Labour’s Mayor of Greater Manchester and former Cabinet minister Andy Burnham says this year is when he will ”get serious” about the private rental sector.

In a New Year message Burnham says: “2024 should go down as the year we got serious about housing.

“Next week, we will begin a public consultation on the new Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter. I am grateful to the working group of tenants, landlords and other experts who have helped us draw it up, and I am optimistic about the change it will bring. We know there are many decent landlords in our city-region and the introduction of the Charter will give them a way of being recognised as such. 

“That said, we know there are others who do not treat their tenants properly and do not respect our communities. For the first time, our residents will have a greater ability to distinguish between the two. Alongside the Charter, we plan to give all renters the right to request a property check and, working with our councils, we will be boosting our inspection and enforcement capability. Put simply, the days of bad landlords being untouchable are coming to an end.”

And on BBC Radio Manchester, Burnham followed up the message by claiming that the health of tenants was being “put at risk” by those who refused to pay for the upkeep of run down homes which “drag down communities”. 

He stated that the city 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.

“Our devolution journey has already enabled us to make a difference to people’s lives by integrating public services and aligning priorities right across the system. Our ongoing trailblazer talks now present an opportunity for us to work with government and go even further, with greater powers and responsibility at local level, and housing is a key priority for us in this process.”

Currently, social housing providers are subject to a national set of regulatory standards, covering economic and consumer responsibilities, while a different set of standards applies to the private rented sector. But Burnham’s ambition is that a Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter will give both sectors a clear route map to raising standards in all rented homes.