It just doesn’t make sense as to why so many MPs virtually one in five are landlords – 17 per cent – join their cohorts across Parliament in anti PRS landlord legislation.

According to the research undertaken by the anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International UK , the 17 per cent accounts for 113 MPs who enjoy substantial rental income of at least £10,000 per year.

The group’s research team calculated that the landlord MPs’ rental income collectively is around £2.6m per year, basing its figure on what it called “conservative estimates” with the probability it is actually far more.

The research also found that nearly 40 per cent of parliamentarians – 212 MPs and 321 members of the House of Lords – have registered interests in 1,325 UK properties; including at the very least of ‘existing’ 820 residential and commercial properties.

Transparency International UK determines the parliamentarians’ interests as owning land assets, or working for or owning a property-related company.

Its research also uncovered that 43 MPs have some involvement in property companies or businesses as directors or shareholders, and 19 of the MPs are employed in a property business.

The data implies that it is probable that MPs are three times more likely to own more than one ‘home’ than the majority of the public.

Daniel Bruce, chief executive of Transparency International UK, says its research highlights the “disproportionate presence of property interests” in UK politics.

“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 anti PRS landlord legislation and whether this has some bearing on the political appetite for change.”

He is also calling for a much higher transparency level of parliamentarian’s finances and the records must be made available to the general public.

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