Members of parliament are three times more likely to own a second home than the general public and it could impact how leaders tackle the housing crisis, anti-corruption campaigners have warned.
Transparency International UK’s (TIUK) analysis of parliamentary disclosures revealed 40 per cent of MPs and peers had a registered interest in property with 177 MPs owning 312 residential properties between them – collectively worth more than £31million. That means just over a quarter of MPs have a second home, three times higher than the 9 per cent of households in England.
Overall 113 MPs generated “significant” rental income from a second property, which parliamentary rules define as £10,000 or more annually. TIUK estimated these MPs receive a combined £2.6m a year in rent but said the true figure is likely to be much higher.
Daniel Bruce, TIUK chief executive, said the findings show the need for tighter controls on conflicts of interest in Westminster.
“With parliamentarians far more likely to own second homes than the general population, it’s reasonable to question how representative their experience is of the housing crisis and whether this has some bearing on the political appetite for change,” said Bruce.
Overall, there were 1,325 registered property interests in the disclosures, which ranged from owning a flat and renting it out to holding shares in a property finance company, including 212 MPs and 321 peers.