The National Residential Landlords Association has welcomed a consultation proposal by Greater Manchester’s Labour Mayor, Andy Burnham.
Burnham’s Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter has many controversial ideas including giving all renters the right to request a property check, boosting inspection and enforcement capability, and greater accountability of landlords to tenants.
Now NRLA policy director Chris Norris says: “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 recognised.
“As we consider the proposals it will be vital to ensure that the laudable aims of the Charter are backed up by policies to make them a reality. That should include support for those landlords with the hardest to improve properties, improved enforcement to root out rogue and criminal landlords, and ensuring that content of the Charter is consistent with forthcoming changes in the Renters Reform Bill.”
Last week Burnham told the BBC: “The days of bad landlords being untouchable are coming to an end” and added that Manchester would “not accept this whole culture of landlords sometimes taking money through the benefits system, public money, and then not putting a penny of that back into their properties.”
Burnham first raised the idea of a Good Landlord Charter early in 2023, having made the commitment back in 2021.
At the time he said it would cover both the private and social housing sectors, and he commented: “Once again, Greater Manchester is leading the way and making a decisive move towards a new approach – one that we hope will join the dots between housing, health, wellbeing, and everything in between.
“From the way he led the government response to the appalling death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, I know that the Secretary of State understands the importance of this, and why we need better housing, stronger enforcement, and greater accountability across the board.
“So do many partners across our city-region’s social and private rented sector – which is why we want to work with them to create a Charter that is as fair and robust as possible, and establishes a clear set of expectations for landlords and tenants.”
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
/Labour-logo400x310.png)
.jpg)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Nothing to welcome here. It’s all one sided bad news.
Morning Nick and yes it is all a load of bollox... What I want to know is the passage below says Burnham started this in 2021, WTF has he been doing for three years. Could be argued if he got his finger out the kid may still be with us.
''Burnham first raised the idea of a Good Landlord Charter early in 2023, having made the commitment back in 2021''
Moring Pete, He's a waste of space lefty. Getting himself and others excited about enforcing change and the balance of power away from those who put everything together and invest large sums of money to those who don't have anything 1) through no fault of their own 2) those that can't work / won't work and 3) all these immigrants coming here (legal and illegal).
Where is the tenants charter. I'd be ok with this if it cut both ways!
A little boy dies tragically because of appalling conditions in social housing. Yet, instead of Greater Manchester concentrating on getting its own housing stock in order, they also want to interfere in all private property owned by private individuals who generally already do a great job when it comes to repairs and maintenance. All their actions will achieve is to push out more good private landlords and worsen the housing crisis. As it is, the Renters Reform legislation is the last straw for many private landlords.
Well said!
Tragic yes, but what about the parents in all this , a little effort warm water and bleach and that little lad would still be alive and well today
As a private landlord I would have been around to the flat the same or the next day with a spray bottle of mould and mildew blaster and removed all the mould. I wouldn't have left the flat until every spot of mould was gone. There is an effective product on sale in Poundland for about a £1.
My next immediate action would have been to find the cause of the mould and assess whether the affected wall paper needed to be removed and replaced. Had the mould penetrated the wall paper?
I would have then painted the walls with anti-mould paint which is on sale in Lidl at the moment for £6.99 (two and a half litres).
Apparently, Awaab's father was told by Rochdale Boroughwide housing to paint over the mould. He tried that and said that it did not work. I don't think he was told to remove the mould first with a product which would kill the spores and I don't think he was told to buy anti-mould paint.
Andrew's idea of the bleach solution is a good one, too. Use one cup of bleach to one gallon of water to kill mould on surfaces.
What is the NRLA playing at? With all the cladding issues for apartment owners in Manchester after Grenfell, who are mostly BTL leaseholders, this is another unwanted and unneeded peice of red tape. After cladding inspections were carried out,which led the Manchester Fire Service to carry out in depth fire safety surveys on most tower blocks in Manchester and uncovering other building safety problems. Many buildings now have to have 24 hour security and fire patrols at enormous cost to the leaseholders. These leasehold Landlords have enough to contend with at present without any extra compulsory inspections which will allow the council to act as judge and jury , seeking out every minor infraction so they can issue a fine. That is what this is all about. Where was Manchester Council building inspection and compliance department when these high rise apartments were under construction? I'm so pleased I stopped renting out my Manchester apartment last year and now just use it personally.
Burnham’s office has no responsibility for housing. That’s the job of the separate AGMA councils which actually have plenty of regulations to enforce against crooked landlords. But they don’t.
Burnham’s consultation is a circus. And how much more of our money will he waste on that after the £60m on his moribund CAZ scheme? What on earth is NRLA playing at by “welcoming” this charade?
The NRLA seem to "welcome" literally everything. Good, bad, makes no difference.
I think they mostly welcome the bad stuff! Somehow the NRLA board needs to be moved on.
Better Watch Out Beadles About on another crusade for student lets or a free lunch with Gove to make a comment on this and instead lets Chuck's lad have a go in front of the microphone.
I think the NRLA is trying to see how far they can push the members. 😠
Much more and I will be out.
Please login to comment