TL;DR
- Sir Keir Starmer has declined calls for an investigation into Chancellor Rachel Reeves after her apology for not securing a rental licence for her family home.
- Reeves has since applied for the necessary selective licence, acknowledging it was an “inadvertent mistake” and informing relevant authorities.
- The incident raises concerns about government transparency, as scrutiny builds ahead of Reeves’ upcoming budget announcement on 26 November.
Investigation into Reeves not needed, says Starmer – after she apologises for rental ‘mistake’
Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed calls for an investigation into his chancellor after she apologised for putting her family home up for rent without obtaining the necessary licence.
Rachel Reeves wrote to the prime minister to “sincerely” apologise for the “inadvertent error”, which was first reported by the Daily Mail.
Latest updates from Westminster
The newspaper said the chancellor rented her family home in Dulwich when she moved into 11 Downing Street, but was unaware she had to obtain a “selective licence” to do so.




