Mayor launches Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter
Mayor, Andy Burnham has announced the launch of the UK's first Good Landlord Charter to recognise best practice and boost tenant confidence in the quality of rental properties, and to enable the council to intervene and acquire properties from landlords who are unable or unwilling to meet decency standards.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, wants to give councils the power to seize unsafe or poor housing from rogue landlords to protect renters in his 'new deal for renters' announced in his speech at the Housing 2023 conference in Manchester on 27 June.
The intention is to bring in the new set of measures, 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.
In his speech, the Mayor said: "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.”
Proposals in the Good Landlord Charter mean that decent landlords would receive recognition for their approach, while tenants would have a clearly defined expectation from their landlord. Where landlords are not maintaining their properties to a decent standard, they will face action underpinned by a unique ‘Property Check’ system: a regular, independent inspection against a transparent set of standards. The checks and subsequent certificates will provide tenants with more information about their homes, while landlords will be presented with tailored, practical improvement plans to address any health and safety hazards.
The plan includes the introduction of enhanced enforcement teams to protect tenants and make landlords carry out repairs, with a "property improvement plan" for every rented home to help landlords gain access to funding and skilled contractors to make the improvements.
If a landlord fails to make the required improvements there would be a clear route to enforcement action by local authorities, including the ability to acquire properties from landlords who are unable or unwilling to meet standards. A mandatory register of landlords is also proposed, which aligns with reforms already proposed in the Government's Renters Reform Bill.
The Mayor hopes his Good Landlord Charter proposals will be in place by autumn 2024.
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