Four past housing minister have opposed the ban of tenant fees including the present housing minister.
The past four housing ministers, including the Gavin Barwell, have all previously opposed tenant fee bans.
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has highlighted the discrepancy following the release of the long-awaited fee ban consultation on Friday.
Mark Prisk, past minister in 2013, said that a fees ban “cannot be the answer to tackle the minority of irresponsible agents”, while his predecessor, Kris Hopkins, described a ban as a “short-term gimmick” which would mean “higher rents by the back door”.
In 2015, Brandon Lewis, who is now a home office minister, said that it would “reduce the number of properties available to rent”.
In September 2016, Gavin Barwell tweeted that it would be a “bad idea” which would increase rents. When the ban was unexpectedly announced in the Autumn Statement, he sent a new tweet stating: “It is the nature of the job that you have to defend current policy even when you are working to change it.”