COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Reeves 'would have been under the impression that a licence had been applied for' - estate agent



We've just heard for the first time from the letting agency which oversaw the renting out of Rachel Reeves' former family home.

They were previously declining to comment but Gareth Martin, owner of Harvey Wheeler, has now released a statement - here it is in full:

"We alert all our clients to the need for a licence. In an effort to be helpful our previous property manager offered to apply for a licence on these clients' behalf, as shown in the correspondence.

"That property manager suddenly resigned on the Friday before the tenancy began on the following Monday.

"Unfortunately, the lack of application was not picked up by us as we do not normally apply for licences on behalf of our clients; the onus is on them to apply.

"We have apologised to the owners for this oversight.

"At the time the tenancy began, all the relevant certificates were in place and if the licence had been applied for, we have no doubt it would have been granted.

"Our clients would have been under the impression that a licence had been applied for. Although it is not our responsibility to apply, we did offer to help with this.

"We deeply regret the issue caused to our clients as they would have been under the impression that a licence had been applied for."

Conservatives question Reeves's version of events

A spokesperson for the Conservatives says that - regardless of assurances received from the estate agent - Reeves and her husband were "responsible" for ensuring a renting licence had been granted.

"Last night Rachel Reeves said 'she had not been made aware of the licensing requirement'," the Conservatives say.

"Today, we find out that Reeves was alerted to the need for a licence in writing by the estate agents.

"Having been caught out, the chancellor is now trying to make the estate agents take the blame, but Reeves never followed up with them to ensure that the licence had been applied for, or checked if the licence had been granted."

The Tories call on Starmer to launch a "proper investigation" into the incident.