The much-publicised and long-awaited Good Landlords Charter for the Greater Manchester area has at last been launched.
A statement from the local council there calls it “the first of its kind in the country, setting a clear, high set of standards that will give confidence to tenants and support landlords to raise the quality of renting across the city-region.”
It was first mooted last year by Labour Metro Mayor Andy Burnham, as a way to support the 56,000 private rented homes in the Greater Manchester region.
Burnham claims some 82,000 would not meet the Decent Homes Standard operating in the social rented sector, and likely to be extended to the private sector under the new government.
Burnham and his supporters claim the real figure os expected to be higher “given that tenants in unsafe homes often feel unable to raise complaints.”
The charter has a series of elements which its creators describe as:
- Affordable – tenants should understand how their rent and other charges are set and should not be overcharged.
- Safe and decent – tenants should be able to live free from physical or psychological discomfort in their home.
- Responsive – landlords should respond satisfactorily to requests for repairs, correspondence and complaints.
- Well managed – landlords or managing agents should be competent.
- Inclusive – no tenant should have a worse experience because of who they are.
- Private and secure – tenants should be free to enjoy their home and make it their own.
- Supportive – tenants should have essential information and extra support if required.
The GM council is urging landlords will be able to register their interest in participating by visiting: Good Landlord Charter - Greater Manchester Combined Authority (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk)
A statement says: “Landlords who register early will work with a new independent Charter Implementation Unit to put the charter into practice, developing the support offer for landlords and the approach to assessment. The Charter will be open to all residential landlords, whether social or private, charitable or profit-making, and will offer two levels of participation: Member, and – for those working towards membership status – Supporter.
“The Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter has been developed over the past year in partnership with local renters, private and social landlords, trade bodies, and industry experts.”
Alongside the Charter, Greater Manchester is also boosting enforcement capacity with a right to a Property Check for all renters, carried out local expert teams and followed up with action where necessary.
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Another digital Agent / software Company that’s gotten too big too big for their boots now taking control of lettings dictating to landlords how everything should be. Just like the Software Company that are in control of licensing Systems sublet to them by Councils we are now being totally controlled by Computers.
A. Give all your money to the council
B. Or we compulsory purchase it
C. See B
You are right, George!
Good Landlord Charter? How about a good tenant charter? Has anyone read on the news that in Europe (mainly Spain and Greece, but the phenomenon are growing elsewhere too), British tourists coming with low-cost airlines are unwanted? Do you know why? Low-income Brits are noisy, often drunk and dirty, behave irresponsibly and are rude and spoil both the properties and the venues they go to. The same applies to tenants: low-income people, to have a decent relationship with a landlord, must behave decently themselves, too. End of the story. Call me racist, but that's the way I see it.
Ian, totally agree re Brit tourists in Spain, too many are invariably ignorant, disrespectful, alcohol obsessed and a profound embarrassment. I live in Spain and see this daily.
Also agree that too many U.K. tenants behave in a similar way.
I cannot disagree at all, in my job i deal with people who would be classed as poor and on benefits, yes a lot are decent, but a large percentage are a problem, and a problem NO landlord would want…. This is why I stay away from poor people in regards my properties.
spot on ian
I will congratulate the first council to introduce a ‘tenants charter’.
We will have to celebrate when and if this happens!
I knew having the Election was a waste of time why bother Goodlord making housing policy who are not elected representatives.
It supposed to help 56’000 Renters according to Andy Burnham Mayor but he says 82’000 doesn’t meet decency home standards as if he’d know where he comes from. So how many persons per property will we say 4 , 56’000 renters divided by 4 = 14’000 properties need improvement to help 56’000 renters if they are all bad.
82’000 minus 14’000 = 68’000 of those are nothing to do with Renting or are they Residential Households try interfering and telling them how to live.
We can be sure the figures stated by Manchester Council wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny, but no one is prepared to listen to the PRS. Democracy is decaying before our eyes!
"Inclusive – no tenant should have a worse experience because of who they are."..
I am very inclusive but I am not a charity with DEI criteria, so I will exclude:
- people on benefits,
- people who are incapable of writing in good English and politely when responding to my ad, (I am foreign born myself but have no time for uneducated/lazy people(.
- self-employed musicians/actors or anything else.
- I have had bad experiences with people from a given country in Africa, do won't take them again.
Apart from that, I am fully inclusive to anyone decent and solvent.
The Councils can house the other ones, I am not a charity.
Totally right, you are my friend
I've had a look - I've got 2 properties within the Greater Manchester area. The scheme has no details available, to see detail you have to submit all your personal information. Now apart from the fact I don't trust them with my data I have a feeling that somewhere along the line a fee is going to be introduced.
I can see no benefit to a landlord of being in this kind of scheme until tenants renting under it have some obligations too.
Seems odd that landlords are being asked to sign up for something when they can't even see the full details?? I don't think they will get many takers with that approach unless there is some incentive to register. More useful in a sellers market would be a register of tenants, then we could give vetted tenants priority viewings.
I am in Manchester, and that is why I am going to give this a wide berth 👍🏻
Seems like a voluntary licencing scheme. What is the benefit to landlords?
💯
Supportive – tenants should have essential information and extra support if required.??
Essential information on health, diet, exercise, mental well being, saving money, educating kids, etc.
Landlords rent houses
Schools provide kids education
Police provide policing
Fire service provides fire protection and action
... it's pretty simple... Landlords aren't trained, aren't qualified, aren't morally obligation to provide support for landlords. Burnham knows it
Makes you wonder what extra support they think we should provide, but as we can't see the detail without signing up, we will never know!!
I am glad I sold my property in Manchester. I agree the tenants need to be first and foremost educated by council personnel as to how to make sure they as tenants u derstand and take their responsibilities, obligations and any liabilities seriously before u pertaining any tenancies. Otherwise the council must take the responsibility to house them and deal with them. They cannot make laws against the landlords or their properties. Landlords can only accept tenants to make their home if they take full responsibility as tenants. Otherwise, they cannot have a home in the PRS. Landlords need to have good tenants only. Council can take the rest of the tenants, instead of prying into landlords' properties.
We need to ensure that professional tenants, or those with positive ratings, are matched with professional landlords registered under the "Good Landlord's Charter."
It is crucial that we avoid matching rogue tenants with these good landlords, as it could undermine all the hard work that has gone into maintaining the standards of the charter. Such a mismatch would be detrimental, similar to the game of snakes and ladders, where years of effort can be undone in a short period.
Additionally, what is the cost associated with being part of this charter?
Is participation voluntary, compulsory, mandatory, or statutory?
While I expect there will be terms and conditions for landlords, it seems there is less emphasis on educating tenants. Just as it is compulsory for landlords to provide a "How to Rent" guide before commencing an AST agreement, I propose that tenants should also be required to present a "How to Reside in Your Property" guide.
This guide should cover essential topics such as ventilation, the importance of opening windows, the risks of drying clothes indoors, and the prevention of mould, condensation, and damp. It should also include instructions on using MVHR systems, maintaining pressurised unvented hot water cylinders, and upkeeping the garden to the standards specified in the AST agreement.
For a charter to work it needs to be even handed.
Affordable? Why should I have to disclose my business model? Rents vary by area, by condition and by market demand. If you want rents to stabilise then 2 things are needed; a stable bofE base rate and stable demand.
Private & Secure. We must control a tenants right to redecorate, add shelves and pictures etc. It is indeed their home but when they leave it is the landlord who has to put the flat back to a rentable condition. We must not lose the ability to withold money to do this from the deposit.
Supportive? What does this mean? It is far too vague to be in a charter
I would not sign up to this.
Affordability is down to market forces, supply and demand. Also affected by unfair taxation of rental income, mortgage interest rates, high cost of repairs and maintenance, any licensing costs, etc etc.
The complete lack of detail is to be expected by Burnham, he is another self serving Jockey like Khan.
Reminds me of the famous Brian Clough contract with Mark Crossley,
''Sign that''
''I can't boss, there's nothing on it. It's blank''
''Exactly, now sign it''
What a waste of time. Good Landlords will sign up as we do all this already. Bad landlords will either sign up and not do it or not sign up. Before all these charters and licences came in we just had the council - who could do all the things they can now even with all the charters and licences. It is just a waste of time and money. Use the facilities and laws that are there and the government should fund the councils well so they are available to tenants and can enforce the rules.
I just don't get what this achieves
"I just don't get what this achieves"? The answer is publicity for Pretty Boy Burnham, although he is not ageing well. He once saw himself as the hope for Labour. Now he is the incentive to buy more stock in hair products.
A ‘Good landlord charter’ is useless unless there is a ‘Good tenant charter’
The charter is asking for a commitment beyond existing laws. What’s the benefit to a LL to sign up for this . At the moment not a lot but eventually there will be a 5% discount or so off the Selective licensing fee (inflated to compensate) Eventually they will change the charter to be a contract. The council can then change often and with minimal notice. Rent control will be slipped in.
I can be a good landlord when dealing with good tenants but equally I can be a bad landlord when there are bad tenants, we treat people as they treat us, seems fair enough to me
Exactly what it will become 🫣
The New Boys on the Block just software Companies ruling the roost but it’s our Business not theirs and only around since 2014 just 10 years now being backed up by NRLA and Councils to high jack our Business even though we created the Business out of nothing and doing it for decades no just one. All on our backs on the bandwagon making the easy money, ok you solve the Housing Crisis with your own finance.
They have done some damage with THE RENTERS REFORM BILL and the threat of Removing Section 21 driving out hundreds of thousands of landlords.
Remaining Landlords tightening their belts and curtailing their investments damaging the whole economy.
I see one group closing 61 Pubs of which 16 in London, another group in Administration with another 16 to go or salvage something, A big Carpet & Flooring Company in trouble also with 272 stores to go with the loss of 3’000 jobs. The Economy can’t withstand taking hits like this and this it’s the tip of the Iceberg, when we don’t spend everyone suffers.
I suppose with all those people going out of Business there so be more sites in prime locations for Tower Cranes & High Rise Blocks of Flats in Cities & Towns to increase our demise but not in small Towns and less populated areas.
time to check if your tenants are employed by Carpetright.
Government officials wasting time and money to tell us things we already do seems really logical and beneficial but what can you expect from these idiots? They're world champions in showing us what controlling stupid idiots they are so this is nothing new.
Can someone try to sit down with these idiots and show them the government debt and deficit. Explain to them we are heading towards bankrupcy, there is no money for wastage especially for this kind of thing.
There is nothing to stop these idiots with the powers they have from going after rogue landlords. They don't do it because government/council officials are mostly left-wing cowards without a pair. Utter, spineless, gutless wimps, so they keep picking on good landlords, waste money and drive this hopeless country towards more debt, which they then expect you to pay for in higher taxes, higher CGT and higher inheritance tax, because you're evil and had the nerve to try and make money.
I totally agree Nick. They're disgusting. Leave me with zero incentive. I would advise young people to either leave this country or go on benefits. There is no incentive to do anything with them. They're just control freaks and are destroying the country, saddling it with more and more debt.
People are also totally naive. They demand unrealistic things. They should demand freedom to make money as that is the passport to a good life. They shouldn't demand freebies, because the governement will either tax the hell out of people or borrow irresponsibly to fund it leading to debt which becomes our debt when the scumbags move on to their speaker's roles and millions of pounds. They're great at creating the debt and passing it on to the public to worry about. That's the flaw with democracy. You get to promise unrealistic things and take no responsibility for the financial mess you create as a useless politician.
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