Mayor of Greater Manchester launches consultation on promised landlord charter

Residents living in properties where the landlord refuses to engage with local bodies or the charter will be empowered with the right to request a Greater Manchester Property Check.

The GMCA said this will be underpinned by a “stronger, multi-disciplinary inspection and enforcement capability” to carry out the checks and issue notices where standards “remain unacceptable”, with investment of £3.5m to support local authorities to deliver this. 

The Good Landlord Charter will leverage public funding and other key devolved powers in a similar way. For example, when public bodies are involved in seeking rented homes, such as for use as temporary accommodation, they could require those bidding to sign up to the charter.

In March last year, as part of a devolution deal, the government gave the mayor of Greater Manchester powers to underpin the new charter, alongside £150m of brownfield funding.

Mr Burnham revealed further details about the charter when he appeared at the Housing 2023 conference in June.

In his speech he said that in 2024 he would introduce a ‘GM Property Check’ system, which will allow tenants to request independent checks of their private rented homes without fear of retribution by their landlord.

Mr Burnham also said that he would look to make it easier for homes that do not comply with decency standards to be brought into public ownership, with the process for councils to acquire them set to be “streamlined”.

The Good Landlord Charter is out for public consultation until 26 February 2024. 

It has been drafted and developed with a co-ordinating group, which includes Greater Manchester Housing Providers, Greater Manchester Tenants Union, Greater Manchester Student Assembly, Manchester Student Homes, the National Residential Landlords Association and Shelter.

Greater Manchester Housing Providers, a partnership of housing providers in the area, has already committed to signing up to the charter.

Speaking on the announcement about the consultation this week, Mr Burnham said: “I’m clear that driving up the quality of rented housing is one of my key priorities. We know your home has a huge impact on so many aspects of life, from your physical and mental health to your safety and security.

“This work has, in part, been driven by the devastating conclusions of the inquest that followed Awaab Ishak’s death. A two-year-old boy died because of the quality of his home, and we recognised this had to be the moment when things changed.

“Today, I’m calling on all renters and landlords in Greater Manchester to get involved in this consultation. I believe this charter will be good for tenants who currently have no way of knowing whether a landlord is decent or not; and good for the many landlords doing the right thing and struggling to differentiate themselves from the disreputable end of the market. 

“The truth is, when we get housing right, we also potentially save billions in public money currently spent dealing with the social crises that come from poor housing situations.”

The plans for the charter follow a similar model to the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, launched in 2019. This has now engaged with more than 1,000 employers across the city region, helping them go above the bare legal minimum employment offer.

Research commissioned as part of the development of the Good Landlord Charter found that more than three-quarters of private tenants said that accreditation would make a difference to their likelihood of renting from a particular landlord.

The survey also revealed that three-quarters of private tenants experienced a maintenance issue in their property within the past year. When maintenance problems had been experienced, two in five private tenants were left dissatisfied with the outcome.

In 2019, according to government data, almost 12 per cent of all homes in Greater Manchester had a Category 1 hazard, which means a serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety. Furthermore, over 17 per cent did not meet the current Decent Homes Standard.

According to the Regulator of Social Housing’s statistical data return, the number of homes failing the Decent Homes Standard among private registered providers in England increased by 130 per cent year-on-year.