A prominent rental licensing expert claims to see “dozens of small landlords every week fined often between £12,000 and £20,000” for the exact same criminal offence that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been found guilty of.

Reeves committed a strict liability crime under section 95 of the Housing Act 2004 when she failed to licence her family home when she let it for £3,200 a month following Labour’s General Election win in July 2025. 

Phil Turtle of Landlord Licensing & Defence says: “Councils treat this as one of the most heinous crimes possible and we see dozens of small landlords every week fined often between £12,000 to £20,000 for this exact same criminal offence.

“Just like speeding, it is a strict liability crime and there is no defence of “I didn’t know” or my letting agent didn’t tell me. Councils are absolutely merciless in prosecuting small landlords because for them, fining landlords has become a major revenue stream.”

Turtle describes the licensing regimes operated by many councils as “toxic and corrupt” with small landlords typically picked on, rather than corporates or Build To Rent operators. 

Similarly he regards it as unfair that many councils “go out of their way to persuade tenants to make a rent Repayment Order for 12-months rent back” – shortly to be 24-months under the new Renters Reform Act.

Turtle asks: “Will the full merciless weight of the law with civil penalty fines and rent repayment orders bear down on our chancellor as it does on every other landlord who didn’t realise they needed a licence? We wait with bated breath – and of course Landlord Licensing & Defence would be happy to defend Ms Reeves to the full extent the law allows.”