Housing minister Michael Gove to be offered new Cabinet post, it is claimed

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove could be on the move in the next Cabinet reshuffle.

There are rumours at Westminster that the man who launched the PRS reforms may be offered a different post.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might choose to move his top ministers around when he returns from holiday as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is stepping down.

Gove launched the Renters Reform White paper last summer (see main picture), which later became a bill and is passing through Parliament.

The bill is not popular with private landlords opposed to the proposed ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, and it has added to the pressure on landlords leaving the sector.

Hard-line

A minister known for his hard-line stance on some issues, Gove recently hinted at a relaxation of the EPC requirements on private lettings.

He also said in an article for the NRLA members magazine last month that independent landlords are “vital” to a fair and functioning PRS.

If Gove does move it will mean more upheaval at DLUHC where there were five different housing ministers in eight months last year culminating in Lucy Frazer’s promotion to Culture Secretary in February and her replacement by Rachel Maclean.

Nervous

The property sector will be nervous that the Government will again change direction with a new secretary of state leading the PRS changes.

Gove was reappointed as levelling up secretary in October by Sunak after being sacked by former PM Boris Johnson a few months earlier. He had served in the post from September 2021.

A move to health secretary, which The Times has suggested could happen, would certainly be challenging at a time when the NHS is struggling with strikes and long waiting lists.