Rachel Reeves and her husband 'earn £74,000 per year in rental income'

by · Mail Online

With four bedrooms, wraparound gardens and just 20 minutes by train from London Victoria, it appears to be an ideal family home.

This south London property can also provide lucrative rental income if, like Rachel Reeves, you have begun to benefit from a grace-and-favour flat as part of your job.

The Chancellor's earnings from letting out her London house - after moving into 11 Downing Street this summer- form part of a reported £74,000 a year she and her husband make from being landlords.

Ms Reeves and Nicholas Joicey, a senior civil servant, are claimed to be receiving rent from two properties that adds up to more than £6,000 a month.

There has been scrutiny of the Chancellor's rental earnings after she used her Budget last week to hammer second home buyers and buy-to-let landlords with a hike in stamp duty.

As part of her fiscal package, Ms Reeves announced that those purchasing additional properties will have to pay a 5 per cent surcharge.

This was a two percentage point increase of the previous 3 per cent surcharge for additional dwellings and sparked warnings it would result in higher rents for tenants.

Some landlords have claimed the Chancellor's action will prove the 'final nail in the coffin' for the buy-to-let sector.

Rachel Reeves' earnings from letting out her London house - after moving into Downing Street - form part of a reported £74,000 a year she and her husband make from being landlords
There has been scrutiny of the Chancellor's rental earnings after she used her Budget last week to hammer second home buyers and buy-to-let landlords with a hike in stamp duty
According to The Telegraph, Ms Reeves lets her four-bedroom south London property for around £3,200 a month
A Labour Party spokesman said: 'The rental incomes have been declared in the usual way in accordance with the rules.'
As part of her Budget last week, Ms Reeves announced that those purchasing additional properties will have to pay a 5 per cent surcharge
Mr Joicey is reported to have let his central London two-bed flat, which now has a market rental value of nearly £3,000 a month, since 2011

In September, Ms Reeves listed income from a home she owns with her partner on the MPs' register of interests.

Her entry stated income on the 'residential' house, described as 'co-owned with a family member', has been received since September 9.

'The rental income is paid jointly to my partner and me,' the entry added.

The Chancellor listed the entry shortly after moving into her grace-and-favour flat in Downing Street.

Previous inhabitants of Downing Street have been criticised for benefiting from renting out their homes, while living in taxpayer-funded accommodation.

Both the Chancellor and Prime Minister only pay a taxable benefit on running costs at their grace-and-favour apartments - capped at 10 per cent of their ministerial salaries.

It means that they contribute around £3,000 to cover all utilities and other expenses.

As well as living with her family in Downing Street rent-free, Ms Reeves has been given use of the Dorneywood grace-and-favour estate for official duties. 

The Buckinghamshire property is an opulent 18th century residence that was given to the nation by the industrialist Lord Courtauld-Thomson in 1947 as a country home for a senior member of the government. 

According to The Telegraph, Ms Reeves lets her four-bedroom south London property for around £3,200 a month.

The newspaper also reported that Mr Joicey has let his central London two-bed flat, which now has a market rental value of nearly £3,000 a month, since 2011.

The Chancellor and her husband, who both have six-figure salaries, are estimated to be earning more than four times the average landlord income of £16,800.

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: 'Having just announced a deeply unpopular Budget that has caused mortgages to rise, how does the Chancellor justify the £74,000 rental income of her and her husband's London properties whilst living rent-free in Downing Street as their mortgages are paid for?

'It's no wonder she abstained from the most recent vote on the Renters' Rights Bill.

'Her Budget snatched the £300 winter fuel payment from some of our poorest pensioners, robbed farmers of their ability to pass on their farms and will lead to lower wages for working people.

'This is yet another slap in the face for British people.'

Fellow Conservative MP Greg Smith said: 'Classic Labour party do as I say, not as I do. I'm all right Jack, now I'm going to pull the drawbridge up.

'Yet another Labour action that doesn't pass the sniff test.'

Ben Beadle, of the National Residential Landlords Association, has claimed Ms Reeves' decision to hike stamp duty on buy-to-let properties 'makes no sense' when '21 people are chasing every rental property'.

'What tenants needed was a Budget to boost the supply of new, high-quality rental housing. What we got is a recipe for less choice and higher rents,' he added.

A Labour Party spokesman said: 'The rental incomes have been declared in the usual way in accordance with the rules.'