Andy Burnham Launches Good Landlord Charter, Promising 2024 as Year of Reform
In a bold stance against substandard housing, Mayor Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester has vowed to crack down on negligent landlords, asserting that 2024 marks a pivotal year for transformation within the housing sector. His declaration precedes the launch of a public consultation on the Good Landlord Charter by the combined authority.
Today, Burnham kick-started the public consultation on the Good Landlord Charter, emphasizing the urgent need for substantive changes within the housing domain. He highlighted that the government annually allocates around £500 million for housing benefit in privately rented homes across Greater Manchester, yet without guarantees of adequate housing quality from landlords.
Shockingly, Burnham revealed that a quarter of privately rented residences in Greater Manchester fail to meet the decent homes standard, prompting his pointed question, “Can anybody defend that?”
In a staunch assertion, Burnham affirmed, “Many landlords are striving to do the right thing, but I’m unwilling to let others off the hook.”
The Mayor outlined that landlords who sign onto the charter will receive recognition for upholding standards, ensuring a positive trajectory for their improvements. Additionally, he stressed the charter’s role in shielding responsible landlords from being unfairly associated with those neglecting their responsibilities.
An integral part of Burnham’s vision involves potentially linking housing benefit to compliance with the new Good Landlord Charter, a clause negotiated in the Greater Manchester devolution deal. This move, he argued, questions the legitimacy of receiving public funds for properties not maintained to a decent standard.
The Good Landlord Charter will encompass both social landlords and private rental sector providers, serving as a voluntary agreement aimed at raising housing standards. Burnham underlined its intent to exceed minimal requirements, prioritizing the principle that people’s homes must not compromise their physical or psychological well-being.
Crucial repair standards and timelines, integral to the charter, will be shaped based on the ongoing consultation. Proposed criteria include the necessity for properties to attain at least an EPC C rating, and landlords facilitating reasonable property adaptations as needed, empowering tenants to make suitable changes to their homes.
Simultaneously, proposals for Greater Manchester property checks are on the horizon, granting tenants residing in non-compliant properties the right to request assessments of their housing standards, should landlords refuse to engage with local bodies or the charter.
The implementation of the Good Landlord Charter falls under the GMCA-funded Good Landlord Scheme, a £1.5 million initiative aimed at bolstering enforcement capabilities across Greater Manchester councils. This program seeks to tackle the shortage of qualified enforcement officers through comprehensive training and support while aiding councils in pursuing discretionary licensing schemes.
Furthering the commitment to robust enforcement, the £2.1 million private rented sector Enforcement Pathfinder Project, funded by DLUHC, endeavours to strengthen formal enforcement mechanisms, enabling fines of up to £30,000 that can be reinvested into enforcement efforts.
The public consultation on the Good Landlord Charter commenced today and will run until midday on February 26, 2024. This initiative represents a critical step toward reshaping the housing landscape in Greater Manchester, signalling Burnham’s unwavering dedication to housing reform.
NetRent Comment
Several things stand out from Mr Burnham’s initiative. Mr Burnham already has some 200 pieces of legislation he can call on to ensure that rental properties are fit to live in. Each local authority in his area has dedicated landlord liaison teams. So the question is why is Mr Burnham holding a public consultation when he already has everything he needs to force landlords into providing good quality housing?
The answer is simple. It’s politics. Mr Burnham believes that it will enhance his standing within his core electorate to have a grandstanding consultation rather than just quietly get on with the job he was elected to do. It’s the classic “look at me, I’m doing something” rather than actually just getting on with it.
The NRLA have come out in support of Mr Burnham’s consultation, but why? There’s no way this consultation is going to do anything other than demand landlords spend more of their own money solving problems identified for them. There will be no recommendations that require tenants to do anything other than pass all blame for everything onto landlords.
Mr Burnham tells us that £500 million of our taxes is spent housing people in Greater Manchester. There is no doubt that some of that money houses the desperate and the needy but it works out at over £177 for every man, woman and child in Greater Manchester. The better consultation would be find out exactly why we need to spend £500 million housing people in Greater Manchester. Meanwhile, Mr Burnham and his local authorities should do their job using the powers they have and the money that will be spent on this consultation should be used to properly enforce those powers.