RTB Pilots: 5.7% Of Tenants Register Interest

An average of 5.7% of housing association tenants contacted about the extended Right to Buy pilots have registered an interest in buying their homes. Figures obtained by Inside Housing from the five landlords involved in the pilot show 1,612 tenants expressed an interest in using the Right to Buy, out of 48,345 households in the pilot areas contacted.  Demand has been highest in London and the South East, with 8.4% of tenants told about L&Q’s pilot in eight London boroughs registering an interest. Read more on Inside Housing.

Number Of MP Landlords Has Risen By A Quarter Since Last Parliament

The number of MPs supplementing their incomes by acting as landlords has risen by a quarter since the last parliament, with David Cameron and George Osborne among those earning extra money by renting out properties. Almost a third of MPs are now letting out their houses or flats, with 196 declaring rental income on the official register of interests this year. The majority of those are earning more than £10,000 a year from the property, topping up their basic MP’s annual salary of £67,060. The Conservative party has the highest number of landlord MPs at 128, meaning 39% of Tory MPs are landlords, compared with 26% of Scottish National party MPs and 22% from Labour. Read more on the Guardian website.

Is Your MP A Landlord? There's A 1 In 5 Chance

The first Register of MPs' Interests of the new parliament was published last week. A comb through the data reveals that there are 126 residential landlords in Parliament. Landlords make up only 3% of the population but they are represented by 19% of the House of Commons (the same proportion of the UK population who rent privately). This is actually down from 153 at the end of the last Parliament, though the Guardian reported that was up on the 2010 figure. The register also reveals that another 10 MPs let out commercial land and property, and indicate that a further 88 own a second home that they don't let out (at least at a rent above the £10,000/year threshold). Read more on the Generation Rent website.