New housing secretary appointed following Rayner tax debacle

Landlords have a new housing secretary after Steve Reed was confirmed in the role following the resignation of Angela Rayner.

The MP for Streatham and Croydon North has been environment secretary for a year but is now to take up the housing role which, given his old department’s role in planning reform, is not a surprise.

Reed also has experience of local government having been leader of Lambeth Council in South London for six years prior to entering parliament during the most recent General Election.

He will be departing the world of water, sewage and diversity and be thrown headlong into MHCLG’s most pressing policy areas including renting, which is about to be overhauled by the Renters’ Rights Bill due to get Royal Assent next week, and the department’s overhaul of the planning and leasehold systems.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook, who some had hoped might get the secretary job, is being left in post to shepherd the renting and leasehold reforms to their conclusion, and who has been praised for his grasp of the housing brief and is popular among fellow MPs across the party divide.

So proud

Reed has been supportive towards Rayner following the scandal of her Stamp Duty under-payment, saying: ”Angela, you can be so proud of all you’ve achieved for our country and party.

“You knew from your own background what it’s like to struggle and you used that experience to fight for a better future for working families.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, says: “We welcome Steve Reed’s appointment as Housing Secretary.

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“At a time of substantial change for the rental market, we look forward to working constructively with him. Top of the agenda will need to be ensuring the smooth implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

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“Alongside this there is a desperate need to support long term investment in new decent quality homes to rent and ensure the private rented sector operates on the basis of trust and confidence between landlords and tenants.”

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