The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has thrown its weight behind Manchester’s recently introduced ‘Good Landlord Charter,’ underscoring the necessity for concrete policies to underpin its success, especially in assisting landlords dealing with challenging properties.
Mayor Andy Burnham spearheaded the charter, which takes aim at landlords neglecting property maintenance, jeopardizing tenant health. In a BBC Radio Manchester interview, Burnham criticized landlords benefiting from public funds via benefits while failing to reinvest in their properties, asserting the city region’s intolerance for such neglectful practices.
Chris Norris, NRLA’s policy director, expressed support for the initiative. He emphasized, “The vast majority of private landlords across Greater Manchester provide decent housing and a good service to their tenants. We therefore welcome the consultation’s commitment to ensuring those landlords meeting all their legal obligations are properly recognized.”
Despite acknowledging the charter’s noble objectives, Norris highlighted the necessity for practical policies to accompany them. These include aid for landlords managing challenging properties, stronger enforcement measures targeting rogue and criminal landlords, and alignment of the charter’s content with forthcoming changes in the Renters (Reform) Bill.
The consultation on the Mayor’s charter, extending to both the private rented sector (PRS) and social landlords, commenced this week, signifying a pivotal stride in Manchester’s endeavours to elevate housing standards.
NetRent Comment
As we said on Tuesday when we highlighted this story the NRLA have little to gain and a lot to lose in supporting this consultation. Please click here to see the original article.
We believe that Mr Burnham has all the powers necessary to deal with bad landlords but has chosen to launch a ‘consultation’ rather than quietly address the problems he perceives.
Why does Greater Manchester need £500 million in housing benefit, why are local authorities not enforcing the 200 or so pieces of legislation already in place to deal with bad landlords, why are landlords always seen as the problem and why are bad tenants never seen as a root cause of landlord/tenant problems?
We sincerely hope that the NRLA have not fallen for Mr Burnham’s ability to create headlines and grandstand and we wonder what landlords will eventually gain from this ‘consultation’.