Burnham to get tough with residential landlords

Greater Manchester is to call on the Government to grant the city region new powers to seize property from residential landlords who fall below the Government’s own “decent homes” standard.

In a speech at the Housing 2023 conference in Manchester held at the Manchester Central convention centre today Burnham said he wants a package of new devolved powers to form part of a trailblazer devolution deal.

He also said Greater Manchester will introduce the UK’s first voluntary Good Landlord Charter to recognise best practice and boost tenant confidence in quality of rental properties.

Under the scheme earmarked to start in 2024, new measures – underpinned by unique GM Property Check system – would enable Greater Manchester’s ten local councils to intervene and acquire properties from landlords who are unable or unwilling to meet “decency standards”.

The intention would be to bring in the new set of measures in place by autumn 2024, building on the forthcoming Renter’s Reform Bill and driven by Greater Manchester’s Good Landlord Charter, enabling the city-region to get on with the job of bringing all rented homes up to the decent homes standard – a standard currently only applicable to socially rented homes but not the private rented sector.

“We are using what powers we have in our Trailblazer Devolution deal to set ourselves a 15-year new mission for Greater Manchester: a healthy home for all by 2038.

“In simple terms, that means a home that doesn’t damage your physical health through damp, mould and other physical hazards and doesn’t harm your mental health because you live in fear of eviction.

“To achieve this, we are proposing a complete re-wiring of the system to put power in the hands of tenants – but, in doing so, make it work better for everyone: tenants, landlords and local communities.”

To achieve this however Burnham will require ministers – currently Michael Gove – to give the city-region the ability to apply a mandatory “decent homes standard” to all rented homes – something which Government has already consulted upon and may add to the Renters Reform Bill – alongside a new set of tools to drive improvements in the sector, including:

• An independent ‘GM Property Check’ inspection regime of rented properties to find those homes below standards, which would empower tenants to report poor conditions and call for improvement while protecting them from eviction
• The ability to create a ‘Property Improvement Plan’ for every rented home, giving landlords a tailored blueprint to get each of their properties up to the decent homes standard and beyond, and connecting them to funding and skilled contractors who can get the work done
• Giving the city-region the powers to acquire properties from landlords who are unable or unwilling to meet standards, ensuring poor landlords exit the sector while retaining and improving their properties for local residents
• Enhanced enforcement teams within councils with the powers to protect tenants if they have problems with their landlord or home
• A universal, mandatory Property Portal or register of landlords – a measure proposed within the Renters Reform Bill

The city-region has already taken steps to drive improvements to homes in the private and social rented sector. 

Burnham claimed that driving these improvements in housing standards would also boost Greater Manchester’s 2038 net zero target.