Michael Situ has stepped down as chair of the housing committee in Southwark Council after it emerged that his own rental properties were not properly licensed.

Situ, who held responsibility for housing policy in the borough where Chancellor Rachel Reeves also owns a rental home, failed to secure the required licences for two buy-to-let properties he owns in Peckham.

Echoing Reeves’s earlier explanation, Situ attributed the oversight to a local letting agency, saying the firm managing his properties was responsible for the error.

Situ is quoted as saying: “In light of recent media scrutiny of Southwark’s housing licensing scheme, I took it upon myself to review my own arrangements as an owner of rental properties in the borough.

“I have a contractual arrangement with a local letting agent who manage properties on my behalf which sets out that they are responsible for letting, licensing and maintaining those homes… it has come to my attention that despite their contractual obligations, the letting agent has allowed these properties to be without the appropriate licences at various points and that the agent’s accounts have fallen into council tax arrears.

“Whilst this is a failure on behalf of my letting agent, these are my properties, and I take full responsibility for allowing this situation to arise. Moving forward I have ensured that all necessary licenses are being sought and that all obligations on the properties are met.

“As the Cabinet Member responsible for council homes in the borough, it is imperative to maintain trust with our residents and to show that we mean what we say when we are committed to tackling the housing crisis. 

“We must lead with integrity and not give the impression we are anything other than determined to improve housing in our borough. I do not want my oversight to distract from this critical work and therefore I will resign from Cabinet with immediate effect.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not obtain the required selective licence when she rented out her Southwark townhouse in summer 2024. She attributed the oversight to her letting agency, which she said failed to complete the process.

Southwark Council, which has publicly stated it operates a “zero tolerance” approach to licensing breaches, declined to take further action against Reeves during a meeting this week.