit existing arrangements, provided the landlord MP does not simultaneously claim expenses for a second home.
The watchdog declined to disclose the full list of MPs involved, citing security concerns. In a statement to the Daily Mail, IPSA said:
“Due to the low numbers of MPs who are landlords, we believe that disclosing the names would have a substantial likelihood of attracting the interest of those with malicious intent who wish to cause harm.”
This stance has angered housing campaigners, including the London Renters Union (LRU), who argue that MPs with property interests cannot fairly legislate on housing reform. LRU spokesperson Jae Vail told the i:
“Until Parliament is free of landlord MPs, renters will not trust the government to deliver the bold action we need. It’s time to ban landlords from Parliament and focus on council housing and rent caps.”
Landlord bodies push back on ‘anti-rental narrative’
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has criticised calls for a blanket ban, arguing that it misrepresents the private rented sector and undermines legitimate property investment.
A spokesperson for the NRLA told the i:
“Calls for MPs to be totally banned from being landlords are fuelling an unhelpful narrative that providing homes to rent is a bad thing. Being a landlord is not a bad thing. For MPs, it’s vital that if they rent out property, they have the time to fully meet their responsibilities.”
Landlord groups warn that demonising landlords in politics could discourage informed policymaking and deter professionals from entering the market — particularly at a time when rental demand continues to exceed supply by record levels across much of England.
Editor’s view
This story exposes yet another double standard in Westminster’s uneasy relationship with housing. While ministers criticise “landlord behaviour” publicly, many quietly depend on rent from property ownership — even within Parliament’s own walls. For landlords, it’s a reminder of the deep policy disconnect between rhetoric and reality: the same MPs profiting from the rental sector are often those shaping the rules that constrain it.
Author: Editorial team — UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance.
Published: 29 October 2025
Sources: Daily Mail; The Telegraph; The Big Issue; The i; National Residential Landlords Association; London Renters Union; Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).
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